Honest opinion on khabib

[Ryeboi]

I didnt say he doesnt have skills. He is a very good grappler. But he isnt as great as a complete fighter as people try to make him out to be. He is like a sakuraba during his run. Very good at catch wrestling and durable, but he honestly wasnt that complete, saku had bad stand up and would get caught in wild brawls, but he beat a shit ton of guys by his grappling.

And just because you rolled with some guys doesnt automatically make you know that khabib is some next level shit. Hes a very good grappler. But he lunges in with punches. Look at the punch he caught conor with. It was a terrible punch in most instances, but it landed because conor didnt expect it. Im not even tryin to shit on khabib, you got super defensive, can you honestly say with confidence that khabib has above average stand-up?

Sak was fighting in a different era. He beat four Gracie's afterall who were also not known for their striking. Back then you only needed to be good at one thing. During the beginning of Mma, as we know it, weight classes were not firmly adhered to. Sak entered tournaments against light heavyweights and heavyweights but only weighed 185 lbs. He was giving up 40 pounds in some cases. And he fought in a league that was infampus for its poor PED restrictions. So sure he's going to get caught.

Khabib only fights people in his weight class so you can't compare the two. But you can say that
Khabib is 28 wins, had no losses and never popped for steroids.

While jones in all reality is an undefeated fighter at 26 wins and 0 loss...He popped twice for roids.

My personal experience has given me insight on the levels to the grappling game. Sure I havent wrestled with khabib firsthand but if you watch his fights against abel, michael johnson and conor... it's rather obvious that his grappling is next level.

And as for not being a versatile striker, yea that's true. But that doesn't mean he's not the goat.

Mayweather is arguably the greatest boxers of all time, but he's not known for his overwhelming offense like pacman, nor does he have 1-punch power.. What he is known for is his air tight defense.

Similarly Khabib doesn't display the trademarks of an elite mma striker in the literal sense of punching and kicking. But there's a lot more to striking...
Khabib has positional awareness of his body, understanding of distance and how to close it, uses effective footwork and feints, and knows how to read his opponents.

You have to give credit where credit is due. His record is the proof. If his punches are so bad bc he lunges, why do professional fighters keep getting "caught off guard"? Why cant high level strikers like conor capitalize on khabib bad technique?

 

[HardasNAILZ]

Fuck off then.
Conor is on record saying he had a great camp for Khabib. Then he got his bearded clam almost ripped off and started making excuses like the bad loser he is.
Then his load gargling gullible fans , thatd be you, believe this rubbish and start repeating it ad nauseum.
Conor will get choked out again when they do rematch. Lets hope Khabib hangs onto it a bit longer for shits and giggled

OK PAL.

 

[Shtey]

Always brings it. Some of the most fun ground game to watch. I enjoy seeing him maul people.

 

[You Will Vote For Dreyga]

People VASTLY underestimate his striking. It’s awkward but that’s because he is using an obscure style. However he has held his own against Mcgregor and Poirier. And out struck several top while on the feet

 

[No Skill Gap]

Barboza, Porrier, Iaquinta, mcgregor all have the ability to compete with any man on this earth at 155 pounds, also who else even is there in the division lol? You literally just named the top 5 and then used it as evidence khabib hasn’t beaten anyone good. Want him to pick up cowboy and throw him on the ground a couple times? The tony fight is already made, I don’t understand your point. Who would you have him fight?
Gaethje, Tony, Cowboy, Alexander Hernandez and Charles Olievera are the only people in the top 10 he hasn’t fought, who other than tony Ferguson do you think khabib has to prove himself against between those? Hahaha

Naming Al Iaquinta says it all.

33.3% of all title fights involved Al Iaquinta to this point, there's nothing more to talk about. Barboza is a nice win, Porier is a nice win and had a fake belt at the time, McGregor is a very good win - albeit a big style mismatch objectively. You didn't even name RDA which - if he was in his prime / title run form then he is clearly a better win than anyone but McGregor.

I never said it was Khabib's fault necessarily. But it remains a fact he has 2 title defenses and won the belt of a journeyman fringe top 10 guy. He didn't get to face an Eddie Alvarez or BJ Penn / Benson / Edgar / Maynard, that was a previous era of course. But in this era there really hasn't been a hallmark champion, or stud challengers.

Since Benson lost the title it has been: Pettis - 1 defense, RDA - 1 defense, Alvarez - 0 defenses, McGregor - 0 defenses (but also did not lose it). And now Khabib - 2 title defenses. But winning the belt over IaQuinta, again not Khabib's fault that others were injured...but what would the McGregor haters or Jones haters say about them fighting at LW/WW or HW against a guy like Iaquinta? Everyone would be accusing the UFC of being 100% WWE at that point. It was an easy ass title fight.

Beating Tony is the next step for Khabib and we don't have to discuss it because it's scheduled. We'll see how it plays out, that's a legit notch in the belt...far more than Iaquinta, and more than RDA at the time imo, and Porier easily.

 

[Mamou]

Mir knocked our Mirko Crocop.

So did Schaub and Randleman, what's your point?