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Never mind his lack of boxing nous, Conor McGregor's UFC stats don't stack up well either

Conor McGregor of Ireland warms up in a boxing ring during a workout at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas - REUTERS
Conor McGregor of Ireland warms up in a boxing ring during a workout at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas - REUTERS

The odds are stacked against Conor McGregor emerging victorious when he makes his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather this weekend.

Paddy Power currently have Mayweather at 1/4 to claim the 50th straight victory of his impressive career, meaning they're giving him a roughly 80 per cent chance of beating the Irishman.

On top of the obvious gulf in professional boxing experience between the two competitors, McGregor's UFC record reveals further indications of the difficulty that he will face when he steps into the ring.

McGregor to win? Get incredible 100/1 odds, or 25/1 on Mayweather.  Read more >>

McGregor's best chance of victory is in the early rounds
McGregor's best chance of victory is in the early rounds

Strike accuracy

According to the UFC statistics website FightMetric, McGregor's strike accuracy across his career - i.e. the proportion of the time his blows land - is 47 per cent.

This isn't a good enough score for him to register in the top ten Featherweight fighters in the UFC.

The best Featherweight UFC fighter when it comes to connecting with his opponents is Jimy Hettes who has a strike accuracy of 57.3 per cent, some 10 percentage points clear of McGregor.

Conor McGregor, proportion of strikes landed in UFC
Conor McGregor, proportion of strikes landed in UFC

Of course, having a relatively poor hit rate doesn't matter so much when you can KO your opponent with one blow or take them down with a grapple and McGregor's UFC record is testament to this fact.

However, fighting Mayweather in a boxing contest is a different prospect entirely, especially as the American is arguably the best defensive boxer of all time.

According to figures by CompuBox, throughout his career so far Mayweather has managed to avoid being hit by 81.1 per cent of the punches thrown his way. McGregor will be chasing shadows.

Ability to evade shots

If McGregor will find it difficult to hit Mayweather then it's all the more important that he minimises the number of times he, himself, receives a blow.

Again, McGregor's UFC stats don't bode especially well for him in this regard.

The Irishman has managed to successfully defend 57 per cent of the shots that come his way in the octagon, well outside the top ten for the Featherweight division.

McGregor gets hit a lot in UFC
McGregor gets hit a lot in UFC

Gabriel Benitez, who has the best defence for a UFC Featherweight, dodges 70.7 per cent of significant strikes.

While McGregor can obviously take a punch - he was hit 166 times in his victory over Nate Diaz - a leaky defence is going to be a problem for him if he can't connect with many of his own attacks.

Although Mayweather hasn't knocked an opponent out since 2011, it seems inconceivable that - should the Irishman fail to make early inroads - McGregor could emerge victorious on points.

Can McGregor go the distance?

While his previous strike success and evasion rates might look wobbly on paper, we don't know how McGregor will adjust his fighting style against Mayweather. It may be that he is a talented enough fighter that he can adapt his style to one more appropriate for boxing.

One thing's for sure however - the fight is likely to prove a severe test of McGregor's fitness and endurance.

UFC fights consist of a maximum of five rounds, each lasting five minutes. McGregor - in his 24 UFC bouts - has only gone the full 25 minutes on one occasion, in his rematch against Diaz.

On average his fights last a little over five minutes but can be done in as little as four seconds.

Mayweather v McGregor - Length of fights
Mayweather v McGregor - Length of fights

Mayweather on the other hand has gone the full 12-round (36 minute) distance in each of his last seven, and nine of his last ten, fights.

If McGregor can't knock Mayweather out early doors then he faces an uphill struggle against a man who is used to dancing around opponents all day long.

Whichever way you look at it, on paper this fight seems to be about as one-sided as they come.

McGregor to win? Get incredible 100/1 odds, or 25/1 on Mayweather.  Read more >