Reading this thread and thinking about the amount of collective fitness/combat knowledge on this site, I am amazed at some of the comments. It's quite obvious that those who box/grew up boxing feel vindicated, and now, have proof to throw in the face of every cocksucker that takes MMA classes for 6 months then talks about how boxing/(insert inferior form of martial arts here) ain't shit, and wouldn't last 10 seconds in MMA. That's great, the outcome that everyone kind of expected, but really didn't hope for because no one likes Mayweather, happened.
Now, really think about this from a perspective that we continuously hear given to wannabe's. SAID-principle. Wanna get better at running, rucking, or fucking? Do that. We constantly hear stories about the old man who whoops the young highschool sports stud at something they've been doing for 10, 12, even 15 years. "They're half my age". Well yea, you've been doing [insert here] for how many years now? Your localized muscular endurance is specifically trained for that, your neural pathways fire together much faster and with less effort, and your energy systems are prepared for that type of activity. You absolutely should be better than that young man at said event. You've been doing it for years. Go beat them at their game.
I'll use myself for example. I can embarrass my dad in just about any aspect of fitness because I've been training for a while now, have 30 pounds on him, and he's smoked for 35 years. Now, put us in the woods running a chainsaw all day, and the old man will work circles around me for weeks to come. Why? Because he did that for the majority of his adult life. He knows the perfect angle to cut, how to hold the saw for better leverage, and just all around knowledge that only comes from repeated experience. Same for the big badass that gets his ass whooped in Jiu-Jitsu for the first time by someone significantly smaller and probably carrying a little something around the mid-section.
To Mayweather and McGregor. For nearly 30 years, Mayweather trained nothing but throwing punches and defending against them for extended bouts of time. 30 YEARS, no defending against kicks, takedowns, grappling, or putting that all together. Just "bobbing and weaving" and punching. Not only that, but he was the absolute best in the entire fucking world at what he did. He clearly should win. Bragging about it is like bragging that Michael Phelps beat Usain Bolt in the pool. Both phenomenal athletes, but again SAID.
I also saw something about Conor's punching power compared to people much smaller than him. According to research, it takes years and years of focused training for an athlete to reach roughly 95% of his body's full athletic potential. Before the fight they posted the "stats" for each fighter. I, too, was surprised to see that Conor had a 70% power rating, and Mayweather had something like 90%+ given everything that I've heard about McGregor's power. Thinking about it now though, that's roughly the difference between a 500lb and a 700lb+ deadlift. Incredible difference. Add that to the same difference in speed and precision. It's a recipe for disaster. As far as Mayweather coming out of retirement. Give a legitimately competitive marathon runner a year and a half off, then six months to train again. He'll be in the top 20% again no doubt.
So yes, the predictable outcome happened. However, McGregor stood in the ring and lasted damn near the entire fight against the undisputed champion of the world given the ridiculous differences in preparedness and training. Mother fucker showed some true grit and should be commended. McGregor has nothing left to prove and should have earned the respect of even those that don't like him. On the other hand, I remember being confused during the first round because it didn't even look like Mayweather threw a punch in the first round. Sitting and thinking about it now, at that level, a little cockiness and a dropped guard can result in your ass on the mat. Mayweather wasn't letting that happen either.
