155 would be so much better without Khabib.

[Islam Imamate]

Dustin is top 10 imo.

Conor would be H2H top 10, but not on resume.

Maybe fringe top 10 at best. Penn, Aoki, Gomi, Alvarez, Hansen, Ferguson and Khabib are all solidly ahead of him and that's off the top of my head. Would probably rank Bendo, Melendez, and Cerrone ahead of Poirier as well.

 

[PitDoggMMA]

Do you have something erect while typing this.?

Yes, my posture.

 

[PitDoggMMA]

it’s the aura. It’s the personality. It’s the quiet composed state of mind before the fight only to show us glimpses of rage in the fight. It’s little intricacies like when he had Dustin up against a cage and Dustin is try to hear his corner. Dustin pokes his head out the side to try and read their lips. Khabib punches him in the gut then covered his eyes. He doesn’t give them an inch. Not anywhere. Not ever. He gets guys down and the looks on their faces are pure panick. You can tell instantly what the skill difference is. It’s just so amazing to watch

Word.

 

[TheJohnnyWalkerEra]

• Lightweight would be largely ignored without Conor and Khabib

 

[Medulla Omoplata]

I'm curious about people who are saying they enjoy grappling or wrestling but don't enjoy Khabib's fights? Which grappling/wrestling heavy fighters do you enjoy?

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Maybe fringe top 10 at best. Penn, Aoki, Gomi, Alvarez, Hansen, Ferguson and Khabib are all solidly ahead of him and that's off the top of my head. Would probably rank Bendo, Melendez, and Cerrone ahead of Poirier as well.

I think he gets a bad rap really. Holloway, Alvarez, Gaethje and Pettis are all great wins, then he has a bunch of good wins against CDF, Miller, stopping the very difficult to finish Bobby Green.

 

[Luckyme]

I’m not a fan of LnP wrestlers but Khabib isn’t one of them. He doesn’t just sit in his opponent’s guard for 5 rounds. He’s actively advancing position, inflicting GnP, and finds submissions.

 

[kalabula]

I don't agree. Without Khabib, we would not have a mythical beast at the top of the mountain.

His fights are exciting to see if someone has what it takes to dethrone him. And if not, we get to see an epic beating.

 

[JoshTehV]

Go watch kickboxing then. Sincerely, everyone.

Theres something about the variables involved and the gloves that really makes it exciting

 

[Islam Imamate]

I think he gets a bad rap really. Holloway, Alvarez, Gaethje and Pettis are all great wins, then he has a bunch of good wins against CDF, Miller, stopping the very difficult to finish Bobby Green.

Its not about him getting a bad rap, hes a great fighter but I just don't think he's really proven himself to the point of being able to claim he's one of the GOAT in the division.

Alvarez is obviously a great win, I myself rank him among the GOAT.
Gaethje is good, I believe he was ranked at the time.
Pettis was 7-5 in the UFC when he lost to Poirier and had lost 4 of his last 6 at the time so already past his best days though might've still been ranked(would've been undeserved IMO).
Holloway is unproven at LW, though to be fair Poirier's win was an upset.
Miller was on a 3 fight win streak but not ranked so a good but not great win, definitely past his best days when he was on the cusp of a title shot.
Green was coming off a loss though still ranked so decent win.
CDF was coming off a loss and was only 2-1 in the UFC, hadn't quite hit his stride.

Not trying to shit on Poirier. He's had a pretty good run at LW with solid competition, none of those guys are scrubs. But as of now he doesn't really have the kind of wins to rank him among the GOAT at LW. I'll say in his defense if you combine his FW and LW career he does have quite the resume, being a consistent contender in two of the toughest division in the sport is no easy feat. But he's far from the GOAT conversation at either weight class based on his accomplishments within each.

 

[Sambochampion163]

You can't expect any fighter to please every fan but to compare Khabib to the likes of Fitch is insane, dude has the best ground and pound in the sport and beats the fuck out of his opponents.

He stood over McGregor's guard and blasted him with punches for 30 seconds, who does that in this sport? Of course not all his fights are super exciting but few fighters can manage to pull that off and stay undefeated.

