Conor McGregor knows he’s got a problem.
“I think fatigue, there’s a patch somewhere in the middle of fights, even with the Diaz II fight. I have this patch where I must overcome, I get a little wobbly. But it’s more fatigue.”
That’s what ‘The Notorious’ had to say after being outclassed and worn out by Floyd Mayweather in their super-fight on August 26.
The candidness with which McGregor spoke about his cardio problems proved just how concerned he was with his gas tank, having displayed an issue in that department on more than one occasion in the past.
It was a part of Mayweather’s strategy to allow the Irishman tire himself out early on and that game plan worked a treat as he punched himself into absolute exhaustion by the midway point of his boxing debut.
He didn't have anything to apologise for https://t.co/kBG9a3mtBv
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) September 4, 2017
McGregor knows it. His opponents know it. And his fellow UFC fighters know it too.
UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping recently discussed McGregor’s tendency to gas out on his Believe You Me podcast.
“The guy has a problem,” Bisping said.
“He can’t go the fucking distance. It’s kind of an issue. In the first Nate Diaz fight, what cost him? He was tired.
“Sure, he took a good shot, that obviously diminishes your gas tank, but he was kind of gassed. In the rematch, even though he won, he won the rematch fair and square, but still he was absolutely gassed in that. The longer the fight went the more Nate Diaz was coming back into the fight.
“It was the same here. Fight started great, but he was fucked. Rounds seven, eight, nine — he was a shell of himself.”
Bisping is renowned for possessing some of the best cardio in UFC history and his resting heart rate is up there with that of endurance athletes.
‘The Count’ very kindly offered some friendly advice for McGregor if he is to fix the glaring issue that is his cardio.
“It’s very, very simple,” Bisping said.
“You see on social media, him at the Performance Institute and him doing his exercise bike, with nine people around him going ‘C’mon Conor, you’re the fucking man.’
“That doesn’t get you in shape for a fight. You know what you didn’t see? — Him out on the street running.
“Running, you’ve got to run. That is the best thing ever for cardio, that is the best thing for a fight, for MMA or boxing. You have to run.
“Of course, no one likes to run. Running sucks, running is lonely.
“From what I see on social media, I didn’t see him doing any running. If he was, we would have seen it. So, out of that $100 million, go buy a treadmill. Go by a treadmill and you’ll be fine.”
