I've seen every fight of McGregor's career at least five times and written 10k words on his game over the years. Let's talk about him.
I really enjoy his game and have for years. I've been a fan since his last couple of fights in Cage Warriors. He's not perfect, though.
He's a smart fighter who knows himself well, and he's built his game rationally around his strengths: power, durability, timing.
McGregor has evolved. He was a straightforward puncher, then a come-forward pressure fighter, and now he's an aggressive counterpuncher.
The inside-angle counter left - the one he used to finish Aldo/Alvarez - has always been his best punch. He's better at setting it up now.
He's a powerful puncher, but the subtle angle and impeccable timing with which he lands that shot are what make McGregor really special.
The best part about McGregor's game is that he does very little fucking around with pieces that don't lead to the things he does best.
McGregor likes to work fast, and if he holds the initiative with range, timing, and the space of the cage, he can push an incredible pace.
Those are the good parts of McGregor's game. His counter left and tactical and strategic decision-making are genuinely brilliant.
Now, the less-than-stellar parts of McGregor's game. Talking about these things doesn't make you a hater; every fighter has negatives.
First, McGregor's offense is his defense. There's no metric, either strikes absorbed or percentage, that makes him an exceptional defender.
Everybody who's tried to hit him has been able to do so. He relies mostly on distance and angles, with a bit of occasional head movement.
This means that when he can't stick his opponent on the end of his reach, McGregor relies on his chin. He takes a tremendous punch.
Second, pace. McGregor likes to work fast, and when he's in control, he can do that forever. Look at the first round of the Holloway fight.
When he's not in command of distance, though, McGregor's style becomes really energy-intensive. He has to explode to cover space.
When he can't make his opponent come to him and can't pin him against the fence, McGregor has to use a ton of energy to generate offense.
Third, diversity of offense. The left hand is McGregor's bread and butter; the kicks set distance, cut off the cage, and score points.
His jab and combination punching are getting better - compare the second Diaz fight to Siver - but they're not his strengths.
McGregor is constantly improving. I'm sure he's a better fighter now than he was when he fought Alvarez, and better than he was a month ago.
I don't think people understand how serious the learning curve is from what McGregor does well to the peak of a different sport.
This is the root of my frustration with McGregor-Mayweather. If you don't watch boxing, you genuinely don't understand the skill gap.
Honestly, I think he should rough him up on the inside and try to land the left as dirty as possible. No idea what he'll do, though.
That's all I've got. Hope this has been helpful and/or informative about McGregor and how I see him.