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With what you have seen in Khabibs game throughout 5 rounds. Taking into account who he has fought and who he dominated to a finish or beat to a decision, if you were able to train a fighter to beat him OR if you were to create a fighter in general realistically which attributes would you need and preferred style.
Cliffs: CREATE A FIGHTER THAT WOULD BEAT KHABIB IN A 5 ROUND FIGHT
You dont have to get as detailed as me. My main picks are all italics.
My thought: In order to beat Khabib in reality in a 5 round fight, not stopping him but beating him in a decision not being stopped by him one would need to have the perfect game plan, and implement that for an entire 5 rounds unless you can put him to bed. Most fighters would love nothing more than to finish The Eagle but in their heart of hearts they know they are likleuy going to be for 3 rounds at least a grueling pressured pace.
You need very high success in take down defense for when he grabs you, Khabib likely will get ahold of you between round 1-3. His style has shown even he has struggled to keep up that continued pace against a fighter that is unwilling to quit like the heart of an Al Iquinta for example.
You would need Dominick Cruz or TJ Dillashaw like foot work so you can navigate the cage making Khabib chase you.
I would say if you also had a significant reach advantage, such as the reach of Jon Jones to control distance would be enough but thats not the entire key to Jons success its his ability to hand fight and grab the hands with using that reach.
I think a boxing style like Robbie Lawler capable and looking for that one punch knock out sounds nice but I wouldnt prefer it in this case. I think that just gives Khabib more time to make calculated decisions, look what Colby could do with that free time. I feel volume would be the best approach. Crisp boxing like Max Holloway that comes off in volume your opponents time to reset goes out the window.
Lastly, better cardio over better kicking. I heard Justin Geathje say if he fought Khabib he'd chop his legs off. Maybe, but Barboza among others had great kicking games and they could not get anywhere because Nurmagomedovs timing is too damn good, youre asking to be on your back. I would want Tony Ferguson cardio. The guy is on a historic win streak for a reason. Even though he is hittable, he can be hurt, taken down etc. Regardless Tonys cardio seems to get better as the fight progresses. Which is an insane fact.
Cliffs: CREATE A FIGHTER THAT WOULD BEAT KHABIB IN A 5 ROUND FIGHT
You dont have to get as detailed as me. My main picks are all italics.
My thought: In order to beat Khabib in reality in a 5 round fight, not stopping him but beating him in a decision not being stopped by him one would need to have the perfect game plan, and implement that for an entire 5 rounds unless you can put him to bed. Most fighters would love nothing more than to finish The Eagle but in their heart of hearts they know they are likleuy going to be for 3 rounds at least a grueling pressured pace.
You need very high success in take down defense for when he grabs you, Khabib likely will get ahold of you between round 1-3. His style has shown even he has struggled to keep up that continued pace against a fighter that is unwilling to quit like the heart of an Al Iquinta for example.
You would need Dominick Cruz or TJ Dillashaw like foot work so you can navigate the cage making Khabib chase you.
I would say if you also had a significant reach advantage, such as the reach of Jon Jones to control distance would be enough but thats not the entire key to Jons success its his ability to hand fight and grab the hands with using that reach.
I think a boxing style like Robbie Lawler capable and looking for that one punch knock out sounds nice but I wouldnt prefer it in this case. I think that just gives Khabib more time to make calculated decisions, look what Colby could do with that free time. I feel volume would be the best approach. Crisp boxing like Max Holloway that comes off in volume your opponents time to reset goes out the window.
Lastly, better cardio over better kicking. I heard Justin Geathje say if he fought Khabib he'd chop his legs off. Maybe, but Barboza among others had great kicking games and they could not get anywhere because Nurmagomedovs timing is too damn good, youre asking to be on your back. I would want Tony Ferguson cardio. The guy is on a historic win streak for a reason. Even though he is hittable, he can be hurt, taken down etc. Regardless Tonys cardio seems to get better as the fight progresses. Which is an insane fact.
