Zahabi: How McGregor should box Mayweather
Firas Zahabi: “Grab him, throw him, drop him on the floor, do borderline illegal stuff. Get him thinking, ‘What is this?'”
The biggest PPV draw in MMA history boxes the biggest PPV draw in boxing history on August 26. Few give McGregor a good chance to do anything vs. the greatest boxer of his generation.
However, Firas Zahabi, one of the keenest minds in mixed martial arts, has a plan.
You’re not allowed to clinch, but clinching happens,” said Zahabi, as transcribed by Simon Samano for MMAjunkie. He has that grinding gear that Mayweather doesn’t need to develop so much in his sport. So, if I was Conor McGregor’s coach, I would tell him to tie up Mayweather as much as possible, pull on his head, step on his toes, bump knee to knee, get physical, push him up against the rope with your forearms, tie him up as much as you can. Be physical with him.
Mayweather is a lot smaller than Conor McGregor, and when [McGregor] comes forward, if you try to punch [Mayweather], he’s just going to slip, slide, defend, counter. Of course, you’re going to have to punch him. It’s a boxing match, absolutely. But I would spend a lot of my time dirty boxing Mayweather – grabbing the back of his head, throwing uppercuts, doing things that are borderline illegal. They’re not illegal, [but] the referee is going to have to come in a break you up. The referee is going to have to come in and save Mayweather.
Grab him, throw him, drop him on the floor, do borderline illegal stuff. Get him thinking, ‘What is this? I don’t know how to grapple with this guy. I don’t know what an overhook is. I don’t know what an underhook is. I don’t know what this type of clinching is.’
And he’s going to get tired. He will get tired from clinching. If you haven’t done a lot of clinching in your life, it’s extremely exhausting. …
After a certain period of clinching, you build up that lactic acid. Your muscles have less pop; they’re less explosive. And all of a sudden, you’re trying to punch, but it doesn’t feel right. Do a hundred push-ups, then go hit the heavy bag. You’re going to see that your muscles aren’t feeling right.
While few think McGregor has a shot at winning, all understand he has a shot at $75 million or so. However, in boxing, if you get disqualified, you lose your purse. And UFC president Dana White indicated there are contract stipulations against McGregor using techniques that are staples in MMA, that are prohibited in boxing, like most things that work. So if McGregor takes Zahabi’s path, he has to tread lightly.
