Video: Conor McGregor Grounds & Pounds Ahead Of UFC 196
UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor will likely be facing his toughest test to date when he moves up in weight to challenge reigning 155-pound kingpin Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of March 5’s UFC 196 from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Up until this point, McGregor has backed up his brash and relentless trash talk with seven consecutive Octagon wins including six by way of T/KO. The Irishman is also coming off of a shocking 13-second demolition of former 145-pound boss Jose Aldo at last December’s UFC 194
With that being said, dos Anjos has looked like a different animal as of late, winning five straight including multiple one-sided beatings over the likes of former champions Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis, as well as highly-touted contenders Nate Diaz and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Despite his much improved striking, it’s important to note that the Brazilian’s strengths lie in the area of McGregor’s perceived weakness: wresting and grappling. The Irishman was repeatedly taken down by Chad Mendes at UFC 189 before scoring a second-round knockout.
Dos Anjos has been known to inflict relentless pressure and wrestling on his opponents, and possesses a third degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
As the event nears closer, it appears as if McGregor has been working on his ground game, releasing a video earlier today (February 14, 2016) via his official Instagram account of his latest sparring session which featured some ground and pound work:
While the video looks to just be some light training, one would have to believe that McGregor has worked endlessly on his grappling. Although he’s predicted an early knockout, he obviously won’t be able to let his strikes go if he can’t keep the fight standing.
Do you see the Irishman making history on March 5th?
