Worst stylistic match ups for undafaeted Khabib Nurmagoemdov

IsNormal said:
In what way was Khabib an immediate danger to Conor?

Khabib had just come back from a 2 year layoff and only beaten the no name Horcher.
Tony was the clear #1 contender at that point (as he had fought 4 times during Khabib's layoff and beat Trujillo, Tibau, Thomson and Barboza, thus passing Khabib)
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Because Khabib was given two contracts to fight Alvarez for the Lightweight title (which he signed) before Alvarez/McGregor was even announced. By doing that the UFC essentially told everyone that Khabib was the number one contender.

Trujillo? Khabib defeated him first.
Tibau? Khabib defeated him first.
Thomson? Two fight losing streak by the time he fought Tony.
Barboza? I see your Barboza and raise you a Rafael dos Anjos (whom Tony hadn't fought yet).
 
acannxr said:
Because Khabib was given two contracts to fight Alvarez for the Lightweight title (which he signed) before Alvarez/McGregor was even announced. By doing that the UFC essentially told everyone that Khabib was the number one contender.
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Okay, but what I'm mainly asking is: Was there ever a "danger" of a the UFC having to throw Conor to Khabib at that point?

Someone was gonna get the title fight.
It could've been Khabib or Conor.

Either way I'm not seeing where "feeding Conor to Khabib" comes into play.
acannxr said:
Trujillo? Khabib defeated him first.
Tibau? Khabib defeated him first.
Thomson? Two fight losing streak by the time he fought Tony.
Barboza? I see your Barboza and raise you a Rafael dos Anjos (whom Tony hadn't fought yet).
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Not gonna debate Khabib vs Tony's records here I could even agree Khabib could've earned to be ranked above Tony.
Just saying that's a solid list to achieve while another dude was gone, and it was clear Tony had emerged as another big player.
It wasn't like the division was getting so weeded out that the UFC were forced to throw Aldo at Khabib to "save" themselves from not being forced to do Khabib vs Conor.
 
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IsNormal said:
Okay, but what I'm mainly asking is: Was there ever a "danger" of a the UFC having to throw Conor to Khabib at that point?

Someone was gonna get the title fight.
It could've been Khabib or Conor.

Either way I'm not seeing where "feeding Conor to Khabib" comes into play.
Not gonna debate Khabib vs Tony's records here I could even agree Khabib could've earned to be ranked above Tony.
Just saying that's a solid list to achieve while another dude was gone, and it was clear Tony had emerged as another big player.
It wasn't like the division was getting so weeded out that the UFC were forced to throw Aldo at Khabib to "save" themselves from not being forced to do Khabib vs Conor.
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Conor was protected in the booking during his rise in Featherweight, in that he was either matched up against non-wrestlers, or the wrestlers in the division were conveniently tied up with other fights, because the UFC wanted to protect their cash cow. They did the same thing with Francis Ngannou when he started facing heavyweights in the top ten.

The UFC would never intentionally throw Conor at Khabib, but they certainly wanted an excuse (for the media and fans) as to why the fight couldn't be made yet. The reason Conor doesn't want to defend any title he ever wins is because booking can't protect champions, they're required to face the best regardless of the stylistic matchup, which is why I can understand the sentiment of champions not being true champions until they defend the belt.
 
acannxr said:
You might want to add some context to this statement, otherwise it seems like you're trying to imply something negatively about Khabib.

History lesson:

Sep 23, 2016: Khabib signs two contracts to fight Alvarez for UFC 205 & 206
Sep 25, 2016: Dana says Conor is hurt and wants him to rematch Aldo.
Sep 27, 2016: Alvarez vs. McGregor announced for UFC 205.
Oct 31, 2016: Khabib's dad says son was used to lower McGregor's UFC 205 purse by $3.5 million.
Dec 29, 2016: Dana White confirms Khabib's dad turned down Aldo fight.

Khabib wanted to fight the champion (McGregor) or Tony Ferguson, and was rightfully offended by how the UFC used him leading up to UFC 205. The UFC and/or Dana wanted to tie up Aldo and Khabib in fights in order to protect McGregor; if Aldo was fighting at Lightweight, they had an argument for not stripping Conor of the Featherweight title, and if Khabib was booked in a fight, then they had an argument for not feeding him Conor.

Sources:

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/9/...die-alvarez-signs-2-contracts-ufc-205-206-mma

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/9/...w-dana-white-conor-mcgregor-jose-aldo-rematch

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/9/...-conor-mcgregor-official-for-ufc-205-mma-news

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/10...er-mcgregors-ufc-205-purse-3-million-mma-news

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/12...e-confirms-khabibs-dad-turned-down-aldo-fight
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That's on point.
 
He destroys everyone at LW. If he moves up to WW though Woodley would be a terrible match up.
 
A very high level wrestler with a chin.
 
Chandler is the right answer. Great TDD and KO power.
 
I don’t see any at LW tbh... Can see him Woodley being a tough one. Usman & Covington possibly. Maia would be interesting.
 
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