Spoiler...........Mcgregor vs Mendes...............

[steveramz]

Connor's guard sucks!!!!! He's a brown belt?

[David Rosado]

Connor's guard sucks!!!!! He's a brown belt?

What about it sucked? Because he wasn't very offensive from guard? Or because he was struck a few times? I mean, he didn't look spectacular, but he did do something right. He got back to his feet and he found the KO. For his MMA style, I think that strategy works just fine for him. I mean, it DID work out for him.

[David Rosado]

Personally, I would've liked for the ref to let the bell ring so we could've gotten one more round out of it. But at the same time, he's the ref. He just saw Chad get rocked harder than he's ever been rocked in his career besides that Aldo knee. I can't think of any fight where Chad got rocked like that after getting worn down by body shots. So maybe Herb just saw in his eyes that he was done. And the follow up punches were probably thudding really hard in person. So I'm not mad at the stoppage even though I would've liked for it to go to the next round so that there isn't any controversy. Oh well.

[Mike Bushby]

David, I thought it sucked too. He didn't use his hips and legs at all, didn't clinch, didn't attempt any sweeps or subs...he tied him up for a second then scrambled back up, which could have gone VERY badly for him. I'm anti-scramble, I want to have control as much of the time as possible, I try to double bag often, stop in sparring if I'm just muscling something, etc. I wouldn't say he sucks, but he didn't show anything that I was impressed with there. And with his length and flexibility (evident with his kicking) I think he'd be an incredible rubber guard player if he committed to learning it.

[David Rosado]

Gotcha, so it sucked because it wasn't aggressive and pretty basic. Fair enough.

[Chris Garry]

Connor's guard was basic but the fact he kept moving, forcing his oponent to constantly work at applying enough pressure to keep him down, and that he just took all of those shots without panicking whatsoever was all it took to break Mendes' heart.

Each time it got back to the standup Mendes looked more beaten than the last. I think when yo uabsoultely have to keep the fight on the ground it can be more difficult and heart breaking in a fight than anyone who just trains might realise.

[rdouglas]

Herb Dean has been known for stopping fights early but on the other hand im sure he cares more for the fighters then most promoters and even managers so it is what it is. I would like to see Mcgregor vs Aldo someday anyway but i still think Conor still has alot to prove to keep up with his mouth at least. I really wasn't to impressed with his ground game besides his ability to take a beating and keep calm as someone above had said. I look at it like Chad fucked up goin for a guillotine instead of maintaining position rather than Conor having to really work to get out of that position. I haven't watched the replay or anything since so does anybody know if that was the Ghost escape that Conor did or what, idk i think i may be judging Conor pretty hard but its just cuz all the talk he does. i wish i seen more the fights before that tho sounds like there were some ones.

[Mike Bushby]

Gotcha, so it sucked because it wasn't aggressive and pretty basic. Fair enough.

I mean, he didn't use it effectively either for offense or defense. Whatever his strategy in getting there I think it's clear that there was more he could have done.

[Arman Fathi]

Connor's guard was basic but the fact he kept moving, forcing his oponent to constantly work at applying enough pressure to keep him down, and that he just took all of those shots without panicking whatsoever was all it took to break Mendes' heart.

I agree with this. He wasn't necessarily offensive off his back, which is why I imagine there may be discord about the quality of his guard. But the fact remains that he was able to survive the ground and pound, counter the guillotine attempt, and fight to get back to his feet more than once after getting taken down. This in and of itself can be considered a success, if not so much from a jiu jitsu standpoint, definitely from an MMA standpoint.

[Keith Kavanagh]

Connor's guard was basic but the fact he kept moving, forcing his oponent to constantly work at applying enough pressure to keep him down, and that he just took all of those shots without panicking whatsoever was all it took to break Mendes' heart.

Each time it got back to the standup Mendes looked more beaten than the last. I think when yo uabsoultely have to keep the fight on the ground it can be more difficult and heart breaking in a fight than anyone who just trains might realise.

This.

Of course all us Rubber Guard fanatics are going to be critical of the guard but he did well to constantly pummel to get overhooks or controlling the forearms to keep Mendes ground and pound at bay. I would have liked to see a bit more hip movement after the pummeling to close the gaps around the overhooked arm, could have shut down an arm and got that stand up a bit quicker maybe but who knows what I'd even be thinking in that situation with a wrestler like Mendes in my guard.