Ferguson vs Khabib appreciation thread

nick jacoby

nick jacoby

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Fan of both guys....This fight has got me so pumped for some reason. More so than I have been
in a very long time.

Finding it realllly hard not to love Khabib. No matter where you're from.
Dude is a Russian warrior, a relentless grappler with an iron chin, and cardio for days.....
Not to mention some of the most vicious Ground and Pound in the history of the sport.
Khabib has an aura about him and its almost Fedor like. ALMOST..... Not quite.
Who can stop this mans grappling? It has yet to be seen


Tony Ferguson- Cringe Worthy at times with his trash talk. But that weirdness makes him
kinda hilarious and bad ass at the same time. He trains awkwardly, fights awkwardly, uses his reach
really well and I love when he utilizes his jab..He throws crazy kicks and spin techniques, has absolutely incredible heart,chin, cardio and recovery and slick unpredictable BJJ.
Im not sure a second goes by T-Ferg isn't thinking about fighting


Both dudes are on their way to becoming legends. True fighters ... I expect this to be a war
and possibly one of the most important fights in the history of the LW division


Khabib by Unanimous Decision - 49-46... Both dudes bloody and battered
 
I can't wait!!! Fight of the year

To get even more pumped up, here is their epic argument in a conference call from last year:

 
Dude don't jinx it!
 
I appreciate Khabib vs Tony.


I just wish that most of the card didn't suck before it.


It will be good to see Zabit give someone a good old Chechen ninjafucking though.
 
Khabib has pretty suspect cardio....

Khabib UD or gets caught late while exhausted. I don't think Khabib will have anything left fighting at Tonys pace for 5 rounds but see him dominating it until he tires.
 
Badass fight! Probably the 2nd best fight of the year aside from Stipe vs DC.
 
RonnyB said:
Khabib has pretty suspect cardio....

Khabib UD or gets caught late while exhausted. I don't think Khabib will have anything left fighting at Tonys pace for 5 rounds but see him dominating it until he tires.
Click to expand...
You really think Khabib has suspect cardio? I had the opposite feeling looking at the way he was moving last fight. I don't think cardio is going to be a factor at all in this fight.
 
Werd. I'd add neither had to fight each other and signed up 4x

Khabib was 1 and Connie went running with baby excuse signed up like 1 month later to fight Tony

Tony is interim and thus 1 and signed when asked to fight Khabib after Connie got thrown off Christmas card

I love both these guys. I like Tonys style better but whatever. May best man win.
 
I remember this board being more excited for the fight the third time it was booked. Good to see some enthusiasm, but it really does feel like there's a 50/50 shot this bout will actually happen.
 
Yep. Definitely a treat for fight fans and hopefully a classic that goes down in the books.
 
Very excited for this fight but I think you are overrating Khabib just a bit. Some of the most vicious ground and pound in history? Guy has ONE stoppage from strikes on the ground against a can. Iron chin? Completely unproven at this point.

Khabib's cardio and takedowns are incredibly good. However, I am not as impressed as others with stats like he "scores the most takedowns per round of anyone." Really, IMO, that just shows that people are often able to get up after he takes them down which is not an efficient way to fight; I don't care how good someone's cardio is. Boring as it may be, if a guy like Jake Shields or Jon Fitch get on top of you, that round is over.

Also, Khabib's standup has looked very weak in the brief times we have seem him standing. Michael Johnson, who was never top 5 and is 1-5 in his last 6 fights, was lighting Khabib up before he got taken down.

No matter how many times we've seen hyped fighters get exposed, people always seem to delusionally think that one guy's dominant strength has the answer to beat all contenders. Khabib's grappling is amazing but how would he fare against a top wrestler who can stuff his takedowns and control the standup? How will his cardio hold up when he is taking damage and isn't getting takedowns at will? There are a lot of question marks around him still and until he is active for a long stretch of time (only 4 fights in the last 5 years) and faces a wider ranger of top competition, it is tough to read his full potential.

That being said, I still think he beats Tony. Ferguson has a very long win streak, but just like Khabib's record, none of those names really jump off the page at you besides RDA. Tony has a huge striking advantage but so does everyone who faces Khabib and I really don't think it matters. I think Tony's wrestling is a tad overrated and none of his previous opponents have the offensive wrestling to give me any sort of confidence that Tony can stuff Khabib's takedowns consistently come fight time. His defensive guard didn't look great against Kevin Lee either and I just think he will get worn out after being taken down over and over.

