Despite Conor McGregor once again telling us all exactly what was going to happen in the main event at UFC 205, the vast majority of those who tuned in for the first UFC event in New York City were shocked at just how effortlessly the Irishman defeated his opponent Eddie Alvarez.
With complete comfort, total control, and overwhelming dominance throughout the eight or so minutes the two men spent in the octagon, McGregor put on a counter-striking masterclass that left the likes of Joe Rogan with their jaw on the floor.
Another man who could barely believe what he saw in Madison Square Garden was Mark Henry, Eddie Alvarez's coach, who had spent the weeks leading up to this fight explaining how McGregor's over-reliance on his left hook would see his fighter expose him and win the fight.
Instead, McGregor's performance was so impressive that Henry now feels that he could defeat Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match if it were to happen.
You cannot teach somebody how to swing like that.
It takes hips, it takes a certain shoulder, it takes a flick of the wrist, there are so many tiny mechanics. What it takes to make an eyeball work is what it takes to make the perfect swing. Like Babe Ruth. I just compare Conor - his swing - to Babe Ruth. I always watch tape of it but to be that close and watch it was a whole other thing.
It comes along once in a lifetime or once every hundred years or what not. I think God has just blessed him with a swing that I'll probably never see again. Before this fight, I would highly doubt him fighting Mayweather, but I think this dude can take out Mayweather. I'm not even joking.
That is staggering praise. For someone from his neck of the woods to compare him to Babe Ruth!? And the Mayweather stuff too, obviously.
McGregor and Mayweather have once again gone back and forth via the media, but the likeliness of them ever agreeing to a fight remains low, what with rules and money providing major stumbling blocks.
But what is really interesting to take away from this is that it's not just fighters who completely change their view of McGregor as a competitor once they experience his technique up close, but coaches too.
[via MMAFighting.com]
