Analysis | UFC 257: Conor McGregor must start mixing martial arts again – he fell in love with his hands and paid the price
- Dustin Poirier’s leg kicks a simple recipe for victory but show McGregor has hit a snag in his technical development
- Not only has the former double champ failed to evolve, he’s bizarrely regressed into a simplified version of the fighter he used to be
On Sunday, in the main event of UFC 257, Dustin Poirier felled Conor McGregor with a procession of calf kicks and punches. It was a remarkably simple recipe for victory and a clear indication McGregor, long regarded as one of the sport’s best fighters, has hit a snag in his technical development.
It was fairly easy to imagine Poirier submitting McGregor, or beating him by decision after five gruelling rounds. We’d seen the Irishman tap out to chokes and he’s always been known to slow down after the first few rounds. His weaknesses weren’t exactly mysteries. That being said, it was very difficult to picture Poirier beating McGregor by knockout.
Perhaps we should have known better.
At several points in MMA history, we’ve talked about wrestlers “falling in love with their hands”. Josh Koscheck (17-11) was a great example – after picking up a few knockout wins, he began to neglect his world-class wrestling and search unrelentingly for one-punch knockouts.