McGregor Drops Sparring Partner & Breaks Sparring Protocols

Conor McGregor is back to sparring. Today we look at some clips of him in action to discuss how he is breaking so many rules of sparring etiquette.
Be a good sparring partner and avoid making of the mistakes he demonstrates in today's video.
If you enjoyed the episode please like, share and/or subscribe.
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[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Okay. Is anyone else upset by watching this sparring footage. No shinpads, wearing shoes and still throwing kicks??? COME ON 🤯

[@whoknows8223]

Is there actually any sparring footage of McGregor with other (high lvl) professionals? I never seen any. I only see videos of him humilating no name amateurs for his ego. For example there is footage of: Ngannou sparring with Gane Usman sparring with Johnson Obliques kicks, low-, high- and heel hook kicks with shoes on definitely a no go. Also the powercross was super unnecessary. Knocking out sparring partners on purpose is a d1ckish move. Btw someone said this video might be old footage as he got much bigger now after his injury.

[@Christophhanderson]

The throwing head kicks with shoes on is insane it shows he is truly not improving and is surrounded by yes men

[@maroofahmed594]

Agreed

[@matthew-jy5jp]

Mcdonkey is a terrible person. He will never be the champion you are Gabe

[@ArchynEU]

Those shoes drive me insane, as you say I do light thai style somewhat regularly without shin pads, but but only with specific people who are more experienced and understand the control needed and are going to be doing it safely.

[@mohanad0408]

You know you messed up if Gabriel doesn't like what you did.

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

👿👿👿 Haha.

[@SG-MT]

That's exactly what I thought too. 😂

[@Lilmanskis]

@@GabrielVargaOfficial if the strength of God doesn’t like it you have to listen.

[@Cub__]

🤣

[@kevinboueri1051]

Hitting an old man, attacking a bus and injuring fighters, all the fckeries and dumb sht, insulting another man's wife while laying on the octagon isn't enough for you??? A sparring video made u mad😂😂😂

[@ballisticcranberrypeat7777]

Not only did he blatantly violate sparring protocol, they uploaded it like it was some sort of impressive window into his skills.

[@twinsunpredator7998]

cant stand mc tap gym bully

[@thomashanham723]

What I find the worst is all the advantages that he has over his partner. More experience, shoes, no shinpads, is going harder. Every day it seems more like his training consists on feeding his own ego. Never been a huge fan, but the downward spiral he seems to be taking is worrying, I hope he finds some stability.

[@Richard-Espanol]

Couldn't have said it better! Totally agree!

[@LilUziFrankFIYTB]

He wont

[@austinsavage]

“Fook the downward spiral. Me millions will cushion me fall.” - Conor McGregor

[@RossKempOnYourMum01]

I agree if by stability you mean gets knocked the fuck out

[@enbonj5842]

Got emasculated by Khabib or the Mayweather fight and since then martial arts McGregor dissapeared and he's run on pure ego

[@InsipidRoustabout]

Great example of ego sparring. Speaks volumes.

[@r-a-m7032]

Sparring should be for development and learning not harm them

[@mohanad0408]

People think it's a character. He is a bad person.

[@HAYAOLEONE]

Pro fighters often are..

[@mohanad0408]

@@HAYAOLEONE No they're not. They're generally extremely nice people. Extremely.

[@JoeGilligan07]

@@mohanad0408 they’re generally nasty people

[@HAYAOLEONE]

@@mohanad0408 OK LOL

[@rico14]

@@HAYAOLEONE have you ever been to an mma gym with a lot of pro fighters?

[@alex3475]

I found it disgusting too, I wouldn't spar with someone who does this to me.

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Yeah. Before we started I'd be saying lose the shoes man...and get some shinpads.

[@1D.JFanMma]

@@GabrielVargaOfficial this isn’t the first time Conor has done this. It’s all over KZbin.

[@deadsi]

Prolly b getting paid tho

[@SG-MT]

Perfect timing Gabe! I get annoyed at sparring partners who try to go hard and take your head off while you're trying to be mindful and holding back so I don't lose people to spar with. I was actually just discussing "bad sparring etiquette" at my gym a few days ago. I brought up some of your videos and tips. I am definitely sharing this one.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

I punish people for that.

