Both Khabilov & Nurmagomedov need to improve the striking to get title shot relevant

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priderulez

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Earlier this week I wrote in another thread that I think Nurmagomedov needs to improve his striking because he relies too heavily on his sambo/wrestling and that I though he'd lose against the top 5 guys like Bendo, Thompson and Melendez, who are good enough of wrestlers to negate most of his grappliong offense and beat him up on the feet where all of them have SIGNIFICANT advantage over him, especially in a 5 round fight. His striking is simply not on the level. The only thing that saves him is this crazy grappling ability he has. At LW this is not enough though.

Rustam Khabilov, he has the very same problem. Much like Khabib he has a couple of striking combinations/techniques he likes to use and that obviously makes him rather predictable on the feet. Last night Henderson proved that point.

So, yeah, everyone who thinks Nurmagomedov is ready for the title, he's not. I mean due to his style he actually might have decent shot at beating Pettis, but I see him losing decisively to all of the three guys I mentioned in the first paragraph.
 
agreed. that's what I predicted for the Bendo fight, too, although I Rustam did a better job for the first few rounds than I expected him to.

both have freak grappling. will allow them to stomp fighters without superb grappling, but elite grapplers who have better striking will beat them.
 
Khabib's striking is serviceable and he mainly uses it to clinch up and take you down.

But yeah, if he improved his striking he'd be a complete motherfucker. The guy's so fast and explosive that it's crazy. He leaps from across the octagon with a strike in the blink of an eye.
 
Rustam's good but Khabib is great. The only one in LW that I give a chance against him is bendo
 
True.. but a few takedowns a round dominates everything besides knockdowns.

Maybe the top 5 needs to sharpen up their suplex defense
 
Croton said:
Rustam's good but Khabib is great. The only one in LW that I give a chance against him is bendo
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I really do not consider Khabib much better than Rustam. As regards grappling they are probably at par. As regards striking they both as I already mentioned have nothing but a couple of combinations that they mainly use after the clinch or before it so they can set it up and some hight kicks they throw randomly, often without setting them up properly.

Recently I rewatched a couple of Khabib's fights in a row cause I really wanted to pay attention to his striking and I was not impressed. Like at all. Especially against Pat Healy where I got see more of it. Against Dos Anjos he dominated with grappling so, yeah. I still think Thompson, Bendo and Melendez beat him via superior anything else but grappling
 
I thought Khabilov's main problem was that he gassed. You could see that by the middle of the second round he wasn't the same fighter he was in the first. His striking was much slower and most noticeably he started getting worked a bit in the clinch. By the time Benson tagged him with the one two and then the choke, Rustam didn't have much left. I don't think his striking is great but it's not awful when he's not gassed.
 
CrimsonFan said:
True.. but a few takedowns a round dominates everything besides knockdowns.

Maybe the top 5 needs to sharpen up their suplex defense
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Pettis striking is a bit more persuasive to the judges though.

And yes, if Eagle lands takedown after takedown.. Let's not forget what Pettis did to Bendo to get the title in the first place. That was high lvl BJJ vs a HIGH lvl grappler.
 
I agree, their technique and lack of combinations will keep them from the title. They are both evolving. However, some grappling based fighters never get the hang of striking.

I think both have the style to give Pettis problems though.
 
I completely agree. Both are amazing grapplers, though Khabib is better. However, neither can really win a fight with their striking. Besides the Tavares fight who isnt even top 20.

They are in great camps and should improve just by being there. Khabilov has a bright future and in another 2 years could be a savage if he works on his striking alot. Khabib is already a savage even though his striking isnt great. It's effective for getting inside and having enough power/speed to throw his opponents off.
 
I agree that improved striking would be great, but has any one outstruck khabib ? He always seems to land more significant shots than his opponent. They need to make khabib vs benson, that will tell us if khabib is championship material.
 
Melendez would be nightmare matchup for Khabib, imo. Khabib would have a better chance against Benson then Rustam did. Rustam couldn't hold Benson down for very long and got winded trying. Once Khabib latches on, he's there until the round is over. I'm not really sure how those two guys would do against Thompson or Pettis but I assume they would be underdogs as well.
 
The only reason Rustam lost was because he gassed. He was owning Bendo in the grappling and tagged him numerous times with counters. Khabib has a gas tank and better grappling than Rustam. He also has worse striking but it doesn't matter because no one can wrestle with him.
 
Khabib the Goat King would beat Benson without having to throw a single strike, so no.
 
fortheo said:
They need to make khabib vs benson, that will tell us if khabib is championship material.
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Agreed 100%. Benson is the ultimate gatekeeper. If you can't beat him then get the fuck out of the title picture.

I hope Khabib winds up having to work his way up to get another shot at Bendo.. much less the title, because he gets by solely on style and clearly doesn't have many ways to beat elite competition.
 
Nurmy is title relevant right now. There is a reason why you hear the rumors that guys dont want to fight him.

I dont think it is the wrestlers that will give him trouble. It will be the elite strikers who have above average grappling skills. I think Pettis is such an interesting match up for him.
 
Steve08 said:
Agreed 100%. Benson is the ultimate gatekeeper. If you can't beat him then get the fuck out of the title picture.

I hope Khabib winds up having to work his way up to get another shot at Bendo.. much less the title, because he gets by solely on style and clearly doesn't have many ways to beat elite competition.
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you mean khabiliv? Or are you just assuming that khabib would lose against benson at this point. I think khabib would do well against benson. The match should definitely be made.
 
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