Whatever gameplan Mark Henry’s been sitting on for Conor McGregor, it’s been developed with the UFC featherweight champion’s strengths in mind.
According to lightweight king Eddie Alvarez, the MMA tactician had been working on his perfect blueprint to dismantle the Notorious since Frankie Edgar was being linked to a Red Panty Night fight.
However, since that fight didn’t materialise, Alvarez is tasked with the challenge of showcasing whatever he has up his sleeve when he defends his belt against McGregor in UFC 205’s headline act.
After knocking out Rafael dos Anjos to win the coveted golden strap, the Underground King had been campaigning for an “easier fight” against McGregor.
He got his wish when the superfight was booked for the promotion’s historic New York City debut and at the official press conference, he made it clear that his opinion of McGregor’s abilities as a fighter had not changed.
“You ain’t got a shot. Your coach knows you ain’t got a shot and anybody you knows anything about fighting knows you ain’t got a fucking shot. You’re here because you’re the easiest dude in the division. That’s why you’re here.”
If Alvarez thinks this is an easy fight, Henry certainly does not. In an interview with Submission Radio, Henry gushed about the Dubliner’s talents, especially his striking. He feels that McGregor’s stand-up is up there with the best in the history of the sport.
“There’s no easy fights at 155. There’s not one. I definitely believe Eddie believes it.”
“Nobody’s a fool. Conor’s amazing. Take away my guys, he’s got some of the best hands in MMA. I’m going to be partial to all of my guys, but he has some of the best hands that I’ve ever seen. His precision, his power, his speed, just knowing where the guy’s going to be – he can adjust his punches, he can slide back, you know, slip lefts, he’s got that beautiful slide-off right uppercut to the left.”
One criticism McGregor constantly receives is that his wrestling isn’t up to scratch. However, Henry doesn’t quite see it that way.
“Even his wrestling, man. He seemed to do some great defence against Siver when he peeled out with his legs. I saw even before this fight when he climbed a fence. That was pretty impressive. I think Conor’s great all round. He’s impressive, so it’s going to be a great fight. Eddie, what he believes, he believes it.”
After speaking at length about how talented McGregor is, the only question remains is how is he going to try to negate his most dangerous weapons. We’ll have to wait until the Sunday morning’s main event to find out.
