In about three weeks, Conor McGregor will be in New York City for the main event of UFC 205. This will be a historical night for multiple reasons; it will be the UFC’s debut in New York, and it might have its first two-weight champion. McGregor, the featherweight champion, will be challenging Eddie Alvarez for his lightweight belt. If McGregor wins, he will be the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously.
Conor McGregor Sparring Video
The MacLife posted a video recently of Conor McGregor sparring. This professional YouTube channel was started by McGregor earlier this year. It famously captured McGregor’s training and lead up to UFC 202, where he successfuly sought revenge against Nate Diaz. It appears we will be getting a sneak peak into McGregor’s preparation for this fight too. I’m excited to see some of the behind-the-scenes footage from press conferences, as well as future Conor McGregor sparring videos.
So what can we take away from this?
Honestly, not a whole lot. The video only shows a few seconds of actual sparring despite being titled “Conor McGregor Sparring at SBG.” One thing to note is that McGregor is switching stances while sparring, which could be a strategy he implements against Alvarez. McGregor is known to be a dangerous southpaw, but throwing some orthodox in there could benefit him.
The lack of footage of Conor McGregor sparring is understandable though. There is still time for gameplanning on both sides. It’s not common to show training footage this far out as both camps are holding their cards close to their chest. For example, we saw Conor McGregor implement a leg kick-heavy approach at UFC 202 – something he hasn’t used previously. McGregor didn’t show any of this strategy in his sparring videos. On the flipside, I wouldn’t expect Alvarez to share much training footage as he’ll likely have a few tricks up his sleeve. We know takedowns will be a part of his gameplan, but Alvarez has stated before that he’s confident he can knock McGregor out. He’ll likely have a plan for how he’s going to stand and trade with McGregor, and somehow avoid the Irishman’s deadly left cross.
McGregor’s sparring partner
We did see Conor McGregor sparring with teammate Artem Lobov though. This is the training partner McGregor spars with almost exclusively. Even though Lobov doesn’t have an impressive career, he makes the ideal sparring partner as Lobov is the same height as Alvarez (UFC officially has them both at 5’9″). Lobov may have a shorter reach than Alvarez, but McGregor will have a 5″ reach advantage over his opponent at UFC 205.
McGregor did not spar much with Lobov in preparation for the Nate Diaz fights though. Instead, McGregor brought in much longer and taller opponents to mimic Diaz’s physique. Alvarez represents more of the typical build of fighter that McGregor has fought in the past.
The video also shows McGregor training back at SBG in Ireland. This is different than when he fought in Las Vegas and flew his team out early to acclimate. Against Nate Diaz at UFC 202, McGregor had his own private gym in Vegas where he trained at with his team during the whole camp. Being that New York is similar climate, time zone, and just a quick flight away, McGregor will likely stay in Ireland up until fight week.
Conor McGregor’s hair
As a bit of trivial speculation, I wonder what hairstyle McGregor will sport on November 12th. McGregor has had a different look for virtually every one of his UFC appearances. I personally prefer the Celtic-looking cornrows that he had against Diego Brandao and Dustin Poirier in 2014.
He sports the shaved head and beard in the video, which is the same look he had for both Diaz bouts. I wonder whether he’ll change it, or if he’s trying to keep up with a consistent image for promotional purposes.
Nevertheless, we see McGregor getting his beard touched up at what I can assume is a high-end barbershop. It wouldn’t be Conor McGregor if it wasn’t lavish and expensive!
Stay tuned to Get More Sports for more UFC 205: Alvarez vs McGregor news and coverage! More MacLife videos are sure to come. Thanks for reading!
