Nobody had a better seat for Conor McGregor’s history-making knockout than Joe Rogan.
The UFC colour commentator was front and centre to witness ‘The Notorious’ plant his left hand on the chin of defending champion Eddie Alvarez, seemingly at will, en route to claiming the UFC lightweight title and to say Rogan was impressed would be an understatement.
Rogan was left in awe by the ability of the Irishman to make Alvarez, a seasoned veteran, look like a rank amateur who didn’t know what he was doing on the feet.
“The main event was almost bizarre. It’s almost bizarre how good Conor is. It’s almost bizarre the way he picked apart Eddie Alvarez. Almost bizarre,” Rogan said on his podcast on Monday.
“Like magical. That’s almost the word I want to use.
“He touches motherfuckers with that left hand.
Eddie tagged again! All @TheNotoriousMMA so far! #UFC205 #UFCNYC https://t.co/hIc1TL1byN
— eir Sport (@eirSport) November 13, 2016
“It looked like Eddie, the moment he got hit, was like ‘What the fuck?’
“He was already touched up a little bit when he finally went in for the shot and I think Conor knew then also that he had him.”
Rogan, an accomplished kickboxer himself, noticed some similarities in terms of stance and reactions between McGregor and the challenger in UFC 205’s co-main event, Stephen Thompson.
Thompson comes from a karate background and has previously been referred to as the pound-for-pound best striker in MMA but, based on Saturday night’s evidence, Rogan makes an argument that McGregor is actually more effective with that style than ‘Wonderboy’.
“He’s just such a unique personality. It’s undeniable,” Rogan continued.
“Also his style, in a lot of ways, he does a lot of what ‘Wonderboy’ does but with less kicks. He throws kicks to the body and he’ll throw some front kicks, maybe 70 per cent as many kicks as ‘Wonderboy’ who’s a little more kick-heavy.
“It’s that sideways style but I think he does it better. Maybe something about the focus of the shots that he’s landing and the precision of them.
“Because ‘Wonderboy’ very rarely touches somebody up like that with a punch. He just doesn’t have that kind of power.”
Usually for fighters to generate power, they must wind up which often makes their opponent aware that a strike is on the way.
But Rogan is most impressed by McGregor’s ability to mask his shots and put power into them without making it obvious.
“He’s hitting him in a surprise way and he’s not telegraphing it at all,” Rogan said.
“His ability to go from bouncing around to launching that shot is so quick, so precise and so focused and there’s no fat in his movements.”
So Rogan’s a fan then?
