Conor McGregor has claimed he is "light years ahead" of the UFC roster in his latest training footage after showing off his upward striking.
The Irishman has not fought since breaking his leg in an opening round defeat to Dustin Poirier last July, but has returned to training and is regularly posting footage of his rehabilitation on social media. It is expected that McGregor's comeback will now be delayed until next year as he looks to make a full recovery, but he has displayed himself in different types of workouts including boxing and most recently grappling.
The former UFC double champion has boasted throughout his career about the quality of his downwards striking to a grounded opponent when fighting on his feet. He has now claimed that he has been working on his technique while striking an opponent from the floor in his latest Instagram video where he is shown wrestling with a sparring partner.
He was pictured initially going for the neck in a submission hold while on the ground in a grappling exchange with his partner, before landing a series of upwards slicing leg kicks on his rival when fighting from his back while his opponent was stood. The Instagram video was accompanied by the caption: "The most accurate downward striking fighter, now has the most accurate, slicing upward shots.
"I’ve truly developed a nowhere to go for my opponent scenario. I am telling you. I am light years ahead. And I’m always hunting the neck. And I don’t give a f*** where we end up, I’ll hurt you. Praise be to Helio Gracie there is a billion ways to win a fight!
This is all only the beginning."
Instagram users were impressed with McGregor's wrestling, with one commenting: "Conor your wrestling looks good, maybe even amazing." Another fan added: "His grappling was always underrated. Great takedown defence even against Khabib Nurmagomedov."
What do you make of Conor McGregor's latest training footage? Let us know in the comments section below
One fan was delighted with his training: "This is actually great. You can see him still training and clearly not done yet. He gets a lot of s*** but he’s putting in the work where he needs it. I’m still a fan." Another agreed: "Considering the leg break, he’s improved so so much! Ever since the Khabib fight his wrestling has got so much better! This just makes me even more excited for his comeback."
A final fan proposed additional work to his training: "It's cool to see him focus on his other skills besides striking. Looking forward to seeing it translate in the cage. He's definitely going to improve his takedown defence, but to see some offensive wrestling from him would be refreshing."
McGregor has become known throughout his UFC career for his imperious striking game which has seen him knock out some of the roster's best talent including Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez. His decline has been noticeable however and he is hoping that his training regime will help him return to the top of the pile upon his return to the octagon.
