KnuckleUp Fitness Instructor Peter Alexander
On July 11th, UFC 189 will feature one of the biggest marquee matchups in recent memory when the notorious Conor McGregor faces long time featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Aldo is the most dominant champion in UFC history and is a master of the basic fundamentals of MMA. Undefeated for a decade, he is a precise striker with crushing leg kicks who is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Despite Aldo’s technical proficiency, it’s his challenger’s unorthodox movements that could be the key to the fight, KnuckleUp Instructor Peter Alexander said recently. McGregor, who, like Aldo, has never lost in the UFC, is redefining the striking game with a quirky set of body movements and unorthodox strikes which has so far mystified all of his opponents inside the Octagon.
McGregor’s training consists of a lot of non-traditional movement
patterns from not just the traditional striking martial arts like
Boxing and kickboxing but from styles like Capoeira and even
Gymnastics. There’s a lot of value in using these types of interesting
movements to keep your opponent off balance.
Alexander continued that he thinks McGregor’s fighting style is due in large part to his innovative training regimen.
Instead of just doing squats, push-ups, bicep curls and just those
traditional kind of exercises Connor augments his training with
exercises that concentrate on total body control like handstands,
Gymnastic techniques on the rings, Tae Kwon Do, also some Capoeira. He
brings in a big, broad sub-spectrum of movement capabilities and I
think that’s what makes him stand out as a fighter.
Alexander, a diligent student of martial arts and human physiology incorporates many such full body movement drills into his own training and that of his students at KnuckleUp. He is available for both group classes and personal training sessions.