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McGregor’s Movement Coach Ido Portal is Preparing for MMA debut

McGregor’s Movement Coach Ido Portal is Preparing for MMA debut

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If you’ve been watching Conor McGregor’s these last few years, you may have noticed these movement drills he’s working on.

The man behind this movement is Ido Portal, who was born in Israel, and started training Capoeira when he was 15.  Capoeira. A Brazilian martial art, combines element of dance and acrobatics and involves high-energy kicks and spins.

Portal has announced that he training for his MMA debut:

Capoeira fighters have had limited success in martial arts, however Portal has trained in BJJ and MMA over the years.

The news comes a few days after another member of McGregor’s entourage had announced their MMA debut, Dillon Danis:

After All The Self-Hype, Dillon Danis Set For MMA Debut at Bellator 198 in April

There is no date set for his debut as of yet but he will be training at SBG Ireland with McGregor and Co.

Movement fluidity is possibly the future of MMA. Movement fluidity and having movements in every single position makes you unpredictable. The great thing about mixed martial arts is that it’s evolving and there is no right and wrong. Most MMA fighters have a traditional style and it makes it easier to read a traditional style instead of someone that is moving in all different directions and switching from South Paw to conventional, throwing spinning kicks etc…

This is not the first time that MMA fighters have gone in search of ‘alternative’ methods. GSP trains gymnastics, and Alistair Overeem works with adventurer and movement specialist Wim Hof. It looks like MMA fighters are now returning to what martial arts is all about: timing, precision, movement, and mindset.

Conor McGregor began to concentrate more on balance and flexibility and freeing his body to move in new ways. He mimicked alligator crawls and chimpanzee walks. He watched videos by Ido Portal, a martial artist turned movement teacher.

McGregor started using the services of Ido Portal a few months before his UFC 194 title unification bout against Jose Aldo.

Thanks to Portal’s work, McGregor’s  has been showing nimble footwork in taking evasive action to avoid being hit.

Who is Ido Portal?

Ido Portal was born in Israel, and started training Capoeira when he was 15.  Capoeira. A Brazilian martial art, combines element of dance and acrobatics and involves high-energy kicks and spins.

ido mcgregor

 

Portal stated:

‘I was in a romance with Capoeira for 15 or 16 years,’ he has said. ‘What struck me was the fancy stuff and not what it really is which is a social interaction.

‘The fancy movement got me in there then I stayed because of the more intricate movements.

‘My nickname was the ‘The Missionary’. I had an extreme following, people lived with me and ate with me. Everything was Capoeira.’