Is this the thread where we pretend that fan """scoring""" is relevant or matters at all? All I see on the scorecard is that Khabib won according to the judges, the rest is irrelevant.
That's not a problem as long as you are ok with Conor beating Nate in the rematch. A lot of people don't want the rules applied evenly.
I watched the Tibau fight again after Tony Ferguson started hyping up that Khabib lost it.
The judges decision was correct IMO. Khabib won a close fight. The 30/27 is what I would question 29/28 would be fairer.
Also Khabibs striking and all round game has improved from that fight. So I'm not sure what can be learned from it.
The Tibau fight has some relevance when fighting Ferguson who similarities in his style to Tibau but McGregor fights completely differently.
Probably Barbosa is the nearest fight for comparison in that they are both Striker/TDD guys even though they do it different ways.
Conor is a pressure-counter fighter who manages distance extremely well and has good power for the weight class. I don't think Khabib has fought anybody like him yet though in fairness I have not watched all 26 fights.
You could argue that Conor has faced a pressure-grappler before in Mendes but certainly Khabib will be a different animal because he has the size and strength to capitalize on the ground game where Chad was just too small.
Maybe McGregor has made adjustments in TDD we just don't know. He outclassed Alvarez so comprehensively on the feet that TDD wasn't a factor. One thing we can safely assume has improved for Conor is his boxing due to the Mayweather fight.
The Iaquinta fight gives the best indication of where Khabibs striking is at and it didn't look great really.
This is all about who gets to impose his game plan. They each have the others Kryptonite.
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