[@SG-MT]

It appears someone replied. But for some reason I cannot see the reply? 🤔

[@MusMasi]

@@SG-MT youtube has been doing that a lot lately.

[@MusMasi]

@@SG-MT I had one guy he is a welter weight and I am a light heavy but he kept throwing full powered left head kicks at me in light sparring, now I could of just KOed him but I wanted to teach him a lesson not put him in hospital, our Master had taught us the left body rip to the liver so I hit him with that at 30% and sat him down for a few days. The Master/Trainer just smiled, and that guy stopped doing that to me and all the other newer people when he was sparring. Idk I really like that punch and I think its a good one for self defense too, because if you go to the head with punches you might hurt your hand or do them serious damage.

[@IMonYORmum]

@@MusMasi Liver shot is always a good one to humble a fighter, nothing makes you realise you're a dick better then sitting on the floor winded and in pain while being laughed at 😂

[@chickenkorma3163]

Saw this before. What I found worst is that the guy is clearly not on the same level, goes light and McGregor exploits this. Thanks for your videos, always something to learn from.

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Couldn't agree more

[@Richard-Espanol]

Conor is a bully and clearly needs to feed his ego. Otherwise he would be back in the ring by now but knows he can't hang at the current level of mma

[@chucknorris202]

@@Richard-Espanol I've thought the same for awhile now and its why I never once jumped on the Conor bandwagon; I think the guy is a bully and NOT someone I'd ever wanna be friends with, like if he was a no name training at a gym like mine I would pretty much always go hard against that type of guy until the day he finally cried uncle and requested a lighter sparring match - THEN I would start respecting him. It's why Nate Diaz seemed to rattle him quite badly even BEFORE the fight, esp during the First fight they had(I also think Diaz won the Second Fight too but it could've been scored either way honestly depending on what you value more), because Nate Diaz both knew full well what Conor was doing and didn't give him the reactions he wanted, and in fact didn't even care what he said at all, just kept saying "I'm gonna stockton slap this mofo and beat his ass" and stuff like that lol. That pissed off conor seriously cause much of his game, back when he was on top of the MMA world, was to intimidate his opponents in press conferences and similar events. Conor returning to MMA these days is a tremendously bad idea(for him) though. He's gonna get pounded into dust; I expect he'll fight Nate Diaz again instead of trying to go for a belt, and it'll be a one-off thing, but I see Nate winning that one esp if he is more careful this time with his defense and doesn't let Conor land too many hard shots on his head. And Nate started leg checking recently didnt he? At least he did in that Tony Ferguson fight. So Conors leg kicks wont effect him if he sticks to his full skillset and doesnt just eat the leg kicks like both diaz bros did in the past. Anyone who goes into sparring looking to humiliate and beat up the opponent is a bully imo. You should go into sparring looking to simulate a full on fight as close as possible while still having a degree of safety, and being safe to try out things you wouldn't try out in combat untested. You should go into your matches looking to OUTSCORE the other guy not cripple him or knock him out cold or something horrible like that; these are your training partners and many are also friends, NOT your outright enemies. With Conors money and fame he can prob just easily replace that guy...who was NOT on his level another thing I find atrocious - after he injured and embarrassed him. You literally get nothing out of seriously hurting your sparring partners besides broken relationships, feeling "good" about yourself(if you're THAT mentally WEAK that is), and permanently LOSING sparring partners. Plus if he comes back he's gonna be trying to take your head off from the start cause he knows you're a scumbag that goes WAY too hard. I don't exactly go light myself but I DONT ever throw full force in sparring, only at around 70-80% full intensity in hard sparring, and about 40-50% intensity in light-medium sparring - depending on my opponent of course. And wearing shoes and no shinguards is a DICK MOVE. An inexcusable one too. Esp when he's throwing straight kicks and spinning kicks WITH SHOES ON. I wouldn't ever wanna train with Conor McGregor. Even if he wasn't better than I am at fighting, i still wouldn't wanna spar him simply for these reasons. Dude has too big of a chip on his shoulder, too much pointless cruelty in him. In fighting cruelty HAS to have a PURPOSE to be of use. But not for Conor!

