Mostly because people are aware that being tough and having tons of heart many times is the decisive factor despite the technical aspects of the fight. And Tony has shown both, whilst we haven't seen it from Khabib, since he hasn´t been in any real danger.
That's fair. People put far too much weight in it tho. Being tough is good and an important quality but it's not something you can rely on to win you a fight at the top of the game.
But some people have said it here and before, that Ferguson is a very good wrestler himself and phisically strong so he can stop the takedowns, just like Tibal did. And on the feet he is much better than Khabib.
Is that enough for you, or should I continue?
Tony could not be more different from Tibau and has been taken down plenty across his UFC career. Eddie Bravo has even stated that he and Tony's camp expect to be taken down. Just being strong doesn't stop TDs. Edson and RDA are extremely strong and it did not help them at all. Everything in this is just inaccurate comparison.
I´ll continue.... Tony's ground game is extremely dangerous, and he knows how to use elbows from the bottom, ask Lee. So although Khabib has a very strong top game, Tony can catch him with a slick submission.
Tony can use elbows on the ground from 1 postion. Full guard. So if Khabib tripods and lays in GnP (which he does in every fight), passes guard (which he is very capable of doing), or traps an arm (which he always does) then it will be extremely difficult for him to do significant damage from bottom. Khabib just does not spend enough time in vulnerable positions in people's guard.
Tony's best submission is a D'arce choke, which requires him to allow Khabib into top position in half guard. This is extremely dangerous and has backfired on Tony in other fights (nearly lost the Castillo fight because he couldn't finish the d'arce or get Castillo off of top position). The other submission that Tony is likely to attempt is a triangle choke. This requires Tony to keep Khabib in guard and unable to break the choke. Lee was able to do both of these on Tony's first triangle attempt but gassed and proceeded to stay in guard eat elbows until he got subbed.
Tony has the tools to win and a better chance at beating Khabib then anyone else in LW BUT doing so is nowhere near as simple as you make it out to be.
Tony is a very aggressive fighter and willingly leaves himself open to deal more damage with wild strikes. He is unorthodox and very well rounded. However, he often relies on his toughness to carry him through the mistakes that he makes. Against Khabib that could be a bad mentality. It could also save his ass. there is no way to know for sure, making it unreliable in formulating a game plan.
Ideally, Tony takes this into championship rounds, deals significant damage on the feet for 3-4 rounds and manages to scramble into a favorable position allowing to lock up a sub.
This fight is very close to a coin flip. Nether fighter will have an easy time implementing their game plan. I give Khabib a very very slight edge as Tony's cockiness could very well help Khabib jump start his game plan. 55-45 Khabib
would be my face if that happens. Listen, I'm a big Cucuy fan, but I've been saying in many threads that Khabib is gonna pwn Cucuy with just the wrestle fuc* power that Khabib possess. I just can't see it going in Tony's favour, but if he pulls the unimaginable off he will be definitely damn near GOaT status.
