Conor McGregor is one of the most decorated fighters in the history of MMA. He is one of the greatest strikers this sport has ever seen. However, his ground game has always been the center of criticism. Conor has lost 4 fights in his MMA career and all of them have been through submissions. However, some might argue that his ground game is criminally underrated.

Conor’s Losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Nate Diaz

He might not be as good as on the ground as he is on his feet, but a loss to elite grapplers such as Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov should not be the parameter of judging a fighter’s ability on the ground. And Conor’s performance against Dave Hill defies the notion.

Conor McGregor took on Dave Hill in the Cage Warriors FC back in 2010 and he was able to capture the featherweight title with a submission win over Hill.

The Only Submission Win of Conor McGregor

The fight started with Conor closing the distance and putting the pressure early on. The next thing you know Dave Hill shoots for a takedown, but Conor got back up from the ground quite comfortably. Going into the fight it was expected from Dave Hill to test Conor on the ground. Conor was picking apart Dave in striking and it seemed Conor would finish the fight in the first round.

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However, Dave Hill got the fight into the ground and pulls guard on Conor. Though Dave was looking for submissions on the ground Conor’s submission game was good enough to survive the offense from Dave Hill. The fight almost ended in the final seconds of round one when Conor hurt Dave badly and got him in a rear-naked choke. But Dave was saved by the bell as the fight goes into the second round.

Surprisingly Conor McGregor, who is often criticized for his ground game, dominated Dave Hill on the ground in the second round until he won the fight via a rear-naked choke. With this submission win, Conor became the featherweight champion of the Cage Warriors.

Read: When Conor McGregor Became a Global Superstar with a Chocking KO

Can Donald Cerrone Finish Conor on the Ground

Well, to answer the question Cerrone’s 17 submissions should be enough. However, the submission is likely to come in the later rounds. And to take the fight to the later rounds, Cerrone has to survive the early onslaught of Conor McGregor, which is a tough task. Conor is one of the best fighters in the early rounds and he can stop the takedowns from Cerrone too.

Hence as long as the fight is a striking battle between two Conor is likely to dominate Cerrone especially in the early rounds. However, the fight can be very intriguing if Cerrone uses his leg kicks to disrupt Conor’s gameplan and use his wrestling to wear down Conor.