Georges St-Pierre gives Conor McGregor the perfect formula to bounce back from his loss to Dustin Poirier
Georges St-Pierre believes that Conor McGregor can bounce back from his loss at UFC 257.
He said that the key is to believe in oneself. In an edition of the "Believe You Me" podcast hosted by Michael Bisping, GSP said,
"I think he needs to be reborn. He needs to change things in his training and in his life that he believes were the causes for his failure. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not as long as he believes."
Georges St-Pierre compared Conor McGregor's current situation to his own when he lost to Matt Sera. St-Pierre holds a professional MMA record of 26-2-0. Out of the two losses, one came at the hands of Matt Sera at UFC 69 via TKO. Describing his reaction to the loss and his subsequent comeback against Matt Sera, Georges St-Pierre said,
"So in my case, when I lost to Matt Serra, I trained myself to believe that I lost to Matt Serra because I underestimated him. Maybe I wasn’t scared enough, maybe I didn’t put too much in training, that’s what I tried to force myself to believe. Maybe it’s not true, but the important part is that he [Conor McGregor] believes in it so he can build on his confidence from it."
How to counter the leg kicks that Dustin Poirier used against Conor McGregor? Georges St-Pierre gives suggestions
Dustin Poirier's kicks to Conor McGregor's calf was the catalyst for his victory. Conor McGregor was unable to check those kicks, as he himself stated after the fight. Georges St-Pierre spoke about his own experience of facing fighters who employed kicks to their advantage. Drawing on his experience, he gave the following suggestions:
"What I liked to do when I used to fight guys with good kicks like Dan Hardy or Carlos Condit or Thiago Alves, I used to blitz them. Time the kick. Sometimes I made it on purpose when I let them kick, and I blitz them with my straight right. There’s many ways of using it."
A major reason behind Conor McGregor's inability to check the kicks was his stance. Conor McGregor usually takes a stance with his legs wide apart. GSP noted that such a stance is also problematic when dealing with leg kicks. This is because a fighter is unable to defend against those kicks in a timely manner. He said,
"If you’re legs are wide open and you’re going to try to shield it like muay-Thai style, you won’t have the time to do it because your legs are too wide. Unless you fight with a stance that your legs are closer, but if you do, your vulnerability will be compromised standing up. So there’s no perfect way, there’s always a counter to the counter."
Therefore, GSP believes that Conor McGregor can certainly turn the tables in his favour. However, he must learn the lessons from this loss. And ensure that he does not make the same mistake twice.