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Conor McGregor Says MMA Is 'Suffering' and Urges Major Overhaul

‘MMA Is Suffering’: McGregor Calls for a Revolution in Fight Styles

Mathew Riddle

Photograph: Scott Heavey/PA

Conor McGregor is dispassionate with the state of modern MMA and insists that 'there is no mainstream casual audience' for the current product.

Despite featuring two highly anticipated marquee fights in the PFL and UFC, fight fans were somewhat disappointed by the events on October 19. The PFL's landmark event and the UFC's APEX event together resulted in 15 decisions out of 20 fights.

The Bellator middleweight title fight between Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards in the PFL drew particular scrutiny, including from Conor McGregor, who shared a sardonic reaction to the grapple-heavy bout on social media that night.

McGregor went on to comment on the current state of MMA, and his opinion on grapple-heavy fighters ruining the public perception of the sport.

"Act like yous aren't fed up and over this bulls*** all yous want, but I won't," McGregor wrote. "It's just become the norm nowadays. The product is suffering because of it. If it wasn't for the brand name already well established it would be well in the bin by now.

"It is in the bin in the mainstream. That's a fact. There is no mainstream casual audience here. It needs calling out. Adjusting. A full review. MMA is better than what it has recently become [in my opinion]."

The Dilemma of Good Grapplers in MMA (Opinion)

MMA is a multi-faceted sport, and if professional MMA fighters can't compete with good grapplers, then it's their problem. The product might not be entertaining from a spectator perspective, but we can't blame good wrestlers for a boring product when their opponents haven't prepared well enough to defend takedowns or get back to their feet.

Robelis Despaigne is a prime example. A freak 6'7" Olympic Taekwondo medalist who debuts in the UFC with a 19 second knockout. In his second performance, Waldo Cortes-Acosta wrestles him for 15 minutes, it's all one-way traffic and terribly boring to watch. Despaigne has the benefit of the doubt leading into his third fight, but he gets wrestled again by a comparatively worse fighter in Austen Lane.

Is it Lane's fault for taking the easy route to a victory (which also doubles his pay)? Or is it Despaigne's fault for a lack of preparation despite knowing he'd be wrestled? It's worth noting that wrestling can't be learned overnight, but it's a core element of MMA, and top-level MMA wrestling is found in the UFC.

This also leads us to the rules of MMA, which could be adjusted according to McGregor's wants. Fighters are currently protected by arbitrary rules like the grounded fighter rule, which prohibits kicks and knees to fighters with at least one knee on the ground. Wrestling might be more entertaining if they had a complete striking variety on the ground.

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Mathew Riddle
MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with over five years of experience in digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMAKO in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on The Fight Fanatic, Heavy on UFC, Fansided, and Sportskeeda. Reach him at mr@thefightfanatic.com.

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