Is Khabib's inability to finish fights bothering you?

[MMA_Fan]

This is a very misleading statistic.

GSP: 23 UFC fights
Lee: 13 UFC fights
Barboza: 19 UFC fights
Johnson: 18 UFC fights

I hope you're not counting Khabib's 3 consecutive triangle choke wins over absolute cans in Russia that don't even have wiki pages.

To compare fighters who have consistently been fighting solid talent to a man who has about 3-4 top opponents is crazy to me.

You have to compare the level of his opponents against his development at the time. He was relatively new, so fighting less experienced fighters is reasonable.

 

[Hotora86]

I'm definitely not suggesting that he become a stand-up based fighter, but I personally think he should be getting more finishes on the ground.

He could if he upped the pace just a tiny bit and the ref was a tiny bit more worried about the opponent. The thing is - when Khabib secures that dominant top position and grabs one hand the opponent is essentially not able to defend himself. Watch the Barboza fight. The ref could have stopped it at any moment due to "one fighter not defending himself". But since Khabib picks his shots carefully, takes his time and values control over damage the helpless opponent keeps hanging on.

I assume Khabib takes things slow to avoid gassing. It's a smart thing to do when you're 100% in control and in no danger whatsoever. He's fighting to win and absorb as little damage as possible. That's smart, I respect that.

So when Khabib says that he could have finished Barboza - I actually believe him. If he tried raining down punches aggressively he could get a TKO but he could also lose control. If Barboza got back up (which is not impossible) Khabib would be tired. His hands could drop and that would create a dangerous opening. And such a great striker like Barboza can KO you with a kick from nowhere. Khabib did not want to take that risk IMO. So it's not really that he "wanted to go 5 rounds" - he just wanted to WIN with minimum risk.

 

[Egészségére!]

it can factor in

it's part of Fedor's legend, he didn't "just beat" Arlovski, Sylvia, Choi, Lindland, Hunt, Coleman, Fujita, Randleman, etc., he finished them

 

[EGarrett]

I'd rather have a champion who can't finish a fight than a champion who won't start one.

 

[greenhawk]

The objective in MMA is not to finish fights , it is to WIN, which he does effortlessly.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

He could if he upped the pace just a tiny bit and the ref was a tiny bit more worried about the opponent. The thing is - when Khabib secures that dominant top position and grabs one hand the opponent is essentially not able to defend himself. Watch the Barboza fight. The ref could have stopped it at any moment due to "one fighter not defending himself". But since Khabib picks his shots carefully, takes his time and values control over damage the helpless opponent keeps hanging on.

I assume Khabib takes things slow to avoid gassing. It's a smart thing to do when you're 100% in control and in no danger whatsoever. He's fighting to win and absorb as little damage as possible. That's smart, I respect that.

So when Khabib says that he could have finished Barboza - I actually believe him. If he tried raining down punches aggressively he could get a TKO but he could also lose control. If Barboza got back up (which is not impossible) Khabib would be tired. His hands could drop and that would create a dangerous opening. And such a great striker like Barboza can KO you with a kick from nowhere. Khabib did not want to take that risk IMO. So it's not really that he "wanted to go 5 rounds" - he just wanted to WIN with minimum risk.

I agree with everything you say, but we have to be consistent in what we say here.

If you are willing to hand out plaudits for "playing it safe" then I never want to hear you call a fighter boring, because as you said it's about winning easily and avoiding damage.

I hope you like Tyron Woodley too.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

You have to compare the level of his opponents against his development at the time. He was relatively new, so fighting less experienced fighters is reasonable.

Sure, but to criticize the likes of Barboza, St. Pierre and Lee is silly.

Oh, Khabib isn't a decision machine, look at the other names, he has a higher finish rate. Well yeah... against cans in Russia, sure.

 

[Fossor]

Unlike some lay and pray fighters Khabib GnP's the shit out of people, while at the same time he is smart enough to remember about his defence. That is why he is 26-0.
He has holes in his striking. So why would he rush chin forward? To get KOed?
Any fighter knows his own holes, you can't be perfect in all aspects, but you can be perfect with abilities you have. And Khabib found that sweet spot between agression and recklessness, defense and boredom.

 

[Hotora86]

I agree with everything you say, but we have to be consistent in what we say here.

If you are willing to hand out plaudits for "playing it safe" then I never want to hear you call a fighter boring, because as you said it's about winning easily and avoiding damage.

I hope you like Tyron Woodley too.

