Amir Khan talking crap about Conor

[DeJulez]

Why are you acting all stunned at Khan's audacity to say he "doesn't know" who would win in an mma match?
Hell, Connor is essentially saying he "doesn't know" who would win in a boxing match between himself and one of the greatest boxers in the history of the sport.

Yea no shit.
Every boxer has a better shot at winning in mma than a mma fighters does at winning a boxing match at the top levels. I don't know Why these s act like it's so outrageous
I'd actually favor Khan to sleep Conor in the cage.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

Khan has no mma training. Unless he lands a body shot like the one he did on maidana he would get smashed like Toney did.

You guys are missing my point.
I don't doubt Khan would probably lose to Connor in an mma bout.
The point is the supposed audacity of his comment about not being certain to the outcome of him fighting Connor in mma. Khan not being certain... meaning, Khan will give himself the benefit of the doubt to the point where he won't say "yes, I would most certainly lose to COnnor in an mma bout."
The context of how 'wacky of a claim' Khan is making is that Connor is giving himself the benefit of the doubt in a boxing match with one of the greatest of all time.

 

[LangfordBarrow]

It's funny how everyone keeps talking like MMA is some sort of unflappable fighting style, yet the most dangerous guys in MMA are the ones that stand and knock people out. Conor is yet another one of those guys. When is the last time he won a fight on the ground? Khan or any world class boxer would have a better chance of beating Conor in MMA than Conor would in Boxing. There's too many levels to boxing, yet in MMA the guy that has even the slightest ability to strike is dominant.

Boxers would still need to learn takedown defense, how to check kicks, how to defend on the ground and how to get back up. I don't think MMA is better but the fighters definitely have more options. A straight up boxer would be at a bigger disadvantage fighting under those rules than an MMA guy taking a boxing match.

 

[Marc A]

Boxers would still need to learn takedown defense, how to check kicks, how to defend on the ground and how to get back up. I don't think MMA is better but the fighters definitely have more options. A straight up boxer would be at a bigger disadvantage fighting under those rules than an MMA guy taking a boxing match.

I disagree, if you've trained with wrestlers and jits guys how many of them look like beasts but once you mix in punches to the face they become docile

Plenty of them is the answer , a boxer and one that is elite has a huge advantage over a high school teacher who became a jack of all trades in mma .

Getting hit in the face is the hardest part to get used to and to react with calm precision

It's why lots of supposed mma fighters gas , can't handle that pressure

 

[LangfordBarrow]

I disagree, if you've trained with wrestlers and jits guys how many of them look like beasts but once you mix in punches to the face they become docile

Plenty of them is the answer , a boxer and one that is elite has a huge advantage over a high school teacher who became a jack of all trades in mma .

Getting hit in the face is the hardest part to get used to and to react with calm precision

It's why lots of supposed mma fighters gas , can't handle that pressure

Yeah, that's true, like Rousey. The MMA guy would need to know how to defend against punches too. I just think it's like a boxer that gets on his bike to avoid exchanges is so hard to KO. If he can also clinch for takedowns it would make the fight that much more difficult for a straight boxer. I do think that we've evolved to punch so it's the most natural way to take someone out.

 

[Rico]

Yea no shit.
Every boxer has a better shot at winning in mma than a mma fighters does at winning a boxing match at the top levels. I don't know Why these s act like it's so outrageous
I'd actually favor Khan to sleep Conor in the cage.

Boxing is part of mma, mma is not part of boxing.

Conor would grapple rape Amir if he chose to do so but would most likely get slept trying to stand and bang.

Spoiler

Edit: Conor's striking setups are relatively simple (but highly effective on overhand spamming MMA fighters who simply don't have the time to devote to just standup). On the front foot (think of Mendes, Siver, Brandao finishes here), he's pressuring you to the cage and banking on you circling away from his left hand and using the cage to cut off your escape route so he can load up on his cross (which mechanically in this situation the punch is flawed but his reach/timing/accuracy/power make up for it). On the backfoot (Aldo and Alvarez), he's goading you into throwing a lead right hand from way out of range so he can inside slip/pull and come over the shoulder as your overextending yourself trying to take his head off from way too far out. Those little oblique kicks (which everyone forgets happened right before the Aldo KO), the spinning back kicks etc are all meant to get his opponent think they have to commit to covering distance from farther out with their right hand so he can slip/pull and counter. There's a little more to the Aldo KO (he recognized he was too far out to land the lead right, abandoned it and switched to a left hook mid combo but he just let his right hand drop when he did it so he basically ended up supermanning his face into the left hand).

