Conor McGregor will continue to suffer if he ‘keeps pressing from the karate stance and fails to improve distance control’, warns former two-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo
- Henry Cejudo is latest fighter to weigh in on Conor McGregor’s loss at UFC 157
- Former flyweight and bantamweight champion offered up technical advice
- He believes McGregor’s distance control needs to be better from karate stance
- Cejudo thinks low calf kick will continue to hamper Irishman if he does not adapt
Conor McGregor must press forward far less from the karate stance and improve his distance control, claims Henry Cejudo.
The former bantamweight and flyweight UFC champion, now retired, believes McGregor will continue to suffer from calf kicks if he does not rectify certain parts of his style.
The Irishman was knocked out in the second round of UFC 257 having been destabilised by a number of low kicks from Dustin Poirier.
Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo offered his advice
He thinks Conor McGregor (left) will keep struggling if he does not evolve his game
Cejudo said: ‘Main event, Conor McGregor… Conor McTapper, I’m sorry and Dustin Poirier. Again, leaning into the same thing, Conor McGregor you cannot just continue to keep pressing people off the karate stance.
‘It’s the same reason why I came away from it. Even though Daniel Cormier says I have the best karate stance in MMA, I had to lean away from it because it is a little too dangerous.
‘So if I was to give him some advice, I’d tell him ‘Man continue with the same stance but just become better at distance.’
He went on: ‘Because people now know that that front leg kick is there. That calf kick has made guys like Justin Gaethje successful.
McGregor himself is aware of what went wrong in the UFC 257 defeat by Dustin Poirier
‘Which in my opinion he’s the one that started it. Marlon Moraes hit me with it, which you learn from these things and you are able to adjust. This is how you evolve as a fighter.’
McGregor himself is aware of his shortcomings in the Poirier defeat and posted on his Instagram, explaining that he had prepared too heavily for a boxing match with one eye on a future bout against Manny Pacquiao.
He wrote: ‘A little single disciplined in my approach and stance with mostly boxing.
‘It’s what I get for picking this bout and opponent as a precursor to a boxing match against Pacman. I deserved to get the legs kicked off me going in with this thinking. This is not the game to play around with.’
Cejudo saw the response and joked: ‘I’m glad you took my advice, but all comes down distance recognition. Karate stance for distance with boxing heavy punches. Next time I’m charging you!’
McGregor is desperate for a third fight with Poirier as the scores stand at one apiece