Watch: Conor McGregor releases new footage showcasing his high-level wrestling ability
Just as the news surrounding Conor McGregor's MMA career seemingly went silent, the former UFC two-division champion released some training footage showcasing his wrestling and composure while scrambling.
Throughout his career, 'The Notorious' has been wrongfully criticized by a number of fans for his lack of ability to grapple. However, he has proved on multiple occasions that he is well versed in that aspect of the sport. Although he is primarily a striker, the Irishman does have a submission threat and often avoids being taken down.
In a recent video posted to social media, Conor McGregor showed off a portion of his training where he can be seen dealing with and getting the better of world class wrestling coach Sergey Pikulskiy.
McGregor has been faulted in the past for seemingly neglecting certain parts of the mixed martial arts game and solely spending time focusing on improving his already elite-level striking.
The Irishman hasn't competed since his loss to Dustin Poirier last year. He has been rehabilitating a gruesome leg injury suffered in that bout and now looks ready to re-enter the octagon.
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Conor McGregor's underrated grappling game
At certain points during his UFC career, Conor McGregor has shown he is capable of hanging with some of the best wrestlers in the sport, but is often still discredited for his lack of wrestling skills.
As he was pushing towards a 145lb title shot, the Dublin-native met Dennis Siver in the octagon in what was a one-sided matchup. During the fight, the knockout artist managed to rock his opponent and transition his way into full mount, displaying his knowledge of the ground game.
Just one fight later, McGregor was tasked with facing the wrestling-heavy style of Chad Mendes. 'Money' was able to take the striker down on multiple occasions, but McGregor was able to either scramble into a better position or up to his feet each time.
Despite eventually succumbing to Khabib Nurmagomedov's relentless pressure, McGregor did well to avoid too much damage and was able to show some defensive wrestling against arguably the greatest grappler the octagon has ever seen.