Had Barboza have any chance other than a lucky punch if he had a better gameplan?

[Boevik]

How could Barboza even beat Khabib other than land a lucky kick/punch?
His gameplan was back-pedaling and try to keep Khabib out of range by kicks, footwork and TDD, that's basically same that Michael Johnson tried to do and neither of them had a success.
If you are doing nothing but coming back, sooner or later Khabib will put his hands on you and you're over.
But what could he even do? Put a pressure on Khabib himself? Start surprisingly agressive, try to engage and trade? Shoot a double-leg? What could be a smartest gameplan for him from what we saw now?
And basically, i think any pure striker has nothing more than a puncher chance with healthy Khabib.

 

[Grijswaarde]

I guess you already answered your own question... once you grapple with Khabib basically everyone is fucked. Taking him down might indeed be an option, but chances he turns it around and you end up on the buttom are pretty big. His threat of takedowns makes kicking dangerous, even though Barboza had some success in the beginning of the fight.

You need long arms, a lot of movement and a great one punch ko straight i guess. That would be my best guess at least.

Khabib is one of the best fighters in the world for a reason. His puzzle is very very complicated.

 

[Chain Saw]

Anyone at LW, if Khabib gets ahold of you with enough time to work, it's over.

Tony has the best shot.

 

[Kung Fu bb]

I just want Barboza to stop backpedalling like that every time someone pressures him. I want him to stand his ground, stay in the middle of the octagon is strike from there. I´m not sure, but I think it´s better for Khabib to chain wrestle his opponent if he´s stuck against the fence like Barboza.

 

[DRMZ]

You need to be elite at cutting weight, have brilliant cardio, strong wrestling, nice scrambling ability, BJJ and decent striking.

You need to be complete and multi faceted in your offence.

The best fit of those traits at 155 is Ferguson.

 

[Chain Saw]

You need to be elite at cutting weight, have brilliant cardio, strong wrestling, nice scrambling ability, BJJ and decent striking.

You need to be complete and multi faceted in your offence.

The best fit of those traits at 155 is Ferguson.

People think Tony has bad striking but it's just unorthodox.

He is actually fairly calculated and was able to outstrike RDA who has pretty damn good Muay Thai.

 

[revoltub]

Barboza is tailor made for khabib. He never beats him other than lucky punch

 

[DRMZ]

People think Tony has bad striking but it's just unorthodox.

He is actually fairly calculated and was able to outstrike RDA who has pretty damn good Muay Thai.

Agree. I don’t think Tony has that show stopping power, he’s more of an attrition guy, but he can certainly strike. His athleticisim and mental movements make a Khabib fight particularly interesting.

He moves in a very perculiar way, also doesn’t get tired. I could see Khabib just walking all over the place trying to get on him to no avail.

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

Anyone at LW, if Khabib gets ahold of you with enough time to work, it's over.

Tony has the best shot.

Tony? Tony got wrestle fucked by Danny Castillo. Tony and RDA are very well matched fighters, they are also great fighters, but they are a clear tier below Khabib. Eddie, Justin, Tony, Lee, RDA, Cerrone, Barboza, MJ and Dustin are all great fighters but a clear tier below Khabib and yes, even Conor @ 155. Conor likely also gets smoked by Khabib but he is has only chance, by way of a quick KO.

 

[FrontNakedChoke]

He needed to move forward, but more importantly he needed to hurt Khabib early and continue to punish him which he was not able to do.

Hard to get your kicks going when you're constantly being pushed backwards. I gave Barboza a chance but it was a really difficult style match up for him.

 

[Arkridge]

I thought Barboza would be a much more difficult test for Khabib. I was wrong as fuck. If anyone stands a chance I think it's Tony Ferguson but even that may be a stretch. A shame that fight may have to be for an interim title. It deserves to be a real title fight.

 

[Human Bass]

The only chance is to have powerful accurate punches to intercept Khabib when he is coming for the clinch. Quite a small window.

 

[Chain Saw]

Tony? Tony got wrestle fucked by Danny Castillo. Tony and RDA are very well matched fighters, they are also great fighters, but they are a clear tier below Khabib. Eddie, Justin, Tony, Lee, RDA, Cerrone, Barboza, MJ and Dustin are all great fighters but a clear tier below Khabib and yes, even Conor @ 155. Conor likely also gets smoked by Khabib but he is has only chance, by way of a quick KO.

Tony is a different animal at this point. He has the most dangerous bottom game in all the UFC and he has insane cardio.