[@kamikazeplays6818]

Petr yan is still worse

[@MusMasi]

@@chucknorris202 sounds like a guy who would be afraid to spar with the guys on his level or the bigger guys but would try and drop the others especially the newer people, and the women too.

[@ossie1129]

Wow, it's been a while since Conor won a fight!

[@MusMasi]

even the old guy in the pub won that one.

[@giulio76ful]

@@MusMasi 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@PlayFloyd_IN]

It's plain shameful to do something like that.

[@garrydye2394]

When the guy breaks bar etiquette and punches and old man in the face....you know its only a matter of time before he breaks sparring etiquette.

[@yknows3158]

This type of behaviour in sparring tells you alot about a persons fighting mentality. Ultimately its cowardly behaviour and a true martial artist would be embarrassed to do that

[@chucknorris202]

Agreed, it's shameful to do that in a sparring match. The shoes and lack of shinguards take the cake for scumminess imo and destroy any excuses Conor may have prepared.

[@sbwlearning1372]

But he's used to hitting old men in stools in bars

[@vittocrazi]

mma is not martial arts. its prize fighting and thats it

[@yknows3158]

@@vittocrazi do you know what mma stands for? Give you a clue.. martial arts 🤣 and yeh getting paid for fighting is prizefighting.

[@vittocrazi]

@@yknows3158 you are technically correct. But i was referring as to in mma there are no "cowardly" or "shameful" behaviours. MMA IS about winning fights and thats about It.

[@avaandlilah8133]

You can tell by the body language that he wasn’t overly concerned about hurting his partner!! Nice; Real classy!

[@Fortuna_716]

You're a good guy Gabriel and a great ambassador for the sport. Wish more guys were genuine and kind like you, I've stopped training at certain gyms for this reason, especially gyms where's there's one prospect and the coach uses everyone as feederfish while teaching you nothing. Fuck that

[@Philo68]

The amount of brain cells I lost sparring too hard as a kid at Muay Thai. This was back in the early 1980’s. No shin guards and going as hard as you like. Brutal times - but that’s how it was in the UK back then. Times thankfully have changed and this UFC legend (and his coaches) surely know way better than this.

[@mortalkomment8028]

Knows better but still does stupid stuff

[@redlizerad8268]

@@languagemix2727 Sir he legit said he lost brain cells cause of hard sparring. I don't know why u were expecting correct grammar.

[@eoghancasserly3626]

@@languagemix2727 the way he typed it was how people actually speak.

[@TylerDurden-oy2hm]

@@languagemix2727 i think youre in the wrong comment section.

[@drum877]

I agree with every thing you said. I think this is more of confidence building but the deck is stacked so disrespectfully.

[@rollinthunder8671]

The first rule of sparring is never to break your sparring partner we all know this

[@W1LDtracer]

in most cheap russian gyms people think sparring is to break... and they use 10-12oz gloves lol

[@gungrave10]

@@W1LDtracer Well, you guys are Russian. We kinda understand that

[@craigross341]

Shin pads are only partly to protect you. They're mainly to protect the other person. Putting the blade of a shin into somebody is wild. It causes massive pain and often injury every time.

[@laertesdd]

Thank you, Gabriel. Just thank you. Nuff said.

[@laertesdd]

p.s.: CTE is no joke.

[@joelrusk6412]

Kicking with shoes immediately put this footage into the "WTF are you doing" zone. I generally hate privileged mind sets and this is a classic example of that. In any normal gym, everyone would just refuse to spar with you if you did one of several of the things Conor is doing. Even not wearing head gear, is something I hate because it creates a toxic gym culture. I pull back more on my punches when I am striking on someone who is not fully protected, so it simply is not fair. Punching 80%+ with MMA gloves on in what appeared to be established as light sparring is another thing. There is so many things wrong with this footage, I can completely relate with being pissed off. Now a bunch of band wagon fans will cause a storm of inappropriate sparring etiquette that is already an issue in MMA and heavy sparring martial art clubs. Hate to see it, truly do.

[@dmd7472]

You are a gentleman and a scholar. A true warrior

[@vanquese8947]

Hard sparring and trying to hurt your partners are 2 different things.