It looks more brutal outside the cage then the broadcast camera.

Khabib truly takes grappling to another level,such shame they cant appreciate an artis at work.

 

[torry]

I mean the guy is a beast, but his fights are pretty boring.

Imagine having Poirier, Gaethje or Ferguson as the champions.

Imagine the wars between this Top 10 guys.
View attachment 765992
JBG bless.

Oh give me a break

 

[Dionysian]

Go watch wrestling.

Bad comeback. You're the one whining about an integral part of MMA. Your comeback only made sense if someone was bitching about fighters striking. Which no one is.

Not only are you whining about an integral part of MMA but you're doing it about a guy who is revolutionizing the sport. 100 technique videos pop up after each Khabib fight for a reason. His GNP program and tactics are changing the way people see fighting. There is not an instant of LNP involved in Khabib, at all, and watching the innovation in violence is (for me) a hell of a lot more thrilling than watching two so-so strikers trade blows for 15 minutes.

So yeah, if you're angry about it, go watch kickboxing.

 

[EYEKICKFACES]

Doostin has wins over Holloway, Alvarez, Gaethje, CDF and Pettis at 155. That stacks up well against most LW's top 5 wins at the weight.

Isn't that ALL of his fights at LW? lol, he's likely not even top 20. And Holloway is a FW who came up for the first time.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Isn't that ALL of his fights at LW? lol, he's likely not even top 20. And Holloway is a FW who came up for the first time.

Nah, he also beat Jim Miller, Bobby Green, Joe Duffy and Yancy Medeiros. Also lost to the weirdly inconsistent Michael Johnson

 

[flowoftruth]

it would be a hot potato belt without Khabib

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Maybe fringe top 10 at best. Penn, Aoki, Gomi, Alvarez, Hansen, Ferguson and Khabib are all solidly ahead of him and that's off the top of my head. Would probably rank Bendo, Melendez, and Cerrone ahead of Poirier as well.

Precisely this, with the amendment of Frankie Edgar and Kawajiri.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

I think he gets a bad rap really. Holloway, Alvarez, Gaethje and Pettis are all great wins, then he has a bunch of good wins against CDF, Miller, stopping the very difficult to finish Bobby Green.

He is very good but there have been lots of other very good LWs before him with more quality wins. His career isnt over though so he might get enough wins to get into or near the top 10 all time at LW.

 

[Wicked_1]

Boring to some, but its not Khabibs fault that other fighters can't hang. He is a generational talent. His style may be boring to some fans, but to true MMA fans, its not. Its impressive to say the least for a guy to be so dominant.

The guys you name already fight each other. Tony and Justin this weekend. Justin has already fought Dustin. So that only leaves Tony vs Dustin. They have all 3 fought most of the top 10 really or at the time at least. Tony and Justin are both exciting guys to watch for all fans. No matter who they fight its usually a good show.

Dustin had his shot. Tony had his as well when the cable took him out as well as when he was offered Max for interim belt and turned it down. He turned down Max, and easier fight for Tony's style imo than Justin. I understand casuals don't find grappling as exciting as Striking, but that MMA. If you want only striking there are other events that do that. If you want to aee who is the best at real fighting, then grappling is a huge part of it.

A fighter like Khabib is entertaining to me watching him and the way he does things. He still constantly adds things to his toolbox and uses them in fights. He hasn't stopped improving and continues to beat everyone fairly easily. Seeing his transitions and positioning is amazing. People don't see his bjj so much because he doesn't give up dominant positions to go after a risky sub. That's fight IQ. When he gave Dustin the guillotine to gas him, it worked like a charm. The decking of Conor, when he lowered the hips and faked Conor out to land that huge hook, it was textbook.

Striking is great, and very entertaining to most people. Grappling has way more involved in its game and isn't as eye friendly to people who have no clue whats going on. Just as in UFC 1 when the skinny, non threatening looking guy beat everyone with techniques. Grappling took the UFC and MMA where it is now.

 

[Jesus H. Sherdog]

The only boring thing about Khabib is his inactivity and how weak LW is. I wish there was a decent grappler we could see him fight besides Tony. Maybe Oliveira.