TLDR: Khabib in another non-telling UD win. When he faces a truly elite defensive wrestler though (which LW sorely lacks atm), he will get exposed badly
 
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FreddieRoachsVoice said:
Very excited for this fight but I think you are overrating Khabib just a bit. Some of the most vicious ground and pound in history? Guy has ONE stoppage from strikes on the ground against a can. Iron chin? Completely unproven at this point.

Khabib's cardio and takedowns are incredibly good. However, I am not as impressed as others with stats like he "scores the most takedowns per round of anyone." Really, IMO, that just shows that people are often able to get up after he takes them down which is not an efficient way to fight; I don't care how good someone's cardio is. Boring as it may be, if a guy like Jake Shields or Jon Fitch get on top of you, that round is over.

Also, Khabib's standup has looked very weak in the brief times we have seem him standing. Michael Johnson, who was never top 5 and is 1-5 in his last 6 fights, was lighting Khabib up before he got taken down.

No matter how many times we've seen hyped fighters get exposed, people always seem to delusionally think that one guy's dominant strength has the answer to beat all contenders. Khabib's grappling is amazing but how would he fare against a top wrestler who can stuff his takedowns and control the standup? How will his cardio hold up when he is taking damage and isn't getting takedowns at will? There are a lot of question marks around him still and until he is active for a long stretch of time (only 4 fights in the last 5 years) and faces a wider ranger of top competition, it is tough to read his full potential.

That being said, I still think he beats Tony. Ferguson has a very long win streak, but just like Khabib's record, none of those names really jump off the page at you besides RDA. Tony has a huge striking advantage but so does everyone who faces Khabib and I really don't think it matters. I think Tony's wrestling is a tad overrated and none of his previous opponents have the offensive wrestling to give me any sort of confidence that Tony can stuff Khabib's takedowns consistently come fight time. His defensive guard didn't look great against Kevin Lee either and I just think he will get worn out after being taken down over and over.

TLDR: Khabib in another non-telling UD win. When he faces a truly elite defensive wrestler though (which LW sorely lacks atm), he will get exposed badly
Click to expand...

Pretty good post actually.

I do agree that as much of an absolute beast as Khabib is, I can't help but feel he's being slightly overrated too. Johnson and Barboza are both very limited fighters. And even though it's improved a bit since the flying hammerfist days, his standup looked fucking horrible against Johnson.

And that is a very good point about the lack of GnP stoppages. I mean, he's very dominant on the ground and it looks absolutely brutal, yet somehow he's not scoring finishes? It's weird.

Anyway it's interesting you're still picking Khabib, as you did sound like a firm Kebab doubter until then.

And Tony's 2 most recent wins can't be underrated. The current RDA is a well rounded beast, and Kevin Lee is big, strong, young, athletic, and seems to have improved a lot. Two really good wins IMO, and even the rest of his streak has some solid enough wins.

I feel like Kebab is a bit overrated, and Tony is a bit underrated so this fight is close to 50/50.
 
FlowchartRog said:
Pretty good post actually.

I do agree that as much of an absolute beast as Khabib is, I can't help but feel he's being slightly overrated too. Johnson and Barboza are both very limited fighters. And even though it's improved a bit since the flying hammerfist days, his standup looked fucking horrible against Johnson.

And that is a very good point about the lack of GnP stoppages. I mean, he's very dominant on the ground and it looks absolutely brutal, yet somehow he's not scoring finishes? It's weird.

Anyway it's interesting you're still picking Khabib, as you did sound like a firm Kebab doubter until then.

And Tony's 2 most recent wins can't be underrated. The current RDA is a well rounded beast, and Kevin Lee is big, strong, young, athletic, and seems to have improved a lot. Two really good wins IMO, and even the rest of his streak has some solid enough wins.

I feel like Kebab is a bit overrated, and Tony is a bit underrated so this fight is close to 50/50.
Click to expand...