[@chucknorris202]

Well said; I've been saying the same thing myself. What Conor is doing is frankly disgusting and NOT what I would call "hard sparring" its more like he picked some lower level guy in order to beat up on camera and then called it "sparring footage". The Shoes are particularly inexcusable so are the lack of shinguards and the knockdown punch at the end.

[@0n344]

You still have to pull that kill shot.

[@mrbigbankuchiface_3352]

@@chucknorris202 imagine now that hes on the tren hes gonna hurt somebody bad just to nurture his ego

[@0n344]

@@mrbigbankuchiface_3352 connor mctrengor

[@knuckle-sandwichmma681]

knockouts happen in hardsprring, dumbass. if there was no risk then it wouldnt be hardsparring. we’ve seem people sleep in regular sparring

[@TOPSyndicate]

Dope input brother! I hate bad sparring partners in class I'll immediately turn it it up when they go hard even after I say we're goin 45%

[@Eric3Frog]

How people spar tells everything about their daily living personality, not just their fighting mentality. How people behave in sparring is a clarified and amplified reflection of how they behave in daily living. It is supposed to be controlled pressure testing- mentally and physically. This pressure process is why martial arts are so beneficial to improving people’s every day lives. Sparring is a great forum (when used correctly) for personal growth as well as improving fighting performance. Connor consistently shows what a shitty person he is in and out of the ring, regardless of his ability.

[@millennialanimal]

I’ve never spared a day in my life and the first thing I noticed was the shoes, I though to myself “is that normal?”

[@aryudsoh]

Glad you called this out. I think he needs this in sparring for his own ego. The guy hasn't won a fight in years now but even before the Mayweather fight he showed sparring footage of himself going very hard so at least he's consistent I guess.

[@Matt10264]

1. He had a foot injury. 2. This is new not old. 3. He is not toe punting towards the face. 4. He apologized for the shot.

[@chrish8487]

Great analysis and breakdown on how to properly treat training partners. It looked like to like McGregor also threw an oblique kick with his left foot early in the video which can do a lot if unnecessary damage to the ligaments in the knee.

[@Eric3Frog]

Yep. That’s a shitty move for sparring and sport fights.

[@calonordstoast]

Hey, Gabe. Could you address when and how to respectfully refuse to spar with someone? Even as the more skilled fighter, I feel rude just removing myself even politey. I'm recovering from ACL surgery for this reason, thanks!

[@twinsunpredator7998]

Totally agree with you Varga Mc tap rolling with white belt and hurting training partner just giving him his confidence boost

[@allrounderal2958]

i had a bad time with a sparring partner last week, but then this video came up and im suddenly relieved all the sudden XD

[@dimo6793]

Sparring isnt like a real fight its similar but not the same i dont understand the point of knocking down someone in sparring

[@GabeItch12348]

I think this sparing was in preparation for his last fight against Dustin, perhaps explains the no shin pads and the harder sparing. Connor also looks a lot smaller then he is now and looks more in his lightweight frame. But still confused about the shoes?

[@forlorn916]

I encoutered this type of sparring once with #4 national champion. He’s a boxing champion, I only train for kickboxing so it’s clearly to understand that my boxing skill is not that high. I asked him gentlely for a light sparring, point out my mistakes and guide me. Ended up I sent me out of the ring haha. Ridiculous.

[@TheCristianalvarez]

should of calf kicked him to let him he can't actually fight. just box

[@catataumachado1]

Super well done commentaries. I agree with every single word you said.

[@warandpeace73]

