Floyd Mayweather showed why he’s one of the greatest ever when he systematically took apart Conor McGregor in their megafight. Now, fight fans can breathe for a bit. The black hole that was Mayweather-McGregor is over, and the only thing left is considering how it all went down. Despite McGregor holding his own for the first four or so rounds, it actually was Mayweather working to tire out McGregor, draining his gas tank and his video game life meter before putting his foot on the gas and ending it.
McGregor is aware that he has some stamina issues to work on, and he said as much to Ariel Helwani:
“Fatigue got me. I don’t know what it is. Cause it’s certainly not from not working hard enough, cause I fucking work hard, Ariel. I don’t care. Like, I work my ass off. I think it’s just a mental thing that I need to figure out. But I’m proud of myself, but I would have liked to see round 11. I think I, if I would have heard that bell at the end of round 10, I would have had that minute recovery, and I would have and I would have came out strong. It’s a see-saw game. If I’m dealing with my energy, and he’s working, and I’m recovering, and eating shots and so on and so forth, then when he goes back to the corner, and I’m still there, now it’s his turn. He must recover. You know what I mean?”
A few years ago, MMA fighters said Conor would fade somewhere around minute seven, but McGregor’s improved cardio, combined with a lack of grappling kept him looking sharp for nearly 20 minutes against Floyd Mayweather. Still, Nate Diaz, who is topping the list of potential future McGregor opponents, has a gas tank for days, and McGregor was fading in his majority-decision win against Diaz at UFC 202.
Will McGregor ever get over this hump? He’s aware of it, which means he’ll tackle the issue with reckless abandon.
(Via MMA Fighting)
