Everyone, and that means everyone, in the MMA world has an opinion on the upcoming Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing superfight. While most see things going the way of “Money,” it’s still interesting to speculate on just how UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor might pull off the upset win. One coach in particular had some interesting insight into the affair: Firas Zahabi, of Montreal’s famed TriStar gym.
In a pre-fight breakdown posted to the gym’s YouTube channel, Zahabi, who feels this will be the most-watched fight in history (beating even MayPac), admits that “I can’t really tell you that there’s a strategy out there necessarily that’s going to make all that world of a difference.” However, he suggests that if he were McGregor’s coach, he would “tell him to tie up Mayweather as much as possible, pull on his head, step on his toes, bump knee to knee, get physical, push him up against the rope with your forearms, tie him up as much as you can. Be physical with him. Mayweather is a lot smaller than Conor McGregor.”
So get dirty, then. Zahabi doesn’t stop there, however.
“I would spend a lot of my time dirty boxing Mayweather – grabbing the back of his head, throwing uppercuts, doing things that are borderline illegal” he continued. “They’re not illegal, the referee is going to have to come in a break you up. The referee is going to have to come in and save Mayweather. And I’m sure that the referee they chose is going to be no-nonsense and strict on that.”
So why the clinching and dirty boxing?
“After a certain period of clinching, you build up that lactic acid. Your muscles have less pop, they’re less explosive. And all of a sudden, you’re trying to punch, but it doesn’t feel right. Do a hundred push-ups, then go hit the heavy bag. You’re going to see that your muscles aren’t feeling right.”
We’ll find out what approach McGregor takes come August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
