Conor McGregor has been out of the octagon for more than three years now. Since his absence, MMA has gone through some much-expected changes. As it turns out, the ‘Notorious’ isn’t a fan of some of the changes, particularly the wrestling-heavy approach by MMA fighters. McGregor recently watched the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants, headlined by Francis Ngannou.
While Ngannou won the fight via TKO, the Irishman wasn’t impressed by the middleweight title bout on the card. McGregor called out the fighters for relying on ground control and taking the win via unanimous decision. The Irish superstar then took to X in order to share his frustration over the recent wrestling-heavy fighters.
Act like yous aren’t fed up and over this bulls*** all yous want, but I won’t. It’s just become the norm nowadays. The product is suffering because of it. If it wasn’t for the brand name already well established it would be well in the bin by now
Conor McGregor via X
McGregor believes that MMA requires a major transformation, with new rules aimed at curbing the dominance of control wrestling. Recently in the UFC, champions like Merab Dvalishvili and Belal Muhammad were criticized for their lack of intent to finish. Muhammad was especially mocked by McGregor for not having enough finishes in his professional career.
Conor McGregor talking about the increase in wrestling heavy styles in today’s MMA
is he right??? pic.twitter.com/7pgS2HDlrk
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) October 19, 2024
Conor McGregor is fed up with wrestling-heavy styles in MMA 😭😭
🎥 @TheNotoriousMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/cOJX0kenml
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 19, 2024
Similarly, Dvalishvili’s title fight against Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 attracted controversy for its lack of finish. Though the Georgian dominated the fight, referee Herb Dean wasn’t impressed with his extensive ground control. According to Dean, he interfered multiple times to make the fight more interesting for the fans. When it comes to providing entertainment for fans, no one comes close to McGregor.
Conor McGregor only counts knockouts
Conor McGregor is well-known for his striking abilities, especially his precision and timing. His tremendous left hand has resulted in multiple knockouts, establishing him as one of the most feared fighters in MMA. McGregor’s ability to accurately counterstrike, paired with his speed and movement, has resulted in memorable finishes. One of them was the iconic 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo in 2015.
McGregor’s stand-up game is a masterclass in distance and angle management, which makes him a deadly opponent in the octagon. However, the same cannot be said about his ground game, but that doesn’t concern the former double champion. ‘Mystic Mac’ only cares about knocking out his opponents and entertaining the crowd.
My record in mixed martial arts is 19 wins and one loss. I only count knockouts. The only thing that’s final in this business is a knockout. All the other sh*t, the decisions, the taps, all that sh*t means nothing to me. I’m coming to take a man’s head off
Conor McGregor via ESPN MMA
McGregor is a huge fan of fighters such as Alex Pereira, who has wreaked havoc in the UFC with their dominant striking. However, it’s safe to say that modern MMA requires more complete fighters such as Kamaru Usman, Islam Makhachev, and Ilia Topuria. It will be intriguing to see how the next generation of MMA fighters influence the evolution of the sport.
