You have to be lightning quick to catch Conor McGregor unawares.
It seems like every victory for ‘The Notorious’ shines a light on a different, but similarly astounding, aspect of the Dubliner’s striking.
When he made his UFC debut, it was the power in his left hand that impressed pundits and fans alike.
He made it clear after his 13-second knockout victory over Jose Aldo that it was precision that had put the Brazilian former long-time champion to the sword.
On Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 205, it was McGregor’s reaction speed and counter-punching ability that most stood out.
While the unprecedented achievement of holding two UFC titles simultaneously was enough to put him in the conversation among the all-time greats of the sport, it was a piece of reactive brilliance that had fight fans comparing him to legendary middleweight Anderson Silva.
The four-punch combination that finished Alvarez off was stunning but, perhaps even more impressive than the perfect placement of each strike was how ‘The Notorious’ slid mere millimetres out of the way of a overstretched, desperate Alvarez right straight.
In less than one second, McGregor was able to get out of his opponent’s range before leaning forward into his own range so that he could plant a majestic left hook to the jaw.
The below screenshot shows that at the 2:59 mark of the second round, the fluid Irishman had displayed stunning defence and crunching offence in the blink of an eye.
It’s even more glorious when you look at the counter in motion.
You wouldn’t say it looked dissimilar to the now famous strike thrown by Anderson Silva in his second bout at light heavyweight, when he embarrassed TUF 1 winner Forrest Griffin on the feet.
And the likeness was not lost on the fight fans who were watching the UFC 205 headliner.
A little Anderson Silva stuff there from McGregor.
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) November 13, 2016
Conor McGregor's striking has officially reached peak Silva-level destructiveness… that being said, Nate Diaz is still the better fighter
— Steve Rotstein (@SteveRotstein) November 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/rhysGrieve_118/status/797768797608407041
Conor McGregor is literally the greatest guy I've seen throw hands since Anderson Silva. 🐐
— Freely (@Free_236) November 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/IssaccA/status/797709779539890176
McGregor's fighting style is a love child of Jones' distance control and Silva's accuracy. #UFC205
— Messier Catalogue (@therevkid) November 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/LaurenzDR/status/797690236415275009
@arielhelwani is it just me or does McGregor's fluidity remind me of The Spider Silva? 🕷
— Jon (@flakoYaheard) November 13, 2016
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