Conor McGregor given advice on how to improve by UFC icon Henry Cejudo after being destroyed by Dustin Poirier’s kicks
CONOR MCGREGOR will continue to have his lead leg brutalised if he doesn’t deviate from his karate stance, former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo believes.
McGregor’s lead leg was decimated by calf kicks in his UFC 257 defeat to Dustin Poirier late last month.
Dustin Poirier’s leg kicks decimated Conor McGregor’s lead leg in their UFC 257 rematch[/caption]Poirier took full advantage of the Irishman’s tendency to lean heavy on his front leg by attacking the peroneal nerve, which eventually gave out and left The Notorious with a dead leg.
And Cejudo, who suffered the same fate in his rematch with Demetrious Johnson in August 2018, has warned the UFC’s poster boy he’ll have to adapt his stance going forward or risk being immobilised again.
He 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.’
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“Because people now know that that front leg kick is there. That calf kick has made guys like Justin Gaethje successful.
“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, 32, attributed Poirier’s success with his leg kicks to him adopting a boxing-heavy stance.
Following a lengthy analysis of his third octagon defeat, he wrote on Instagram: “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 [Manny Pacquiao].
“I deserved to get the legs kicked off me going in with this thinking. This is not the game to play around with.”
McGregor’s analysis of his latest defeat soon came to the attention of the retired Cejudo, who replied: ‘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!”
Following his shock loss in Abu Dhabi, McGregor’s series with Poirier is now level a 1-1.
Conor McGregor is hellbent on having a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier[/caption]Most read in MMA
And the UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight world champion is relishing the prospect of a series decider with The Diamond.
He said: “One a piece now with a trilogy bout for all the marbles! Wow! Exciting!
“Not a trilogy I was expecting, nor the tactical affair I was anticipating, but I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t meant to be.
“This is exactly how this was always meant to be! Buzzing!!”