How was Conor's TD defense better against Khabib than it was vs Dustin?

[FrankDux]

Holloway makes a great point (time stamped). Everyone's talking about the leg kicks but the TD's (if any) should make just as much of an impact:

:53

 

[JustOnce]

Holloway makes a great point (time stamped). Everyone's talking about the leg kicks but the TD's (if any) should make just as much of an impact:

:53

Because Conor was a lot more worried about Dustin's strikes.

Dustin's deceptively good at taking strikers down. That's how he won against Duffy, Pettis, and he made it look real easy taking Conor down.

I do think Conor can keep it standing though if you ask me. I think. But Poirier did make it look easy.

 

[horseshoe_pass man]

he was set up to defend against take downs, he was almost pre-emptively defending against takedowns against khabib because he knew what to expect. thats how khabib was able to knock him over with that overhand right because he was already getting ready for the takedown. he wasnt really expecting the first TD against dustin, at least not that early in the fight, caught him off guard and he wasnt set up for it. but dustin only shot one other time in the fight and it was easily stuffed by conor. dustin kind of gassed himself with the first grappling exchange, he cant do it like khabib. it kind of backfired, he got lit up bad on the feet right afterwards

 

[JonJonesNeedle]

Because Conor expected relentless takedowns from Khabib.

He likely expected little to no takedowns from Dustin. Even Dustin said he was surprised how easy it was to take Conor down.

 

[JustOnce]

Holloway makes a great point (time stamped). Everyone's talking about the leg kicks but the TD's (if any) should make just as much of an impact:

:53

Dustin talking about how easy it was to take Conor down and how he was NOT strong at all

 

[Krixes]

Conor wasn't prepared for a complete MMA match...

 

[Vaanderdecken]

Dustin talking about how easy it was to take Conor down and how he was NOT strong at all

He got a bit out-wrestled in the clinch though, and he couldn't stop Conor from getting back to his feet.

 

[fullspar]

Look at the stances of both fights, it should explain

 

[Gabriel201]

Cause Herb Dean allowed Conor to grab Khabib's shorts

 

[AndrewGolota48]

He got a bit out-wrestled in the clinch though, and he couldn't stop Conor from getting back to his feet.

Yeah what an absurd statement, it doesn't comply with reality at all. Diaz may has well have commented at how shockingly weak Rory was after their fight.

 

[fullspar]

Cause Herb Dean allowed Conor to grab Khabib's shorts

Conor's grappling coach "Let's train GI BJJ to prepare"

 

[horseshoe_pass man]

He got a bit out-wrestled in the clinch though, and he couldn't stop Conor from getting back to his feet.

yeah kind of a dumb thing to say but he just won so i guess he was amped up & excited. and typical fighter bravado stuff. he ended up with his back to the cage in the clinch and his second takedown attempt was pretty weak. i think yesterday in an interview dustin did mention conor was strong in the first round or something though so who knows what to believe

 

[Hollywood Jack]

Holloway makes a great point (time stamped). Everyone's talking about the leg kicks but the TD's (if any) should make just as much of an impact:

:53

Conor primarily had a boxing training camp for the fight, presuming that he would fight Pac. And DP hadn't really been using take downs as of late, he was tooling guys standing. So he wasn't really training for TD and didn't expect them. He also wasn't prepared for leg kicks, especially the low calf kicks. DP had great strategy and execution and the element of surprise. Mixed it up incredibly well and caught Conor cold.

 

[TriangleMonkey]

Watch the grappling exchange in the second fight with Dustin. When Conor finally reverses from the fence, you can see his entire back red (full of blood) and was also sapped from that exchange. Took the “pop” out of his punches.

 

[Nightgunner05]

I don't think he was expecting Dustin to even try to take him down. I'm guessing Dustin is going to try and take Conor Down more this third fight, but I think it would be a mistake. I think Conor is a better wrestler than Dustin and will either not be taken down, or will just be able to come back up like he did last time.

 

[Chok Sok Te]

I don't think he was expecting Dustin to even try to take him down. I'm guessing Dustin is going to try and take Conor Down more this third fight, but I think it would be a mistake. I think Conor is a better wrestler than Dustin and will either not be taken down, or will just be able to come back up like he did last time.

It’s MMA. Wonder what aspect of it he’ll be ‘surprised by’ when Dustin smokes him inside 3.

 

[ineverpost]

Conor was so focused on TDs against Khabib that he almost got KTFO by an overhand right. You can't fight scared or you're going to lose even worse than you would have.

 

[Heraclitus]

Holloway makes a great point (time stamped). Everyone's talking about the leg kicks but the TD's (if any) should make just as much of an impact:

:53

Max Holloway is a gentleman, a warrior, and a stud.

End of commentary,

 

[HitWithAFlare]

Watch the grappling exchange in the second fight with Dustin. When Conor finally reverses from the fence, you can see his entire back red (full of blood) and was also sapped from that exchange. Took the “pop” out of his punches.

His best power punches literally came after the clinch.

 

[Gamer007]

#1 He wasn't able to defend the shot because he threw his left and shifted forward. In the Khabib fight, Conor sees the entire sequence. He could've avoided the shot but choose to throw a potential fight ending knee instead.

#2 His defense against Khabib is overblown, he was using every trick in the book. The reason it may appear to be harder for Khabib was because he initially did nothing but grab a leg. He had no momentum or opportunity to put Conor on his back with the shot. He then takes the single leg and uses it to get Conor off balance, but he had to create that from nothing, he didn't have the momentum or surprise factor like Dustin. He just said I'm so much better than this guy, I'll dive for a leg and I'll still eventually get him on his back.


His takedown defense may have been a bit sharper due to the intense grappling preparation he had prior to the Khabib fight, but his actually takedown defense on a technical level wasn't better or worse, he just disrespected Dustin and got caught by surprise.

The Khabib sequence just took a bit longer because it wasn't a real takedown attempt, it was a literal dive for one leg, which he was able to take advantage of after a little struggle. If Conor left himself open for Khabib to dive under similar to Dustin, Khabib would've done the exact thing Dustin did, and truthfully if Conor wasn't grabbing his shorts, Khabib would've gotten him on his back much much sooner.