'Cos I can predict these tings'
I don't like to say "I told you so" but Mayweather McGregor went almost exactly as I predicted. McGregor made a fight of it early. Then ran out of steem around round 4 or 5. Mayweather came on strong and forced the stoppage in round ten.
The unexpected
The things that surprised me about this fight? Conor was a lot more technical in the early rounds than I thought he would be. He showed good speed early. He even made Floyd miss and caught him with a few good counters. When things got tough, rather than resorting to grappling and wrestling (there was a bit of that), McGregor attempted to ward Floyd off with boxing. A lot of his work from round five onwards was pit-a-pat punches and it was obvious that the pop of his punches were gone due to fatigue, however McGregor attempted to use boxing nouse not brawn to survive. Which was commendable.
Floyd on the other hand was a lot more aggressive than I thought he would be. I think he was taken aback by Conor's boxing ability and boxing IQ early. However once he saw McGregor tiring in employed the perfect pressure tactics not just to win the bout but to force the stoppage.
Time for Floyd
This absolutely has to be Floyd's last fight. 50-0. A fantastic record and great career. There were signs early on that this was in danger of being one fight to many. Had he been fighting one of the young seasoned elite boxers at 147 (a Keith Thurman or Errol Spence), the Floyd of last night would have been beaten handily. There's no shame in that. Floyd has beaten the best of his generation, he is 41 and has been two years retired. He shouldn't be able to compete with the best boxing has to offer any more. As he said he had chosen the "perfect dance partner" for this last hurrah. Not only was McGregor the most lucrative fight for Floyd, his inexperience meant that he was ill-equipped to go 12 rounds with Mayweather.
It's been a great career for Floyd. He has made the smartest boxing and business decisions. And as such he has set the blueprint for boxers and mma fighters to follow in the years to come.
Money McGregor
I think McGregor has transcended the sport of MMA by the way he has conducted himself before during and after this fight with Mayweather. I have had people that have little or no interest in sport, talk to me about the Mayweather-McGregor fight.
While I'd want to see him compete against the best in MMA. The Khabibs, Tony Fergursons and Kevin Lees of the world. I think it makes more business sense to cherry pick the fights that garner the most revenue. In that sense, fighting Nate Diaz in a trilogy match at the end of the year would be a lucrative proposition. As would a dip back into boxing to fight his new nemesis Paulie Malignaggi. Maybe even a MMA superfight with George St Pierre at 170. These would make the most financial sense. At least until one of the top contenders at 155 bring more to the plate in terms of interest and buys.
Order restored
Either way, a sense of order is restored. Boxing is back into the mainstream consciousness. MMA should see a good bounce from this and continue it's ascent. We have another legend, in Floyd Mayweather to look back on and laud for what they brought to their sport. And we have a new kid on the block, Conor McGregor that will keep us on tender-hooks as we anticipate his next adventure.
Until next time,