UFC's McGregor On Mayweather: "I'd Kill Him In Less Than 30 Seconds"

MSN.com ^ | 16 April 2015

[zeestephen]

"I don't look at a man who's expert in one area as a specialist," McGregor told Esquire. "I look at him as a rookie in ten other areas...It would take me less than thirty seconds to wrap around him like a boa constrictor and strangle him."

[zeestephen]

Many decades ago, probably the late 1970's, fight promoters put together an event in Hawaii, martial arts experts against boxers, classed by weight.

The boxers won eight out of eight matches, every one of them by KO or TKO.

Nowadays, perhaps cross training is so advanced that boxers have lost their advantage.

That said, if you have KO power in your fists, you are going to be a serious threat to any other kind of fighter, no matter how skilled or versatile.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

When I heard about kick-boxing as a teenager I thought: Oh wow, that's got to be great to watch.

Booooooring!

Evidently kicking takes a lot out of a person and kick boxers don't want to spend a lot of energy on a move that rarely does any damage. So they had to require the kick boxers to do a minimum number of pretend kicks each round.

Fast forward to UFC. A few seconds of pseudo-boxing followed by an agonizing amount of bromance on the floor.

If only Don King and his greedy small-minded ilk hadn't screwed the pooch, boxing would still be a premiere sport, maybe THE premiere sport.

[AppyPappy]

Boxers have a disadvantage as they never expect to be tackled.

[Zhang Fei]

Many decades ago, probably the late 1970's, fight promoters put together an event in Hawaii, martial arts experts against boxers, classed by weight. The boxers won eight out of eight matches, every one of them by KO or TKO. Nowadays, perhaps cross training is so advanced that boxers have lost their advantage. That said, if you have KO power in your fists, you are going to be a serious threat to any other kind of fighter, no matter how skilled or versatile.

Were the martial artists allowed to kick? Or grapple?

[vbmoneyspender]

Fights with limited or no rules almost always end up on the ground - where the wrestler is king.

[skeeter]

And prior to being tackled receive a half dozen kicks in the ribs and maybe one to the temple.

[PUGACHEV]

Few these days remember Ali vs. The Pelican Man. I was in High School at the time, and even many fight fans here took little notice of the match. Sadly, it had grave consequences for Ali. His legs were never the same from all of the kicks he took. Without his ability to "float like a butterfly", Ali had to change his style and adopt the Rope-a-Dope, which may have lead to his present condition.

[BlueStateRightist]

The current high-end MMA fighter is a downright vicious wrecking ball. I can’t see any other type of athlete (at the same weight class) causing them any difficulty.

[zeestephen]

Hopefully, a boxer matched against someone with wrestling skills would anticipate being tackled.

And, hopefully, the wrestler would anticipate a crushing upper cut into the center of his face before he starts his tackling move.

[Lee'sGhost]

Good point. I vaguely recall this event. I believe it was fists only.

[taxcontrol]

Tacklers have the disadvantage of giving boxers a free shot while attempting their tackle.

[EEGator]

Especially the MMA guys that have an Olympic caliber level of wrestling or Judo.

[ConservativeTeen]

McGregor would win by sub. We saw this already with Couture vs Toney.

[AppyPappy]

True but unlike wrestlers, MMA fighters are used to that.

[zeestephen]

Re: “Were the martial artists allowed to kick? Or grapple?”

Absolutely.

As I recall, low blows were the only thing outlawed.

Remember, this was the era of spectacular martial arts films, Bruce Lee, Kung Fu, etc.

The promoters tried to get a closed circuit TV re-match, but none of the top name martial artists would sign up, but ranked boxers were climbing over each other trying to cash in on a big pay day.

[LambSlave]

No boxers would last more than one minute against these guys, absolutely guarantee. I did MMA for most of my life, and I once took out a good boxer in less than fifteen seconds. I started out as a boxer in the Army as a teen, but had studied martial arts as a kid. I then got into no holds barred fighting in Korean back alleys and learned that wrestling and grappling (as well as strength and power)were far more important than my boxing, kickboxing, or endurance skills . By the time I was in my late twenties the Gracies appeared and revealed the truth to the masses in the form of Brazillian jiu jitsu, and eventually UFC 1. A boxer has a good foundation to develop as an MMA fighter (timing, strking, endurance), and could succeed, but not by just boxing. A good grappler will shoot as soon as the boxer moves his weight forward over his center of gravity, and then the boxer will get one unbalanced punch in before he is off his feet. I’ve seen it happen many, many times. Ditto for kickboxers.

[the_individual2014]

I remember my dad talking about that, and yeah Ali got to cocky thinking he could whup a smaller man easy, but he was the one who got whupped, and in all honesty the average boxer unless they learn multiple martial styles cannot compete with modern MMA fighters in the octagon, its way too diverse and many ways you can take someone out, even without striking, for example Royce Gracie back in the 90’s.

[the_individual2014]

I remember my dad talking about that, and yeah Ali got to cocky thinking he could whup a smaller man easy, but he was the one who got whupped, and in all honesty the average boxer unless they learn multiple martial styles cannot compete with modern MMA fighters in the octagon, its way too diverse and many ways you can take someone out, even without striking, for example Royce Gracie back in the 90’s.

[showme_the_Glory]

PKA and Brad Hefton. That was some good stuff.

[Zhang Fei]

As I recall, low blows were the only thing outlawed.

Kicks to the legs weren't allowed? For instance, a strike to the knee is a potent part of the UFC arsenal, and leg sweeps are a martial arts standard.