This is just a pretty simple breakdown of what he does but my whole point here is once a elite level boxer adjusts to the added kicking range (which won't take long), he's not gonna have much success with being a one handed boxer. As I said, he could rape Amir on the ground but that's a while diff story.

 

[Sunfish]

Boxing is part of mma, mma is not part of boxing.

Conor would grapple rape Amir if he chose to do so but would most likely get slept trying to stand and bang

Conor got wobbled by that well known power striker Nate Diaz. He could go down I guess.

 

[00 Buck]

So desperate to get in the news that he says he would easily beat Conor in a boxing match but can't say what would happen in MMA match

Sounds reasonable to me. You a McGregor fanboy or something?

 

[nastyleft]

Boxers would still need to learn takedown defense, how to check kicks, how to defend on the ground and how to get back up. I don't think MMA is better but the fighters definitely have more options. A straight up boxer would be at a bigger disadvantage fighting under those rules than an MMA guy taking a boxing match.

Im aware of that. But honestly those things arent that hard to learn. Any decent athlete with good balance has solid takedown defense. Again, its not some mystical thing fighting an MMA'er. Checking kicks? Yeah lift your leg so your body weight isnt planted on the leg and takes all the punishment...getting up off the ground is as elementary as walking. Its the other guys responsibility to keep you down....I dont know man, maybe my experience was different but; I was a boxer since I was 6yrs old. Took up Kenpo when I was 15 as something to do during slow summers, tried out for wrestling in high school (learned how to sprawl) and decided I liked basketball better, played defensive back for football in college. Came out when MMA was getting hot, and gave it a go for a few years, and had no problem with the issues you mentioned. Its not rocket science, any guy that can FIGHT and is a decent athlete has a chance. MMA is still full of guys that had no other athletic option but to do that. There are very few elite athletes in MMA. Do you think if Conor could run fast and control a ball with his feet on the dribble he'd still be doing this? MMA is full of #2s and 3s of other sports.

 

[LangfordBarrow]

Im aware of that. But honestly those things arent that hard to learn. Any decent athlete with good balance has solid takedown defense. Again, its not some mystical thing fighting an MMA'er. Checking kicks? Yeah lift your leg so your body weight isnt planted on the leg and takes all the punishment...getting up off the ground is as elementary as walking. Its the other guys responsibility to keep you down....I dont know man, maybe my experience was different but; I was a boxer since I was 6yrs old. Took up Kenpo when I was 15 as something to do during slow summers, tried out for wrestling in high school (learned how to sprawl) and decided I liked basketball better, played defensive back for football in college. Came out when MMA was getting hot, and gave it a go for a few years, and had no problem with the issues you mentioned. Its not rocket science, any guy that can FIGHT and is a decent athlete has a chance. MMA is still full of guys that had no other athletic option but to do that. There are very few elite athletes in MMA. Do you think if Conor could run fast and control a ball with his feet on the dribble he'd still be doing this? MMA is full of #2s and 3s of other sports.

You just described yourself as well rounded, so then yeah, you'd do well in mma. I'm talking about a straight boxer. I thought that was the premise.

MMA isn't the most popular or best paying sport so your might be right that some practioners tried other sports first. I do think the best fighters in MMA are as athletic as in boxing or any other sport though.

 

[nastyleft]

You just described yourself as well rounded, so then yeah, you'd do well in mma. I'm talking about a straight boxer. I thought that was the premise.

MMA isn't the most popular or best paying sport so your might be right that some practioners tried other sports first. I do think the best fighters in MMA are as athletic as in boxing or any other sport though.

Yeah but my point is, its not just a roll for the MMA'er. A boxer might surprise you with how well he can straight up fight. You just dont know, AND he knows angles, attack lines and can deliver blows efficiently?
A boxer is more dangerous in MMA than an MMA guy in boxing.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Does Khan have a background in anything other than boxing? Surprisingly there are quite a few boxers, Americans included, that did wrestle or were kickboxers. Chris Algieri, who just helped Jacobs in his camp with his nutrition, comes to mind. He wrestled, coached wrestling and was a kickboxer. That's a wrestling, kickboxing and boxing background that he could call on to transition more quickly over to MMA if he chose to make the switch.

If Khan doesn't then a crash course in MMA could be enough against some mid level guys. It depends on how fast he took to the rest. Chris Weidman started out as just a wrestler and picked up striking quickly and BJJ really fast, as just one example.