I got one thing to add. I spent over 15 years from scatch going to the kickboxing gym 4-5 days a week, to fighter to promoter and then after a comeback fight, I promptly blew out two career endeing discs in my back. The were so torn up from a life of manual labor @ 32 that I started coaching and became a ( being humble as I can ) a pretty damn good pad holder recognized by so many UFC camps back in the early 2000's. I was asked to become an affiliate of Sit Yod Tong in America along side the one in Boston but I didn't ahve the bones to get my place up to snuff or enough students. Most of my income came from fight purse percentages. My fighter and me got to travel the worl and go to England 6 times and work into a title shot against anderson silva. The winner was supposed to get a 3-5 fight deal with the UFC. My fighter mad it to 4 minutes,59 seconds with some good action. Anderson chose not to strike with Curtis Stout. He reach is decetiv and in half guard one got thru. the pinnacle of a fight career and the downfall of the gym, money and everything else. I hate MMA and what it has become. Got to look like a model with juiced up body, live on peoples couches screw girls that will take care of you between fights. Gabe, you can delete this but there was a guy in Omaha that did a 'AhEM' movie because he was training and broke. Lets say it didn't involve ladies. If it was he would have been high fived and 'committed'. As a promoter, I was the first in kansas city and never lied about opponents much to certain camps upset i didn't get the wins, when the arlready had 20 plus wins and were not being scouted by the UFC. People said 'You can TRUST DAN.' Then I have a few 20 dollars bills in my pockets and eveyone wanted to be a promoter. The were so bad and mismatched and folded within a couple of shows when they realieze how much work it required with so little rewards. MMA fights today are two guys looking to KO the other guy. When you have two black belts who stand for 15 minutes throwing slop at eachother, you know what their expectations are. Throw down. I went to Thailand in 2000 and my love of MMA died by I kept it up because my guys were winning fights by not playing BJJ and slaughtering people on the feet, although I had some good wreslters who became great strikers because they dictated where the fight went. Fans don't know it but they want ONE superseries fights and Gloryl. I really hope Muay Thai retains its heritage in Thailand as well as Chatri and ONE putting on 52 shows a year in Lumpinee infuses captial into the sport where gamblers are disallowed and fighters and camps don't have to rely on crooked judges and referess and bribes. I mean what's left in MMA? IMO real striking. Conor went against that one guy and got calf kicked and put down. Same thing happened to Harison but it was Nong O, not someone who boxes like a rockem sockem machine.Make real excitiing fights that get the fans standing. Rich FRanklin was the moss build protected fighte the UFC ever had. He did have to earn what he got but his vaunted striking-I said weeks before the fight Anderson wins by knees in the collar tie, the simplestt tie to gget out of. Sorry that Connor and everthing about idiot fighters makes me so mad especially when you put 15 years of your life into something and it goes poof all in a matter of months because you aren't a big enough personality with one punch. Fortunately I make just under 6 figures and did my best and still ahve a good reputationl

[@jackjack4412]

Thanks for your post. I read the whole thing.

[@EdisonBryan]

Same I read the whole thing. Very interesting stuff. Thanks for your service to Mma

[@jotunngigantopithacus]

Neat story, though I had to laugh at the leadoff "I got one thing to add."

[@warandpeace73]

@@jotunngigantopithacus I can't believe or remember that I wrote that shit...Must have been having a bad day!

[@johanndaart7326]

@@warandpeace73 It is what it is bro, people in US want to watch a "show" more than a sport.

[@TidesofWarHighlights]

It made me upset he fought Cowboy coming off knockout losses in his last ever fight in prime condition. On one hand, he helped Cowboy get a payday, but he could just give him the money and fight someone that had enough left in the tank to be an interesting fight and not a one sided beating to try to pad his resume.

[@chrisranieri8307]

This is footage from his poirier 3 training camp, that is why he has mma gloves on.

[@user-vx3rw2mz4t]

I do think it fair to spar with shoes on, as long as they are clean, light, soft shoes with nothing hard on them. They protect your toes and feet but don't do extra damage, the same way shin pads protect the shin.

[@vindicator75]

I think you summed it up well

[@Alex-it5ej]

This is a big improvement for connor whos usual sparing partners are old men or women. Great guy

[@ZenDragonYoutubeChannel]

I agree with some of the points, but there are also things where it depends on how used to one another you and your sparring partner is and the ability to hold back and stuff. Also, I've done plenty of sparring with and without shoes. Indoors and outside. I've been kicked by various sneakers, martial arts shoes, all star shoes... it's not that bad especially when it's just sparring and light or medium contact. As far as the gloves go, I don't know why thick padded MMA sparring gloves aren't used more. MMA fight gloves are way too thin unless it's super light sparring, and bulky kickboxing/boxing gloves change the striking defense and make grappling more difficult.

[@joestr8848]

Only stupid people like you would “spar” with shoes on especially when you’re incorporating kicks

[@zlatowityaauntie5]

I’d say he needed n extra layer of maybe lighter shi pads even especially coming out of the injury he jus suffered!

