Chael Sonnen Isn’t Buying Conor McGregor Has Cardio Issues

Chael Sonnen doesn’t seem to buy the narrative that Conor McGregor has cardio issues.

Fatigue has played a role in McGregor’s last few losses in combat sports. The Irishman exhausted himself in the first round at UFC 196 against Nate Diaz. Diaz capitalized and subsequently secured a submission victory over McGregor.

McGregor again fatigued against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match. He gassed out in the latter rounds, allowing “Money” to pour on the offense and pick up a TKO win.

This has painted a narrative in the combat sports community that “Mystic Mac” struggles with cardio. Sonnen isn’t buying it, as he explained on his Beyond The Fight podcast (quotes via Bloody Elbow):

“There’s a narrative out there about his conditioning, and that largely came because of his fight with Nate Diaz where Conor said ‘I ran out of energy,’” Sonnen said. “He said that.”

“I just don’t know that that was an accurate assessment, meaning that Conor was in poor shape, or if you should also look at the intangibles of which, one, he was surprised, so when you have an adrenaline dump or some kind of a frustration, it’s gonna cause some stress, which is gonna cause fatigue. And also, he was up two weight classes.”

Sonnen noted that McGregor’s own comments on his recent defeats support the narrative that he struggles with cardio:

“Even though Conor helped to add fuel to the fire which was ‘I didn’t have enough energy, which created a false narrative – what I believe is a false narrative – that he has cardio and lung issues,” Sonnen said. “I don’t think that’s true.”

McGregor is currently preparing for his Octagon return in six weeks. He’ll fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 229 for the lightweight title. The action will go down on October 6th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las, Vegas, Nevada.

If McGregor isn’t able to land his patented left-hand early on, cardio will certainly play a factor in the bout. The Irishman would do well to hit the treadmill before getting into the cage with “The Eagle” – who has proven capable of maintaining a grueling pace for 25 minutes:

“I think so many of us are talking about if Conor can land the left, or Khabib can land the takedown,” Sonnen explained. “But it’s usually an intangible.”

“It’s never about who – very seldomly – is about who is technically more proficient, who’s more dynamic, who’s more explosive. Those things all have a little piece of the pie, but it’s generally an intangible.

“And generally, when you have to get ready for a fight, outside of that lucky punch or submission, you have to plan for a worst case scenario, which is to be there out there all night long.”