It’s easier to assume the dude reads this forum as most fighters do so, yeah.
This is not a knock or criticism, just a series of interesting observations.
With that being acknowledged, being a Conor McGregor fan myself I was curious to see how one of his team mates would get on.
1st - the weigh ins. Clearly he lacked the confrontationalism/grit of McGregor, as he wasn’t comfortable in the stare down, then smiled his way out of it.
Not that him not smiling would have made a difference. It was just indicative of his “emotional strength”, if you will - and therefore how his nerves hold up and perform under pressure.
2nd - he was FAR more talented than his opponent. Very slick on the ground. Not wonderful punching technique or power but still better than his opponent, Lovely looking Muay Thai knees.
3rd - he gave up. At the end of round one he was done. He’s nerves got the better of him and he got super tired. And his body basically bottomed out and his opponent capitalized on that.
…
My appraisal, you can train 24/7 in the gym, be slick as can be, but without that emotional strength, he’s always going to have ceiling on what he can achieve.
In contrast to McGregor, as Dana White said, “if this guy can throw a punch, he’ll be a mega star”. He has emotional fire-power for days.
And in his film, emphasized that was what brought him to the sport in the first place, a means to learn how to manage those difficult emotions.
…
As Paul Newman (playing Fast Eddie Felson) said:
“Talent excellence is not about excellent talent… it’s about becoming something” (referring to emotional development).