[@frost-80]

Glad that you brought this up. I saw the McGregor video and found it strange. And I don't like how he exposes the people who train with him. Too much ego.

[@timonidas4534]

I think it's an ego problem with Conor

[@ElDrHouse2010]

Khabib called him out before anyone else. He knew. I don't think memegregor will change for the better any time soon but I'll pray for him. 🙏

[@MusMasi]

@@ElDrHouse2010 also pray for the unfortunates who have to deal with his BS.

[@XwildXdogX]

At my dojo we use mma style gloves to spar. But like they gotta have some good padding. Me and acouple of the guys use the karate combat gloves and they seem pretty good we go mega light

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Yeah. I spar with the hybrid MMA gloves but go much lighter than normal.

[@tsquares6638]

So glad you pointed this out. So many red flags in that sparring video.

[@imhotep2668]

that´s exactly why i like and respect fighters like Gabriel Varga and don´t like "fighters" like McGregor , it´s all in this video .

[@russerkai8086]

shoes because of a harline fracture prior to his fight with poirier. he wanted to practice feeling the calf kicks from the 2nd fight aswell likely, thats why he spars with no shinguards. this was in camp lol

[@or9481]

Agreed. A champion should lead, show the skills that put him on top and be thinking about the team that is helping him prepare. This clip is none of those things.

[@douglasmacneil4474]

This isn't his most recent sparring footage. But yes, he breaks protocol a decent amount

[@marrufob6054]

Well formulated video!

[@ahmedalhamadi1231]

Yea true I don’t want to spar with jerk. thanks a lot Gabriel for emphasising on that

[@ian1697]

you are one of my favorite youtubers

[@mpforeverunlimited]

The old man in the bar didn't upset you? 🤣

[@shanrafnezden7958]

You are totally right.

[@TheBriangranucci]

Good points ! Thank you

[@strangeone7198]

the only thing that looks wrong is him wearing shoes. The left cross looked pretty light, and he made a apologetic gesture afterwards.

[@leftvassis]

if it can knock someone down, its not light, not even close to it. Shoes and not wearing shin guards, going harder than the sparring partner especially when they re of lower skill , so many things wrong with this

[@andersondeca983]

Video is from his mma camp with Dustin so that explains the mma gloves

[@ZeroThree31]

The more I watch and listen to you, the more I like you. I was just talking to a partner about how great you and your content is. Thank you 🙏🏽

[@armadnt]

Those do look like MMA sparring gloves. Believe they are between 6oz, can't remember exactly and I do believe you get 8oz variants. The only time we'd spar with them is when we allow take downs (so not stand up only) or when doing technical sparring, which means even when you land flush, you still shouldn't be hurting your sparring partner.

[@jfloyo11]

The only only thing I can think of...Conor is playing a fighter in an upcoming movie...maybe he is practicing with shoes on for the movie but I totally agree with you.

[@jansmit4690]

In Holland this is very normal. Ask Ramon Dekkers, Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts, Rob Kaman, Sem Schilt, Andy Souwer, Gilbert Yvel, Melvin Manhof, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overheem Gokan Saki, Remy Bonjasky , Rico Verhoeven ,Badr Hari and Fedor Emilianenko.

[@ntrslmgb]

this video seems to be prior to Poirrier 3, explaining the mma gloves

[@vitallamartin685]

Shoes are allowed for savate (french kick boxing)

[@blitzcank9482]

My sparring partners are Banana tree Futon wrapped pole And Areca Tree

[@marklanda6824]

Agree 100 percent!

[@Mannysvalut2442]

This was before the porier 3 fight And he stated he was kicking with out shin pads this video proves that, hence the injury transpired in the first round of there bout

[@katyelizabethmendoza5159]

Love this guy I watch him for tips cause there’s to many wannabes with the confidence to scare Tyson spreading false techniques

[@coleashmore]

Great work yet again! I will say he appears to be pulling his kicks, and is most likely in need of shoes to protect his shin wouldn’t you say? Doesn’t explain the lack of shin pads though.. I don’t think he should have thrown that hard of a cross at the end though. Keep up the great content!

