Al Iaquinta was just trying to survive

[Hazuki Ryo]

Khabib did everything to make the show :

115 distant strikes to 23
51 ground strikes
8 takedowns
multiple submissions attempts

He basically outstriked a feared striker, AGAIN. Iaquinta was fighting low to avoid being taken down too much and mauled in the ground. He did well, but apart from a few counters, that's the only thing he did.

Khabib was indeed a bit tired in rounds 3 and 4 but that's because he was active the WHOLE time, while Iaquinta was just trying to prove a point and stay alive for 5 rounds.

Khabib's game will increase when he will be pressured, just like his game was on point against MJ et Barboza, who were obvisouly here to finish him.

So the whole thing about the disappointment of this fight only comes from Iaquinta's desire to have a big payday and make Khabib look less dominant.

The reality is that this was another complete display of superiority from the eagle. Again. 26-0

 

[loisestrad]

He was fighting a fighter ranked #12.

He did what was expected, and couldn't even finish him.

 

[MikalP]

I'd say Khabib "fatigued" the same as any fighter going into championship rounds for the first time, and clearly it wasn't enough to stop him from getting TD's in the final round and laying it into Al

but, mcnuthuggers gotta exaggerate those weaknesses so they can convince themselves Conor might come back lmao

 

[Hazuki Ryo]

He was fighting a fighter ranked #12.

He did what was expected, and couldn't even finish him.

I'm sure Iaquinta will be ranked much higher in the next few years.

Iaquinta was avoiding the fight. He did nothing, no combinations

 

[VVarhead]

Why the fuck do we have to shit on one fighter to appreciate the other?

Khabib's performance was good, he's 26-0 for a reason.
Al Iaquinta showed lots of heart, and is a good fighter aswell.

Iaquinta had a hard time hitting Khabib because he was constantly anticipating the takedown.
We've seen wrestlers outstriking strikers because of this exact reason sooo many times in this sport, yet people still act surprised when it happens.

 

[007]

Much respect to Raging Al

 

[Hotora86]

He was fighting a fighter ranked #12.

He did what was expected, and couldn't even finish him.

How many fighters did GSP "not even finish"?

Khabib is like GSP - he doesn't finish ppl, he dominates them. A win is still a win and 26 wins are still 26 wins.

 

[Krazybee129]

Khabib gone a gonna down against Fergie

 

[accolyte1022]

Why the fuck do we have to shit on one fighter to appreciate the other?

Khabib's performance was good, he's 26-0 for a reason.
Al Iaquinta showed lots of heart, and is a good fighter aswell.

Take your hate and shove it up your ass. Iaquinta had a hard time hitting Khabib because he was constantly anticipating the takedown.
We've seen wrestlers outstriking strikers because of this exact reason sooo many times in this sport, yet people still act surprised when it happens.

Hmm.....

Sounds hateful.

 

[thegame2013]

Khabib knew he was gonna beat him easily after the first 2 rounds. Why destroy a guy who is doing you a favor by stepping in.

Did DC destroy Anderson?

 

[VVarhead]

Hmm.....

Sounds hateful.

Yeah, hateful towards fucking stupidity, but not towards the warriors that are the reason why the sport I love exists.

 

[Hazuki Ryo]

Why the fuck do we have to shit on one fighter to appreciate the other?

Khabib's performance was good, he's 26-0 for a reason.
Al Iaquinta showed lots of heart, and is a good fighter aswell.

Take your hate and shove it up your ass. Iaquinta had a hard time hitting Khabib because he was constantly anticipating the takedown.
We've seen wrestlers outstriking strikers because of this exact reason sooo many times in this sport, yet people still act surprised when it happens.

Now you're being emotional. i'm not talking about love or hate. I'm talking about facts. Iaquinta was not prepared for this fight anyway, so the whole point for him was trying to survive.
He did not do much.. Nothing surprising other that his ability to scramble and get out of dangerous positions.

 

[eon001]

Kahbib admitted that he wanted to go 25 minutes so he indirectly admitted to carrying Al.

He chose to make this a "boring" fight so it's on him not Al.

