When MMA experts study Conor McGregor, his devastating left hand is what always stands out. Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, and Eddie Alvarez all have fallen victim to Conor’s straight left, thrown with pinpoint accuracy. However, former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya has picked up on a subtle technique the Irishman has relied on for years, one he believes very few fighters have adopted.
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While analyzing McGregor’s first fight against Max Holloway, which took place 13 years ago, Izzy pointed out how the Dublin native uses the jumping switch kick as an entry to close the distance and set up his punches. He believes many fighters were not using that technique at the time.
“Using that jumping switch kick as an entry,” Adesanya said in his recent YouTube video. “That’s very different, man. Not many people were doing that, using the Taekwondo or karate-style jumping switch kick to get an entry into striking with the hands. But boom. He landed it a few times. And then there was the one where he leaned over and threw the uppercut outside Max’s lead hand.”
The jumping switch kick is most commonly associated with Taekwondo, and we don’t get to see it in MMA often. The technique requires a rapid switch of the feet before the fighter launches the lead leg toward either the body or the head, making it difficult for opponents to read. Throughout his featherweight run, McGregor used various types of kicks to close the distance and back his opponents against the cage, which made him highly unpredictable.
In his fight against Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59 in 2015, ‘The Notorious’ repeatedly mixed in switch high kicks and knees. He not only landed several of those shots but also left Siver guessing. Ultimately, the former double champ finished the German hard-hitter in the second round. He dropped him with a straight left before sealing the victory with ground and pound.
After Conor McGregor, several other fighters have regularly incorporated switch kicks into their game and found success. McGregor’s former opponent, Donald Cerrone, frequently used the technique, often disguising the kick behind a feint or a punch to catch opponents off guard and even score finishes. A more recent example came at UFC 303, when Alex Pereira knocked out Jiri Prochazka with a switch kick in the second round of their rematch.
Regardless of how the first fight went, one thing is certain: Holloway’s team will be studying the same tape Adesanya did, and he will likely show up ready to defend against the kicks this time. Still, there’s something poetic about watching McGregor close the distance with pinpoint kicks, and it’ll be fascinating to see whether that same magic works the second time around.