I absolutely am a doubter of Khabib but against the right person; styles make fights. Tony's win over RDA was huge but rankings aside, this is a completely different style of fighter. I haven't seen Tony face anyone with strong enough offensive takedowns for me to believe he can stop Khabib's consistently so I have to pick the grappler on this one.

I am definitely rooting for Tony though and hope he can somehow stuff them and light Khabib up. I cringe at the idea of having another injury prone fighter like Cain Velasquez as the champion so I am not looking forward to both LW belts collecting dust for the rest of the year if Khabib wins.
 
FreddieRoachsVoice said:
Very excited for this fight but I think you are overrating Khabib just a bit. Some of the most vicious ground and pound in history? Guy has ONE stoppage from strikes on the ground against a can. Iron chin? Completely unproven at this point.

Khabib's cardio and takedowns are incredibly good. However, I am not as impressed as others with stats like he "scores the most takedowns per round of anyone." Really, IMO, that just shows that people are often able to get up after he takes them down which is not an efficient way to fight; I don't care how good someone's cardio is. Boring as it may be, if a guy like Jake Shields or Jon Fitch get on top of you, that round is over.

Also, Khabib's standup has looked very weak in the brief times we have seem him standing. Michael Johnson, who was never top 5 and is 1-5 in his last 6 fights, was lighting Khabib up before he got taken down.

No matter how many times we've seen hyped fighters get exposed, people always seem to delusionally think that one guy's dominant strength has the answer to beat all contenders. Khabib's grappling is amazing but how would he fare against a top wrestler who can stuff his takedowns and control the standup? How will his cardio hold up when he is taking damage and isn't getting takedowns at will? There are a lot of question marks around him still and until he is active for a long stretch of time (only 4 fights in the last 5 years) and faces a wider ranger of top competition, it is tough to read his full potential.

That being said, I still think he beats Tony. Ferguson has a very long win streak, but just like Khabib's record, none of those names really jump off the page at you besides RDA. Tony has a huge striking advantage but so does everyone who faces Khabib and I really don't think it matters. I think Tony's wrestling is a tad overrated and none of his previous opponents have the offensive wrestling to give me any sort of confidence that Tony can stuff Khabib's takedowns consistently come fight time. His defensive guard didn't look great against Kevin Lee either and I just think he will get worn out after being taken down over and over.

TLDR: Khabib in another non-telling UD win. When he faces a truly elite defensive wrestler though (which LW sorely lacks atm), he will get exposed badly
Click to expand...


His ground and pound keeps coming and never lets up. He's an animal in top position

His relentless pursuit of the takedown mixed in with his insanse top pressure is what makes him
one of the GOATS at LW
 
I'm a huge Khabib fan and don't really care for Tony but I have to give him props for taking this fight.

He could have easily just sat out and waited and demanded Conor and I don't think it would have been unreasonable to do so since he already has the interim belt. The natural conclusion would be to unify the belts, not have the "original champion" sit out like a punk and have the interim title holder defend his interim title belt lmao.

So I appreciate Tony's willingness to truly want to challenge himself as a fighter and mixed martial artist.
 
nick jacoby said:
His ground and pound keeps coming and never lets up. He's an animal in top position

His relentless pursuit of the takedown mixed in with his insanse top pressure is what makes him
one of the GOATS at LW
Click to expand...

That's great when things are going his way, but what happens when he faces a top wrestler who he can't get on the ground? What I was explaining in my post is that Khabib is very controlling in one area but because he is so one-dimensional, it is only a matter of time until his stand-up weakenesses get exposed.

Styles make fights and Khabib has looked excellent so far because he has had suitable match-ups, but he has not faced a single elite wrestler to give me confidence that he can win a fight when the takedown isn't there. Saying "he can take down anyone" is as blind as saying Carwin or Ngannou will just KO anyone; EVERYONE in mma is beatable. I don't consider Tony and elite wrestler and thus don't think he will win this fight, but Khabib is not the unstoppable force people make him out to be just because he has a padded undefeated record
 
Typrune Goatley said:
I can't wait!!! Fight of the year

To get even more pumped up, here is their epic argument in a conference call from last year:

Click to expand...


"Only thing you'll break is your heart after I kick your ass."

Tony is horrible at talking, but occasionally, he'll strike gold.
 
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