McGregor has the best shot at a quick KO but that's it.

If Khabib grabs ahold of him in the 1st it's over. He doesn't have the heart, chin or cardio to survive the beating and make it into the 2nd to try again.

Whereas Tony has real scrambling ability and real submission threats from the bottom while also being a much better striker than Khabib. He also has the chin and cardio to survive all 5 rounds.

 

[djacobox372]

Barboza fought a good fight just by staying in it and staying dangerous until the end.

Frankly Khabib's performance didn't impress, he allowed Barboza to stay in it, and could have been KTFO at any moment throughout the fight by a guy who is inarguably the explosive striker at 155.

Barboza is not known for being especially durable, Kahbib should have stopped him and got out of danger.

 

[AP_RESURRECTION]

I think his best plan is to stay at range, and commit when Khabib comes into range with big shots - mix in some running away and resetting to keep it a bit unpredictable - generally, its a hard strategy to implment - typically guys like Khabib ultimately are unable to secure the takedown, but khabbi seems to be unreal in that regard so far, like GSP

 

[Shammon]

Barboza fought a good fight just by staying in it and staying dangerous until the end.

Frankly Khabib's performance didn't impress, he allowed Barboza to stay in it, and could have been KTFO at any moment throughout the fight by a guy who is inarguably the explosive striker at 155.

Barboza is not known for being especially durable, Kahbib should have stopped him and got out of danger.

Khabib basically did what he did to MJ. Battered them until they had about 30% of their energy and will left so that he could strike with them and try out some of the kickboxing combos Javier taught him without the risk of being knocked out lol. Khabib could have easily finished Barboza if he committed to the takedown and submission from the second round onwards. The only reason he submitted MJ was because he didn't want to continue to bash his face in lol.

 

[legkicktko]

I just want Barboza to stop backpedalling like that every time someone pressures him. I want him to stand his ground, stay in the middle of the octagon is strike from there. I´m not sure, but I think it´s better for Khabib to chain wrestle his opponent if he´s stuck against the fence like Barboza.

That’s the worst thing he could do is stand his ground. That’s what traditional Muay Thai guys like Anthony Njokuani do, it’s what Michael Johnson tried, and it’s very hard to stop a takedown that way. As soon as you stand your ground he blasts through you.

Barbozas been doing fine against pressure in other cases, (dariush, Melendez, even Ferguson). Khabib is just some next level stuff and his grappling is something I’ve never seen before

 

[High Altitude]

You have to go after khabib from the very beginning and hurt him and take away his take downs.

You need to go at him, throw and step off to his side/pivot to avoid the take down. Exchange after exchange, hopefully landing and racking up damage.

Put khabib on the defensive and make him worried about getting hit so he won't be actively looking for the take down as much.

Back pedaling and looking for that one punch doesn't work because khabib doesn't just come forward, he marches forward nonstop. His pressure is too much.

Also, if khabib grabs you, you have to make getting one leg free a priority as you get taken down. He controls you by tieing up your legs. With one leg fee you can get back to your feet. Of course you will take a couple shots in the process, but if you get tied up underneath, you are fucked.

 

[ArtemV]

If Khabib didn't walk forward, calf kicks would work a treat for Barboza.

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

Tony is a different animal at this point. He has the most dangerous bottom game in all the UFC and he has insane cardio.

McGregor has the best shot at a quick KO but that's it.

If Khabib grabs ahold of him in the 1st it's over. He doesn't have the heart, chin or cardio to survive the beating and make it into the 2nd to try again.

Whereas Tony has real scrambling ability and real submission threats from the bottom while also being a much better striker than Khabib. He also has the chin and cardio to survive all 5 rounds.

I can largely agree with this. However, after 189, 205 and even MacMay, I feel saying Conor has no heart, chin or cardio is borderline insane. I give Khabib the upper hand still, but Conor has proven his heart, chin and cardio ten fold. Chin? The guy has never been knocked down, even by the greatest boxer ever, going past 5 MMA rounds, in his sport/ruleset with only 6 months to prep. I think if any relative sized MMA fighter laster 6 rounds with Floyd, it would be a bloody miracle - people still do not realize how impressive what he did was, as the measuring stick was impossible to overcome - for instance, Gatti (arguably the largest hearted boxer ever) was out of there in 6.

Tony is a great fighter, 155 is the most stacked division, but the only two fighters that have stuck out head and shoulders above the rest in FW and LW, are Conor and Khabib. If you are having your hands full at 55 with RDA, Conor and Khabib will smoke your ass like bacon.