Conor McGregor is ‘getting back to his roots’ with change of style for return after ‘listening to UFC fans’
CONOR McGREGOR is changing his fight style by “getting back to his roots” ahead of his UFC return after “listening to the fans”.
McGregor is set to face Michael Chandler in his comeback bout when the pair finish coaching on reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter.
The Irishman has brought in ex-UFC welterweight champion Stephen Thompson to help train his group of up and coming contenders.
And karate specialist Thompson suggested McGregor will ditch his boxing-heavy approach and revert back to his former striking style.
He said on Submission Radio: “Man, for one, for somebody to come off an injury like that, this guy, his mindset was like it didn’t even happen.
“And he’s getting back to his roots. He’s never taken in karate in his life, but he’s trained with a lot of karate fighters and that’s kind of where he got that movement from.
“So, for instance, when he fought Jose Aldo, his movement, his wide stance, his speed was on point.
“He’s back to that, man. At a heavier weight, which is scary. I think he’s listened to the fans. His last two fights with [Dustin] Poirier was kinda in that boxer mentality.
“He’s gotta get back to his roots of movement, and that’s what we’re going to see from Conor the next time he steps out there.”
McGregor, 34, is yet to return since breaking his leg against Poirier, also 34, in July 2021.
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But he will do so after his second stint coaching on TUF, where contenders live, train and fight together for a UFC contract.
Thompson, 40, has been pictured and filmed working alongside McGregor in the series and was full of praise.
He said: “Dude, he’s a great coach. And, he cares a lot about his guys.
“And that’s fun to watch and see, because, me coming from that, that’s what I do for a living.
“And to be able to see Conor kind of share that, you know, I’ve seen a lot of guys teach, and you realise real quick that they don’t care about it.
“And I always tell people this, when it comes to teaching, people don’t really care how much you know, we only wanna know how much you care.
“And that was kind of Conor the whole time. Like, he cared about his guys.”