 

[VVarhead]

Now you're being emotional. i'm not talking about love or hate. I'm talking about facts. Iaquinta was not prepared for this fight anyway, so the whole point for him was trying to survive.
He did not do much.. Nothing surprising other that his ability to scramble and get out of dangerous positions.

Alright, maybe I was reacting a little too harsh. But all the people shitting on Iaquinta lately for stepping up on 1 day's notice to fight Khabib are really getting to me, honestly.
Obviously Iaquinta wasn't well-prepared, how could he be?

I definitely think Iaquinta was trying everything that's possible, but it's goddamn hard to look good against Khabib.
He was still trying to get Khabib with something in round 5, but it's hard to commit to strikes if the dude can just ragdoll you to the ground if you close the distance.

 

[TTech]

I was really disappointed in Iaquinta, liked the guy for years but this was soo bad. And all those "short preparation" and type excuses. The guy trains every day,all the time,years exp. Sure Khabib had more but the point was,at least for me, Al didnt show ANY fighting spirit. He was just bouncing around surviving.
If this was Huntor Wanderlei or any true fighter, he would go after it no matter what. The worst he can do is lose, which was expected of him anyway. Why he didnt go for broke baffles me. Kinda the same with Artem and Khabib. So what if KHabib had 20 guys around him, what are they going to kill him in the hotel lobby lol? Why would a fighter let anyone talk to him like that. I dont get it, really dont. They get physically injured in the cage so why are some fighters still so cowardly ?

 

[Sarge3000]

People put down Iaquinta but as a Khabib fan I was super impressed by him.
Going 25min no problem. That really shows cardio is really all mental at this level.

 

[rawknob]

Why the fuck do we have to shit on one fighter to appreciate the other?

Khabib's performance was good, he's 26-0 for a reason.
Al Iaquinta showed lots of heart, and is a good fighter aswell.

Iaquinta had a hard time hitting Khabib because he was constantly anticipating the takedown.
We've seen wrestlers outstriking strikers because of this exact reason sooo many times in this sport, yet people still act surprised when it happens.

Because the Conor fans are grasping at every straw possible to discredit Khabib and don't want to accept that there's a new champ.

 

[rawknob]

Now you're being emotional. i'm not talking about love or hate. I'm talking about facts. Iaquinta was not prepared for this fight anyway, so the whole point for him was trying to survive.
He did not do much.. Nothing surprising other that his ability to scramble and get out of dangerous positions.

Khabib was not prepared to face Iaquinta, what's your point?

 

[TheScorpionDude]

I was really disappointed in Iaquinta, liked the guy for years but this was soo bad. And all those "short preparation" and type excuses. The guy trains every day,all the time,years exp. Sure Khabib had more but the point was,at least for me, Al didnt show ANY fighting spirit. He was just bouncing around surviving.
If this was Huntor Wanderlei or any true fighter, he would go after it no matter what. The worst he can do is lose, which was expected of him anyway. Why he didnt go for broke baffles me. Kinda the same with Artem and Khabib. So what if KHabib had 20 guys around him, what are they going to kill him in the hotel lobby lol? Why would a fighter let anyone talk to him like that. I dont get it, really dont. They get physically injured in the cage so why are some fighters still so cowardly ?

Brutal and true.

When is Al going to fight for the title again ? He got a lucky break and didn't use it. Is he saving his anger for a future shot at 40 ?

Same with Artem. His career is going nowhere, that was his shot at showing some balls and getting some fans.

I got pretty pissed when I watched Anthony Joshuas last fight. His opponent, whose name I didn't bother to remember, was fucking jabbing in the last round. He had a TON of cardio left and didn't do shit.

Same thing with Conor vs Floyd. Why did Conor start so slow... the fuck was he expecting, that he would outsmart one of the best boxers ever ? I reeeeally expected him to go berserk in the first 2-3 rounds... just fuckit... go for broke.

That's why I respect Maidana. When he fought Floyd the first time he was like fuuuuuuuck yoouuuuuuu and went for broke. He didn't win, but he has nothing to regret.

Fucking people man...

 

[BRaVo cHoKe]

I was there. Al was fighting to win the whole time, not just survive. He was just too vastly outmatched to do so.

There is a difference between not trying to win and not being able to win.