[@crimsonchaos2137]

If I’m thinking correctly even in the early days of the ufc where you could break fingers groin shot and punch the back of the head you couldn’t kick if you had shoes on.

[@verrufen2642]

But random, Mr. Varga would you happen to have seen Letterkenny? It's one of the best Canadian series I've ever seen

[@deepakbisht1327]

He's probably wearing shoes to decrease sprain on the already injured shin as this footage is before the 3rd Poirier fight, it's also why they're both wearing small gloves and going fairly hard.

[@shishianimates9698]

This was during the porier fight this wasn’t recent. I think the shoes have something to do with supporting his ankle.

[@giovannymendez9587]

At first I thought I was gonna not like your video now I agree with your point but knowing me I be that guy that would spar him regardless the rules behind it

[@randyfleetwood9713]

He’s got atleast 6 months of USADA testing before he can even think about lacing em back up competing. As far as the sparring goes, treat your team with respect and protect your partner regardless of their experience. Would love to see this man get his shit together and make another serious run in the UFC, but time waits for no man.

[@Gloin79]

1:56 *savate has left the chat*

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

😆😆😆

[@shemothy]

I think this sparring footage is from his preparations for the Poirier trilogy last year, its not too recent, so that might explain the small gloves and the intensity. The lack of shin pads and the shoes(?????) is baffling though, that poor sparring partner!

[@davidkim2016]

Agree with the etiquette argument. But if you're unsure as to why he's making those decisions, it just seems as though hes trying to maximize his safety (prevent injuries) while keeping some things as realistic as possible (gloves). It also seems like Conor is not putting much power at all behind his attacks while still focusing on speed and reads. just my opinion

[@finngoethals118]

just real quick it was from june last year before his fight in Las Vegas against Dustin Poirier

[@fbomb3035]

Yesterday I had a bunch of chances to knock my sparring partner cold but I never did it i even let him try his combos while guarding and using my head movement always light and fast sparring is the way to go

[@JukemDrawles87]

No point in doing that, brother gj

[@MusMasi]

well the aim is for you both to learn and develop not knock each other out.

[@voiceoverandmocapguy]

I desperately want to see a match between Gabriel and McGregor!

[@johnmcpherson3229]

This is McGregor... he is always doing something assinine

[@theresurrection6561]

Everybody gets this video wrong. It was from the trilogy camp.

[@MusMasi]

Its like he is pulling a Commodus.

[@chriskb2495]

I agree with almost everything said here but this is footage before his poirier 3 fight. After he said he was too boxing oriented in training when he lost the fight before. He wanted his camp to be all mma this time around

[@barnacolium6947]

can you make a video talking abt burnout?

[@michaelkhan7012]

This Connor guy doesnt seem like too nice of a guy

[@aidanfegan6605]

I’m pretty sure this was before the Poirier 2 fight, so he did have a fight coming up, and I’m guessing the shoes were because of his injury which turned into the broken leg. And he does look to be pulling the kicks a bit to not connect properly. But I do agree with some of what you said, and respect you for calling it out

[@markfairman162]

It takes two to spar. His partner should ask he removes to shoes and ask he puts on shin pads if throwing kicks, we need to look after ourselves also and not just trust our partner will follow etiquette. I have done this in the past an normally find the other person complies quickly or without issue .

[@haremqurban3584]

Please more action

[@moreliquorinmycoffee]

I believe in hard sparring, but do it like once every 5 weeks. There's definitely practicality, developing composure and endurance, and your ability to cope with the heat. Where the sparring match becomes a fight, but it must be done very seldom because we care about our health. Otherwise every other time it should be light light light

[@chucknorris202]

