Curtis Blaydes weighed in and shared his thoughts on Conor McGregor‘s long-awaited return to the octagon at UFC 329. McGregor will face Max Holloway in the main event, marking his first fight in five years.
McGregor, 37, aims to prove his doubters wrong and defeat Holloway for the second time. The Irishman’s coach, John Kavanagh, revealed that he returned to his roots during training camp.
Still, Blaydes admitted that McGregor’s comeback has him in disbelief. ‘Razor’ pointed to the Irishman’s star power and success as reasons why he may have walked away from fighting.
“I’m gonna be honest, I don’t believe he has that hunger anymore. I don’t believe he’s hungry the way that you need to be in order to beat a guy like [Max] Holloway,” Blaydes told Casino.us. “You gotta get up early, you gotta get in the runs, you gotta get the bag work in, you gotta get those extra grappling sessions in.”
Curtis Blaydes Questions Whether Conor McGregor Still has the Same Hunger He Once Did
Curtis Blaydes also questioned whether Conor McGregor still has the same drive and hunger he once did.
When he was climbing the featherweight rankings, McGregor was regarded for his work ethic, confidence, and hunger. After achieving great success, perhaps some of that has faded over time.
Blaydes believes that McGregor’s performance could be affected by his long layoff.
“I still believe he’s putting in the work, I just don’t believe he’s attacking with the same fervor. I’ll be honest, there are days I wake up and I’m older and my body just hurts, and there are days where I’m like, this has to be a rest day or a day where I know we have to bring it down a notch,” Blaydes told Casino.us. “McGregor, he’s been out five years. That’s a long time. I’ve never had a break anywhere near that long.”
He continued:
“I had a break for nine months and that was long. Even with nine months out, I could feel a bit of the ring rust. I can only imagine with McGregor.”
Blaydes Shares Prediction for McGregor vs. Holloway 2 at UFC 329
Blaydes also shared his prediction for the rematch between McGregor and Holloway at UFC 329. Despite winning their first fight in 2013, the heavyweight contender believes ‘Blessed’ will get his hand raised.
Blaydes pointed to Holloway’s activity and high volume striking as the difference-makers against McGregor in his UFC return.
“McGregor’s going to be hunting it, and I believe Holloway will just avoid the big shots in the 1st round, and then in the 2nd round, he’ll start picking up steam, landing a few more shots,” Blaydes told Casino.us. “The 3rd round could be the same again, then I think by the 4th round, McGregor will have slowed down to the point where he’s almost like a moving punching bag.”
Blaydes not only predicts Holloway will defeat McGregor, but he even predicts ‘Blessed’ will do so by TKO.
“I think Holloway is going to start teeing off. And, I don’t think it’ll be one big power shot at McGregor. I think it’ll just be an accumulation of strikes, and it’ll be a TKO. That’s the way I see it.”
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Conor McGregor’s UFC 329 Return Gets Honest Verdict from Curtis Blaydes appeared first on HEAVY.