Conor McGregor’s coach breaks down McGregor’s exceptional fight IQ

UFC lightweight champion and Irish superstar Conor McGregor has repeatedly proven himself to be an elite level striker inside the Octagon. Throughout McGregor’s eight year MMA career, 18 of his 21 wins have come by way of knockout, all of them via punches.

While Conor McGregor, who uses Taekwondo as part of his training, has extremely accurate kicks, it’s his ability to counterpunch that makes him so dominant in the UFC, using his slip counter left-hand combination to finish countless opponents throughout his MMA career.

Ahead of McGregor’s fight with Mayweather, SBG Ireland striking coach Owen Roddy, who is given much credit in regards to helping develop McGregor’s striking game, spoke on The MMA Hour to break down why McGregor’s fight IQ is so exceptional:

“I think mid fight. I think a couple of rounds in. We need to see what Mayweather is gonna be coming with.

“Conor has an exceptional ability to read fighters. … Read fighters and where they’re going and read what they do. He can do it really, really quickly. I think it’s just about him figuring out where Mayweather is gonna be on said shot and then putting the appropriate shots to catch him.”

In addition to the exceptional ability to read fighters and make adjustments mid-fight, McGregor also hits like a middleweight according to his coach:

“Conor hits like a middleweight,” Roddy said. “You can ask any of the middleweights in our gym. He hits as hard, if not harder. It’s strange. He’s got cat-like reflexes. He’s so quick on his slips and his pulls. He’s very accurate as well. I think he’s gonna slip and fire and Mayweather will be on wobbly legs. It might be a counter, too. That’s what I see. That’s what I see in my head.”

on 6/20/2017.