 

[nastyleft]

The point is the supposed audacity of his comment about not being certain to the outcome of him fighting Connor in mma. Khan not being certain... meaning, Khan will give himself the benefit of the doubt to the point where he won't say "yes, I would most certainly lose to Connor in an mma bout.".

Right, and the fact that Amir knows when it comes down to it, he can fight. Of course he wouldn't say, yeah I'd get my ass kicked. He just doesn't know how it'd turn out, but he knows he'd be competitive.

Boxing is part of mma, mma is not part of boxing.

Conor would grapple rape Amir if he chose to do so but would most likely get slept trying to stand and bang.

Why do so many people think its so easy to walk up to a puncher and grab them? All the grapplers Conor has KO'd while standing, Rousey's last 2 fights, etc. You guys should know better than that.

 

[nastyleft]

Does Khan have a background in anything other than boxing? Surprisingly there are quite a few boxers, Americans included, that did wrestle or were kickboxers. Chris Algieri, who just helped Jacobs in his camp with his nutrition, comes to mind. He wrestled, coached wrestling and was a kickboxer. That's a wrestling, kickboxing and boxing background that he could call on to transition more quickly over to MMA if he chose to make the switch.

If Khan doesn't then a crash course in MMA could be enough against some mid level guys. It depends on how fast he took to the rest. Chris Weidman started out as just a wrestler and picked up striking quickly and BJJ really fast, as just one example.

Exactly! most of the guys in MMA were sgtrictly one thing THEN started learning other stuff to be more rounded. And only with a couple years. MMA desnt have guys that have been doing it since they were kids, yet.
All of these guys have had a dominance in ONE discipline then learned the other stuff in only a few years, and none of it is all that hard to learn quickly, especially if they're a good athlete. Couple different kicks (roundhouse, front-kick high, mid and low), TD defense, clinch, single leg double leg TD, how to sprawl, and maybe a rear naked choke and you already know as much as most guys in the game. Oh and you have world class hands.... In that interview didn't Khan say he had an MMA promotion and had a bunch of guys in his gym training MMA? He might already have some idea...

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Exactly! most of the guys in MMA were sgtrictly one thing THEN started learning other stuff to be more rounded. And only with a couple years. MMA desnt have guys that have been doing it since they were kids, yet.
All of these guys have had a dominance in ONE discipline then learned the other stuff in only a few years, and none of it is all that hard to learn quickly, especially if they're a good athlete. Couple different kicks (roundhouse, front-kick high, mid and low), TD defense, clinch, single leg double leg TD, how to sprawl, and maybe a rear naked choke and you already know as much as most guys in the game. Oh and you have world class hands.... In that interview didn't Khan say he had an MMA promotion and had a bunch of guys in his gym training MMA? He might already have some idea...

The only world class MMA fighter that I can think of at the moment that started with no base in anything is Rory MacDonald. He started off in MMA immediately where he was cross-training in everything. But yeah, I'd say probably 80% or more of the fighters in MMA today, at least in the UFC, started off with a base in one discipline at least and others already had a background in multiple disciplines like BJ Penn. Couture wrestled (Folkstyle & Greco-Roman) but he had some boxing experience as well when he served in the Army. The thing about Randy that I liked best was his dirty boxing. He'd pull your head down and start smashing your face with uppercuts. It was highly effective and still is. Cormier busted Gustafsson up with his dirty boxing. Couture of course was a decorated wrestler as well.

I'm not sure about Khan. Some of what I've read sounds like he might have already started to train, maybe some light sparring. You know what I would do if I was him? I'd start training MMA, keep it low key and get the Conor fight. Then, I'd surprise Conor by showing him that he had basic defense down for kicks and takedown attempts, which is what Conor would be looking to use against him unless bravado got the best of him and he decided to stand and trade with Khan. The only problem would be that in MMA circles word would likely spread very quickly and get back to him and his camp unless you enlisted the services of people you know and trust (or MMA trainers that they know and trust to keep it a secret) and were extremely discreet about it.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

McGregor-Khan would sell a lot of PPVs, especially if you stack the card and have a nice co-main event. Almost anything can be put into a contract these days and Conor likes to box in MMA (well, punch that is, he has some boxing ability but he's certainly a puncher). Khan could arrange for a handicapped fight with McGregor where hand fighting, boxing in this case, would be the only thing that's permissible. Conor would agree to that in a heartbeat. The only two punches Khan will have never seen as a boxer are the spinning backfist and superman punches, the superman jab & superman straight (power hand). Then we'd get to see both "stand and bang" the whole fight in the cage wearing MMA gloves.

