10 Things You Didn't Know About Conor McGregor
9. McGregor Trains With Movement Coach Ido Portal
"Precision beats power, timing beats speed." Perhaps one of the greatest lines ever spoken post-fight, McGregor's summation of how he beat long-time champion Jose Aldo was succinct. Darn near perfect. It was his precision and timing that took Aldo out in just thirteen seconds.
How that timing came about is another story. Of course there were countless hours in the gym under SBG Ireland coach John Kanavagh, and no doubt round after round of sparring. A lifetime of training.
One of the more interesting factoids, however, is that McGregor has frequently trained with movement coach Ido Portal.
This relationship has earned him some ridicule from fellow fighters (arch-nemesis Nate Diaz for one), but thus far, it seems to be working for McGregor. Portal, an Israeli who has spent decades teaching movement to pro athletes, has been involved in some of the Irish star's biggest fights. His background, like McGregor's, is in martial arts, but Portal doesn't focus on one discipline of movement (say, dance, or footwork for fighting) but rather the overall concept of movement.
Whether you believe that to be key in the fight world, McGregor seems to buy into it - and two belts later, do you really want to question his methods?