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Conor McGregor will face Michael Chandler at some point later in the year. While the PPV event that will host their bout remains unknown, the 31st installment of The Ultimate Fighter has been announced. McGregor and Chandler have both been revealed as coaches for the upcoming season.
Fans have been abuzz since the revelation, but the true source of intrigue is their future bout. The Irishman's return has been in the works for some time now. Furthermore, the three-time Bellator lightweight champion has repeatedly challenged him to a fight.
While 'The Notorious' possesses the necessary tools to beat 'Iron', he will need to make certain adjustments to maximize his chances of victory. This list details five different adjustments that the former two-division UFC champion must make to win later this year.
#5. Conor McGregor must avoid leaning so far forward
There is an element to Conor McGregor's game that has always been a cause for concern. The Irishman was finally made to pay for this mistake in his second bout against Dustin Poirier. A large part of his ability to land his punches is due to trickery and duping his opponents into thinking he's not in range when he is.
He does this by flicking out a non-committal punch that's designed to fall a few inches short of landing. This convinces his opponents that he isn't standing close enough to hit them. What he does next, however, shatters this illusion. He leans his torso forward to add several extra inches of reach to his punches.
Unfortunately, 'The Notorious' leans his torso too far forward until his shoulders are past his lead knee. This causes him to lead with his face and overexpose his chin to check hooks and other counterpunches. This led to him being stunned several times against 'The Diamond'.
He can't afford to do this against 'Iron', who is possibly the hardest puncher in the 155 lbs weight class. If McGregor runs face-first into a Chandler bomb, his night will end prematurely. Thus, he must remain disciplined during their bout and avoid leaning too much.
#4. Conor McGregor must be more comfortable on the backfoot
Conor McGregor does his best work whenever he's in a position to determine the terms of engagement. Ideally, he prefers fighting on the front foot by marching his opponents down. Conversely, he's at his most vulnerable any time he's forced onto the backfoot and even more so when his back is against the fence.
Against Michael Chandler, he won't have the privilege of fighting comfortably on the front foot. The three-time Bellator lightweight champion always has his front foot on the gas pedal and he doesn't afford his opponents any space. While this might cause him to run into a straight left-counter from McGregor, it might not.
The Irishman, like all counterpunchers, operates from a very specific counter-striking distance that enables him to slide in and out of range. Any time his opponent marches forward, he is forced to step back to reset his counter-striking distance.
If Chandler marches forward and forces him to constantly reset his own distance by moving backwards, McGregor will struggle mightily. To avoid this scenario, he must become more comfortable fighting on the backfoot.
#3. Conor McGregor must make better decisions in grappling sequences
When it comes to his wrestling skill set, Michael Chandler is a physical powerhouse. His combination of explosiveness and physical strength is what renders his takedowns so difficult to stop. He is a physical specimen of unrivaled physicality in the UFC lightweight division.
Conor McGregor has fought wrestlers in the past. But his judgment on wrestling and grappling sequences must be called into question. Against Dustin Poirier, he conceded takedowns by overexposing his hips as he leaned his torso too far forward. This made it easy for 'The Diamond' to duck under his punch.
The same mistake cannot be made against Michael Chandler. Furthermore, the Irishman's decision to attempt a guillotine-choke in his trilogy bout against 'The Diamond' was ill-advised. If he does so against 'Iron', he'll risk simply ending up under an extremely physical and superior wrestler.
He must not only be disciplined enough to not overexpose his hips, but he must also make better decisions when it comes to disenganging from wrestling and grappling sequences. It's not enough to simply stop a takedown, he must disengage from grappling altogether by creating space.
#2. Conor McGregor must use kicks again
Before falling in love with his own boxing skills, Conor McGregor used to be a dynamic kicker. In the past, 'The Notorious' has made liberal use of front kicks and spinning back-kicks to the body. Doing so allowed him to achieve several things in his bouts that rendered him a more effective finisher.
First, his front kicks backed his opponents up to the fence where they were exceedingly vulnerable to his straight left or long left-hook. Second, his front kicks stabbed his toes into his opponent's midsection, tiring them out. This was most visible against Chad Mendes at UFC 189.
His spinning back-kicks served a similar purpose. Additionally, McGregor also used wheel kicks once his foes were sandwiched between him and the fence. If they tried to circle away from his left hand, they'd circle into the path of a left wheel kick. The purpose of these kicks is to act as barriers to stop his foes in their tracks.
This works to keep his opponents trapped against the fence in front of him. Unfortunately, McGregor no longer throws kicks like he used to. Against Chandler, they'd serve him well by not only causing 'Iron' to get tired, but also backing him up and trapping him against the fence.
#1. Conor McGregor should revert to his karate stance
Ever since his excursion to the world of boxing, Conor McGregor's return to MMA has been defined by his love for 'The Sweet Science'. He altered his stance to resemble a more traditional boxing one with most of his weight loaded on his lead leg. This rendered him more flat-footed and vulnerable to low kicks.
During his peak, the Irishman was known for using a karate-based stance. He stood with his feet wide in a bladed, almost sideways stance. Furthermore, McGregor stood on the balls of his feet, which kept him light and enabled quick, bouncing movements.
He bounced in and out of range. This allowed him to glide away from punches, then glide right back into range with a counter-straight left over the top. Against an opponent like Chandler, who marches forward and throws looping punches, McGregor would be better served using his old stance.
