Conor McGregor isn’t well known for his wrestling but he still believes that his ground strikes are better than anybody else in the sport.
As he recovers from the broken leg he sustained in his fight with Dustin Poirier last July, the UFC two-division champion posted to Instagram his brutal striking skills whenever he is ripping at his opponent from high.
“I’ve the best ground and pound in the game,” McGregor wrote. “My highest percentage of finishes does not actually come from my standing horizontal back hand, like most assume. The accuracy and precision of my vertical punching is what gives me the highest number of finishes (I’m not a novice at vertical striking). Arm hitters. Ask ref to stop it hitters. You can fall over on your own hitters.
“I don’t miss [ground and pound]. I do not hit arms. I do not fall in. I have a soft head, skull and face .
While ground strikes are not always possible in wrestling, it is more common for fighters to get a takedown then start hurling blows at their opponent.
During his entire UFC career, McGregor has only scored five takedowns with four of those coming in his second bout against Max Holloway when he suffered a torn ACL that forced him to turn to his wrestling in order to secure the victory.
McGregor has also landed just 11. 9 percent of his strikes on the ground with the vast majority of his time spent on the feet where he’s connected with 77. 6 percent of his strikes at distance.
He’s done that several times during his UFC career, most recently when he unleashed a barrage of punches that stopped Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in early 2020.
While it’s unlikely McGregor will start using blast double leg takedowns in his return to action, he insists that anyone who is caught under him during a fight will be punished.
“It’s how you’ve seen people versus me absolutely cut up,” McGregor said. “Looking like they’ve just got a bang of a few golf balls off the tee of a driving range. Skin fully opened. Yet me, skin like butter. My hair is perfect.
“That’s why a lot of these rat bags like to hate. It makes me feel like butter. The richest, the baddest, the most unscathed.”
