Conor McGregor: The Left Hand or a Case of Left It Too Late:

Conor McGregor: The Left Hand or a Case of Left It Too Late:

On Friday the UFC announced the return of Conor McGregor who will return on October 6th to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title.

The former two-weight UFC champion will end a 23-month exile from the UFC to face the feared and unbeaten champion Nurmagomedov.

McGregor hasn’t been since in the Octagon since he became a two-weight champion when he defeated Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 at UFC 205. McGregor last competed anywhere in August of 2017 when his ego and the lure of the dollar saw him challenge Floyd Mayweather and inevitably came up short.

Despite Dana White calling his behaviour in the infamous ‘dolly throwing incident’ prior to UFC 223 as “despicable and disgusting” McGregor will not face any punishment from the UFC for his behaviour which saw several fighters removed from the card. Practically any other fighter would have been sacked for that behaviour, some have been sacked for much less, but McGregor will not face even a token punishment for the incident. The footage of the incident was even used in the promo video to announce the fight, “despicable and disgusting” in many ways I say.

But whatever people’s opinions are, the vast majority of MMA fans will welcome the return of The Notorious One, as will the UFC. McGregor is the biggest star in UFC history and with the recent dwindling PPV numbers business is now going to pick up. Khabib vs McGregor will probably, almost certainly end up being the biggest fight in UFC history.

The meteoric rise of McGregor is unprecedented and he took the sport to new heights and whatever happens in his return and any future subsequent bouts he will leave a legacy behind that few will match. But has the near two-year absence robbed us of his true prime years, time waits for no man and in a fast-evolving sport MMA waits for nobody either, Ronda Rousey a prime example.

When they were both active I always feared Khabib would be a nightmare match-up for McGregor. It’s not just the wrestling it’s his conditioning also, an obvious weakness of McGregor. If there is one fighter you can’t afford to ‘gas’ with its Khabib. Even in the return with Nate Diaz in a fight where he was in control and pacing himself, he still started to tire around the 8 minute mark Diaz couldn’t make him pay for the 2nd time, Khabib almost certainly would. Khabib will make McGregor work far harder than Diaz did, and loading up like McGregor tends to do will likely end with him being put on his back very quickly, check the Chad Mendes fight for reference.

I’m not convinced McGregor has the same power at lightweight as he did at featherweight, the quick win I feel McGregor needs, will it come even if he lands clean early, those early exchanges will be pivotal.

Ronda Rousey saw her MMA career end so suddenly because she in effect became a part-time fighter, her other commitments got in the way and her time in the gym would ultimately have suffered. I fear the same with McGregor. Owen Roddy has already publicly commented that McGregor spends less time in the gym than he used to, is the obsession now with making money and not in the sport that got him to where he is now.

We know that McGregor has been back in the gym and training which is encouraging, but for how many hours and to what intensity. McGregor was never ever going to return for a tune-up fight but is Khabib catching him at just the right time, is this just the wrong and too tough an opponent for his first fight back after so long away

McGregor has opened up the slight betting underdog which is how I see it, but with McGregor, you would be wise not to write him off. Khabib I am certain will have a lit a fire in his belly that has been missing. McGregor will leave no stone unturned in his preparation. But will it be a case of the left hand or has he just left it too late.