The UFC could bill it as something like "Top MMA Boxer vs. Top Boxer". I actually think that would help do more PPV buys than Khan not training MMA at all or barely training MMA and coming to the UFC to fight Conor in a pure MMA match. It would be all action and a much more competitive fight for Khan where both could just focus on boxing in their MMA camps. MMA fans love watching fighters stand and trade. If Conor broke the rules then fine him a significant amount of his purse, a hefty percentage, or possibly even DQ him if the commission agreed to sanction the limited bout (they would because of the $ and it only being one fight on the card).

Boxing in a cage with MMA gloves on and those two extra types of punches thrown in would be very exciting to watch between the two. Spinning backfists and superman punches aren't legal in boxing but are in MMA, and Conor would probably look to use them because he'd assume Khan hadn't seen them before, at least never had to defend against them. The learning curve for Khan would be so much smaller then and the fight could take place sooner and be worth it to the fans because on paper it'd be a much more even playing field. Conor likes to trap the lead hand so he'd be free to do that too, as could Khan, and both could measure and keep their lead hand out there for extended periods of time. They could legally dirty box if they wanted to. The MMA unified rules would be used but in a handicapped setting to allow hand fighting only. I'd pay to see that.

 

[Rico]

Conor got wobbled by that we'll known power striker Nate Diaz. He could go down I guess.

I love the excuse that he gassed by his weirdo fans.

Right, and the fact that Amir knows when it comes down to it, he can fight. Of course he wouldn't say, yeah I'd get my ass kicked. He just doesn't know how it'd turn out, but he knows he'd be competitive.

Why do so many people think its so easy to walk up to a puncher and grab them? All the grapplers Conor has KO'd while standing, Rousey's last 2 fights, etc. You guys should know better than that.

Because I'm an MMA coach that can be verified by numerous ppl on this forum. An MMA coach with a boxing AND wrestling background I might add.

TD defense is as much a skill is boxing dude. I'm sorry you live in Barman's fantasy world where someone without a modicum of grappling experience is just gonna shrug off a grappler of any worth. It's you guys that should know better (though I know Barman is trolling).

Art "one glove" Jimmerson got taken down and tapped to mount by Royces shitty TDS. You're comparing Conor defending TDs when he literally has trained it every single day for years to Amir who likely has barely at all trained to defend TDs. The squared up boxing stance alone makes it easy as fuck to hit a garden variety double leg. The days of one style MMA fighters (meaning they don't train ALL the facets) being successful at any level are about 20 years past dude.

Amanda Nunes is a BJJ black belt. She didn't just learn that shit in a week.

 

[Breakfast Bar]

He would do to Conor what Ali did to Inoki.

 

[Rico]

Yeah but my point is, its not just a roll for the MMA'er. A boxer might surprise you with how well he can straight up fight. You just dont know, AND he knows angles, attack lines and can deliver blows efficiently?
A boxer is more dangerous in MMA than an MMA guy in boxing.

That last thing I agree with and my whole coaching mantra is teaching fundamental boxing based MMA while also making sure my guys are adept with at least defending in the other areas. There's quite a few things that need tweaked and adjusted and it has nothing to do with a boxer being less tough. I know this is a boxing forum but you don't just learn enough in a training camp to defend against a high level grappler. TD and sub defense is a skill that must be honed over time.

 

[WklySportsMemes]

I love the excuse that he gassed by his weirdo fans.

Because I'm an MMA coach that can be verified by numerous ppl on this forum. An MMA coach with a boxing AND wrestling background I might add.

TD defense is as much a skill is boxing dude. I'm sorry you live in Barman's fantasy world where someone without a modicum of grappling experience is just gonna shrug off a grappler of any worth. It's you guys that should know better (though I know Barman is trolling).

Art "one glove" Jimmerson got taken down and tapped to mount by Royces shitty TDS. You're comparing Conor defending TDs when he literally has trained it every single day for years to Amir who likely has barely at all trained to defend TDs. The squared up boxing stance alone makes it easy as fuck to hit a garden variety double leg. The days of one style MMA fighters (meaning they don't train ALL the facets) being successful at any level are about 20 years past dude.

Can verify... This is a REAL ACTUAL COACH. With several high level martial arts credentials in multiple disciplines. Somebody who actually is involved and does the sport.
This is not the opinion of somebody whos knowledge comes from simply watching a lot of fights and posting about them.
I would take heed to what this guy says.