Conor Vs Cowboy

[Mr. Ryu]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

It was a grossly one-sided 40 second beat down. *shrug*

I shouldn't have said patsy, I should have said someone that McG can easily beat with little to no risk.

My core point is that this is one of the oldest fight promoter comeback plans in the books for a big name guy like McG. String together almost certain wins and make a boatload of $$$ and then the big title-fight cash-in. Everyone can vote with their wallet as to what value they put on watching it, there is no right or wrong answer.

I feel that the UFC and Conor decided on an easy fight for him to get his confidence back. Conor should go back to 155. He will not do well in Welterweight with legit top contenders.

[Valhallian]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

It was a grossly one-sided 40 second beat down. *shrug*

I shouldn't have said patsy, I should have said someone that McG can easily beat with little to no risk.

My core point is that this is one of the oldest fight promoter comeback plans in the books for a big name guy like McG. String together almost certain wins and make a boatload of $$$ and then the big title-fight cash-in. Everyone can vote with their wallet as to what value they put on watching it, there is no right or wrong answer.

I understood your point, but just adding that there's a little nuance here since MMA isn't like boxing and I feel like you're trying to draw an equivalency that doesn't actually exist between the two sports. For better or worse, the UFC doesn't line up cans for a star to fight the way that they do in boxing. A true "tune-up" fight doesn't quite exist in MMA. Even this is a rare case, because CMC is the golden child of the UFC. Most other UFC stars don't get this kind of treatment.

It was a grossly one-sided beatdown because Conor was focused and sharp, and fought the way we knew he could when he's at the top of his game. Going into the fight there were question marks about his ability to be committed after not having won an MMA match in over 3 years. But he came in sharp, and had great strategy, catching Cowboy off guard. We also have to take into account the fact that Cowboy has fought a LOT over the past year and a half, and is probably a little worn.

But did they line up someone who was definitely beatable but had enough clout to keep Conor relevant? Yes that they did. Conor winning doesn't make Cowboy a bum, nor does it mean that there was no risk in taking the fight, it just means that Conor is actually still THAT GOOD.

[Ric1990]

Conor is definitely gonna win. he is such a confident player. He is so confident that even his trash talks earn him a lot of respect because he actually proves what he says.
In an interview, he said, "Doubt is only removed by action. If you’re not working then that’s where doubt comes in." (source: https://sportsquotes.us/wrestling)
No disrespect to the other player. But from my side, I want Conor to win.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by Mr. Ryu

I feel that the UFC and Conor decided on an easy fight for him to get his confidence back. Conor should go back to 155. He will not do well in Welterweight with legit top contenders.

Agreed. He's fought Nate Diaz and Cowboy Cerrone at welterweight. Both are good fighters and well known, but neither has been a champion or a #1 contender and their careers were already on the downslope when McGregor fought them. He's going for maximum hype while hedging his risk. Any of the top 5-6 welterweights should be the favorite versus McGregor, who's a very good fighter, but he's just not big enough to go up against elite welterweights. Heck, Nate Diaz beat him in their first fight, and Diaz is extremely tough, but he's got virtually no striking defense - he just walks forward while he's being pummeled and takes 3 shots for every one he lands. To Diaz's credit, he's so tough, he ignores most of the damage, he's like the Stockton Zombie, and he can pull out some surprising wins, even when he's taking all kinds of punishment. But Diaz also, can't beat top welterweights with his skills.