I don't "LIKE" Tyron Woodley but I'll be the first to admit that he's a smart dominant champion. I may even watch him fight on a sleepless night.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

Unlike some lay and pray fighters Khabib GnP's the shit out of people, while at the same time he is smart enough to remember about his defence. That is why he is 26-0.
He has holes in his striking. So why would he rush chin forward? To get KOed?
Any fighter knows his own holes, you can't be perfect in all aspects, but you can be perfect with abilities you have. And Khabib found that sweet spot between agression and recklessness, defense and boredom.

Who ever asked for him to run forward with his chin?

 

[Shocktagon]

Finishes are preferable but as long as the outcome is clear, I don't have a problem.

 

[TheAmericanGazelle]

He's generally pressing the action, laying down damage, throwing meaningful strikes from the ground, etc...

I have no problem with it.

 

[Fossor]

Who ever asked for him to run forward with his chin?

What I am saying is - he does everything right considering his abilities and holes. Hunting that KO may lead to being KOed. Anderson Silva was also very impressive, untill Weidman reached his chin.

 

[FleximusPrime]

Paper "champ" can barely finish a coherent sentence let alone a fight.

 

[The Dreamcatcher]

Khabib bothering a lot of people lately.

'Is Khabib being Muslim bothering you?'
'Is Khabib's inability to finish fights bothering you?'

TS, Is Khabib smeshing people bothering you?

 

[shortlefthook]

I definitely wish he would go for more submissions, hes very positional though and guys with that mindset don't like going out of their way to get a finish when they are already dominating.
But from the outside we see many chances where khabib could have taken a little bit of a risk.
still a growing fighter he's overated in terms of how much people pretend like he's unbeatable, but It doesn't "bother" me that he doesn't finish fights.

 

[MMAProfessional]

I think if Khabib works on his BJJ subs it could do wonders for his popularity. He is very good at control and putting people in dangerous grappling positions but only throws punches from them

 

[MikeMcMann]

This is a very misleading statistic.

GSP: 23 UFC fights
Lee: 13 UFC fights
Barboza: 19 UFC fights
Johnson: 18 UFC fights

I hope you're not counting Khabib's 3 consecutive triangle choke wins over absolute cans in Russia that don't even have wiki pages.

To compare fighters who have consistently been fighting solid talent to a man who has about 3-4 top opponents is crazy to me.

^This

You have to compare the level of his opponents against his development at the time. He was relatively new, so fighting less experienced fighters is reasonable.

No its not unless you only compare GSP's finish V win in the same time frame in which case GSP was finishing much more.

What Khabib is now finding out is that as you fight guys who are in the top 5 at LW (just as at WW) those guys are on a higher level as compared to most and are super tough to finish. They are just typically to well rounded.

 

[awymore]

I ask this question because it's universally agreed that us fans would ideally like to see finishes in fights.

Sure, when two high level combatants enter the cage it's not always possible to finish the other guy, but when one of them does pull it off, especially on a regular basis, it catapults them up the all-time rankings.

Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Shogun Rua are 3 high level fighters who throughout their careers have always made a habit of getting finishes in their fights. Shogun is somewhat the outlier here as his prime didn't last as long as the other two, but during his prime years he was an absolute killer.

I look at Khabib Nurmagomedov and I ask myself "is his inability to finish fights hurting his all-time stock?"

It's early days for Khabib still, yes he is 26-0, but he's only truly been competing at the highest level for 2-3 years when you consider how long he's been out with injuries etc. with that said, is he in danger of slipping into the area of criticism that St. Pierre and Cruz fell into? A front runner who plays it safe and doesn't push for the finish.

Khabib even has some people believing that he deliberately doesn't finish fights, in my opinion that notion is ridiculous. I think I've seen a handful of fights in all my time watching combat sports where I can truly say that I think the opponent "took it easy" on his opposition. I don't believe that Khabib let Iaquinta, Barboza or anyone else for that matter "survive", I genuinely think he plays it safe when he is up big or he simply cannot get the finish.

10 UFC fights, 4 finishes. 1 finish against a ranked opponent. Is that enough?

I welcome your feedback and opinions guys.

Jones became a lot more cautious after becoming champ. He went through a five year stretch where the only finishes he had were against a couple of MWs.

 

[grihenrumet]

Yes it's weird Khabib fanboys talk about devastating Gnp then I watch Lee butcher Edsons face in 2 rd's that's brutal Gnp The fight should've stopped way sooner don't know why Khabib can't finish fights , tho his kimura of Mj was pretty sweet he should go for subs but I get it in a way he likely gasses him self going for sub attempts but people want to see a finish.