Prodigy Conor McGregor is fighting a monster at UFC 196.
The Irishman, looking to become the first man to simultaneously hold two UFC world titles, has challenged the current undisputed UFC Lightweight champion, Brazilian Rafael dos Anjos.
There are a lot of reasons to get hyped up for this fight. Besides the verbal warfare that McGregor has been lashing out on dos Anjos, which gets fans eager to see if the Irishman will back up his provocative claims yet again, the most intriguing aspect of this fight is getting to see how the opposition of styles will unfold.
McGregor has been on an interstellar rise since joining the ranks of the UFC and has so far lived up to the hype, thoroughly. Last December, he knocked out the only UFC Bantamweight champ in history, José Aldo, in just 13 seconds; this feat has propelled him to a kind of star status few fighters in UFC history have managed to reach.
McGregor’s rise may or may not come to an end at UFC 196. Top analyst and super MMA expert Robin Black goes over the possibilities:
Grappling specialist Rafael dos Anjos is the most dangerous fighter the Irishman has ever faced. The Brazilian dethroned then-Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 185. Pettis, a huge favorite in this fight, proved to be no match for dos Anjos’ explosive takedowns, grinding style of grappling, and devastating striking. Because that is the thing, on top of being a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, dos Anjos is one of the most feared strikers in the UFC.
The Brazilian has tremendous power in his left hand. His kicks are devastating. He is a very diverse striker who looks to break his opponent down with quick, heavy strikes. Dos Anjos’ striking acumen, coupled with his athleticism and his world-class grappling will surely be a huge hurdle to overcome for McGregor.
The Irishman has quite a few assets of his own though, to say the least. Nobody in the UFC fights like Conor McGregor. His elite boxing skills have allowed him to use the straight left hand as his primary striking offense, earning him knockouts left and right. He is deadly with his boxing, but there is more. See, the thing about McGregor is that there is no telegraphing, as in you never know if the next strike that will come is a straight left or a spinning roundhouse kick.
Finally, a big factor of this title fight will likely be movement. And this where McGregor excels the most.
McGregor’s understanding of footwork, distance, and movement is, simply put, mind-blowing. He will definitely try to confuse dos Anjos with elusive movement, thus preventing him from using his smothering kind of grappling.
Will McGregor’s boxing be too much for dos Anjos? How will McGregor react to being kicked in the ribs by a physical beast? Will McGregor’s movement will be enough to avoid getting taken down?
The UFC 196 title fight is a special fight in that the opposition of styles is one of the most intriguing one we fans will probably ever get to see. You should be hyped!
