5 reasons why Kamaru Usman vs. Conor McGregor may not be as one-sided as it seems 

#2. Usman's chin may not be the best

Kamaru Usman is as driven and willful as a fighter can be. Despite his heart and well-rounded skill-set, he is not exceptionally tough or durable. It could be due to his poor defensive striking as he does not move his head off the center-line when throwing punches, rendering him even more susceptible to McGregor's counters. Alternatively, he could have a less-than-stellar chin. Either way, Usman gets stunned in fights more often than a fighter of his dominance should.

Against Gilbert Burns, he was dropped by a counter-right hand as he threw a jab without moving his head off the center line. Unlike McGregor, Burns is a lesser striker with a shorter reach who is not nearly as skilled at slipping and countering jabs and straights. Even Colby Covington, who is defensively irresponsible with his striking and throws with very little power, was able to stun Usman several times.

While McGregor might not have as much pure punching power as Burns does at welterweight, he is a superior counter-puncher with better distance management and timing and hits harder than Covington. Usman's chin might struggle against Conor McGregor if he is consistently countered.

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#1. Kamaru Usman is not a submission threat

Conor McGregor and Kamaru Usman have the same number of submission wins on their respective records. When opponents talk of wrestling McGregor to the mat, it's often with the intention of forcing him to tap out to a submission. However, whenever Usman gets his foes to the ground, he rarely relies on Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Instead, he outwrestles his opponents by pinning their wrists and maintaining a low posture to keep his foes under him.

He also does not make many attempts to pass an opponent's guard. While being under Usman is never ideal, Conor McGregor often looks to overhook his opponent's arms and even secure wrist-grips to neutralize their ground and pound. Usman's ground and pound tend to come in short elbows, but he will also posture up to create enough space to land harder blows. McGregor specializes in timing these moments by waiting for his opponent to create space for ground and pound, enabling him to quickly place his feet on their hips and push them away with his legs to scramble back to his feet.

Since Usman offers neither a submission threat nor triangles his opponent's legs with his own, as Khabib does, McGregor will be afforded more opportunities to stand without exposing himself to significant risk.