I mostly agree; though at my gym we do hard sparring a bit more often than that(about say, one MAYBE two hard sparring matches per class, and we do 4 classes a week; Im talking about myself of course some guys wont do hard sparring at all), and medium level sparring for our other matches. If 70-80% intensity is hard sparring, then 40-50% would be medium in my gym, all with max speed of course so you still gotta block or parry or evade quickly and the skills transfer to full on fights. In fact I developed my entire style from the very beginning of my training in Muay Thai to lessen any chance of brain damage later down the road; its why I based my style on the dutch style on guys like Joseph Valtellini and Gabriel Varga here and many others, and learned good defense even before I learned good offense. Hard sparring is VITAL for learning composure in the worst conditions possible, when you're tired and in a real fight; and some guys fade with the heat while others get fired up, others seem to be immune to it and keep the same pace no matter what. I used to get fired up before every hard spar but nowadays I just always keep the same pace no matter what. Conor needs to learn its NOT about HURTING your sparring partner it's about becoming better at fighting. Though personally I think its all about Ego with him and he just wants to beat up someone with less fighting ability than himself and show it on camera to make himself look and feel good. That's always the impression I got with Conor. I'd never behave that way and guys like that are NOT tolerated at my gym and don't last very long(only rarely are they outright kicked out and banned from the gym; due to their behavior we old timers at the gym ALWAYS immediately adjust to going full force when we face those sorts of guys like Conor, and give them enough beatings that they never last more than a week before never returning. Its one thing to score on someone using perfect technique and a decent amount of strength but its another thing to start swinging from the fences trying to KO the guy with every shot you throw - and wearing SHOES in sparring and no shinguards. That just sealed the deal for me(that Conor is a bad person and that WASNT about his "health" or something but to make himself feel good). That and the guy he was sparring wasnt on his level in the slightest. Come on.

[@MusMasi]

@@chucknorris202 good to see you are still going strong after all these years, so you switched from Kung Fu to Muay Thai now?

[@chucknorris202]

@@MusMasi I never did kung fu or any other fake martial art like that. I started out in jiu jitsu way back in the day, about 9 years ago or something like that. After 2 years of jiu jitsu, I switched to Muay Thai; first at one gym, and then moved to my current one after a few years; and I've been there ever since, been doing Muay Thai about 7+ years straight and ongoing at this point. But during the covid lockdown I suffered like everyone else; had to do exclusively "home training" where I'd basically just run my 4 miles a day and then do pushups, situps, and then shadow boxing until I literally couldn't anymore. I did that every day for all of the covid break but its not sparring, its not class. When I returned I found that my ability to read my opponents in sparring and my reaction speeds had tremendously decreased..but by this point I have got them all back to normal. But besides that yeah bro its good to see you again. You doing well yourself? Is your own training going well?

[@MusMasi]

@@chucknorris202 I was making a joke Bro, I was referring to the Movie Star Chuck Norris, i think he started out in Kung Fu or was it Karate?

[@cahallo5964]

@@MusMasi chuck norris is a karateka and a judoka

[@joediffy]

Conor let the money get to him, he has become spoiled and is used to doing whatever he wants to do and he does not care about others. I have been a kickboxing coach for a long time and I always told the guys and girls that they need to go at 50% power or less and work on technique, timing and footwork etc. while sparing. In my opinion most injuries and CTE damage comes from all of the sparing a fighters does during his or her career and not from the 2 or 3 times a year that they fight. Be good to your body and your sparing partners because you will all want a good quality of life after your fighting career is over. Great video, thanks Gabriel.

[@alivekicking6247]

I hate it when people have no respect when sparring and try and take your head off. I do this... 1. Ask them politely to ease up and explain we're here to help each other, not hurt each other. 2. If it continues, I warn again and state that I will go harder if they don't stop. 3. If it continues, I go harder. 4. They don't return to the gym! In the Connor video, agree with you, but maybe there was an agreement before the session?

[@JohnSmith-ei6sc]

Oh wow sooo tough. Nobody cares you fuckin loser

[@alivekicking6247]

@@JohnSmith-ei6sc haha ... sorry, does your jaw still hurt?

[@davedeasejr76]

We don’t know what was agreed upon between them two. I’m sure he got compensated very well.

[@X_x_X265]

This is old footage, before Diaz II or Alvarez fight. I remember seeing Conor sparring in these shoes and shorts way back.. Good video ✌🏻

[@pachecomp]

it's not old, he literally posted this the other day in his story on instagram.

[@spirorips]

It’s from his last fight camp ffs

[@aroymakmak]

Yes sure, with the venum pants... *facepalm*

[@kamikazeplays6818]

Its before poirier 3

[@wenqiweiabcd]

Look at how many "McGregors" and "Proper Twelves" there are written all over the gym, it's farcical.

[@greengreensio]

I'm with you