Conor McGregor

By FCF Staff

It doesn’t sound like Mike Winkeljohn will be putting money down on Conor McGregor, but the renowned striking coach believes the UFC champ has a shot at defeating Floyd Mayweather.

Last week it was announced that the long discussed bout between McGregor and Mayweather has been finalized, and that the stars will box on August 26th in Las Vegas. Recently Winkeljohn was a guest on “The MMA Hour”, and he offered this take on the upcoming bout (quote via MMA Fighting):

“Oh, I think if I was to put money on it I’d put Mayweather,” Winkeljohn said. “But I think Conor has a chance early on. I think if Conor can come in with some different things that Floyd hasn’t seen, off-angle things that he can attack so Floyd can’t hide behind his shoulder as such, he could pull off a surprise.

“But that would play out real quickly if Conor’s thinking those thoughts.”

“He’s got to come to the table with something that Floyd hasn’t seen much before, “Winkeljohn furthered, before noting that doing so would require a lot of energy. “And those are the things Conor can do. Conor’s very athletic. Conor’s got a great understanding of angles and footwork…”

Mayweather will be looking to set a new, undefeated record of 50-0 when he faces McGregor. Winkeljohn, meanwhile, was in the corner of Holly Holm this past weekend at UFC FN 111, when the latter knocked Bethe Correia out in the third round.