5 Keys to victory for Conor McGregor against Floyd Mayweather

#3 Be prepared to go the distance

Conor McGregor has only gone the distance in an MMA fight once

If there is one facet of Conor McGregor's game that comes under intense scrutiny, it's his cardio.

McGregor famously 'emptied his load' against Nate Diaz at UFC 196 and ended up getting choked out by the lanky Stockton native within two rounds.

And although he did address those mistakes suitably in the rematch victory six months on, pundits and fans have raised serious doubts whether he is capable of going the full 36 minutes in a boxing match when he's only ever gone the full 5 rounds (25 minutes) in an MMA fight once before.

On the other hand, Floyd's last legitimate knockout victory came ten years ago against Ricky Hatton, after which he's consistently gone 12 rounds in every fight since.

And if Conor punches himself out in the early rounds without much success - which is a highly likely scenario against a defensive wizard like Floyd - he may be completely comfortable dragging this fight into deep waters and drowning McGregor in a combination of fatigue and accumulated damage.

If Conor wants to avoid a slow, drawn out, painful defeat, then he'd better be prepared to pace himself and last the distance.