How good is Khabib's striking? [video]

[TheHouyhnhnm1]

No. Offense will matter in this fight, too. How else will he set up TD’s, clinch attempts or push Conor back to the fence where he can try these things? Khabib’s not all that effective in the center. His best work is at the fence. Rarely does he just shoot for TD’s or attempt to clinch. He almost always sets it up with strikes.

He’ll have to do this against Conor because just shooting and hoping for the best will not work. Conor is good at making opponents pay for failed TD’s, especially ones out of desperation, telegraphed TD’s and clinching will get Khabib cracked. Eddie isn’t Khabib, but he tried 1-2 TD’s without setting it up with his strikes and Conor saw it coming a mile away and was far out of range within a second.

Conor can finish fights in less than 10 seconds. He just needs to land one and that could be it. Khabib almost always needs a few rounds of he just wins a decision. Khabib is going to need to be perfect against Conor. Conor doesn’t need to be perfect against Khabib. Khabib is going to need to use his hands to get Conor where he wants him early on. He can’t afford a single mistake.

Totally agree. Khabib has exactly zero fights where he doesn't throw a decent amount of stand-up punches.

 

[68WCombatMedic]

Fair points. But if he has such good top control, why does he have so many takedowns? I mean, you can't get 21 takedowns in a fight unless you keep letting your opponent back up. Is he letting them back up on purpose? (not impossible since being taken down is more taxing than lying on your back)

Fair enough, I'm not one that personally believes he's this hulk smasher on the ground so I can see your points. Try explaining that to some other posters on here though lol

And like you said, 21 takedowns in a fight means he isn't holding his opponent down, but he also isn't standing and striking either. I haven't seen the fight in a long time, it was against Trujillo, right? I'll have to go rewatch it but I would assume with 21 takedowns, majority of that fight was clinch, takedown, repeat. Not stand and bang for a minute or two, takedown, repeat. If I'm wrong, since I haven't seen the fight since watching it live, feel free to correct me.

 

[TheHouyhnhnm1]

Fair enough, I'm not one that personally believes he's this hulk smasher on the ground so I can see your points. Try explaining that to some other posters on here though lol

And like you said, 21 takedowns in a fight means he isn't holding his opponent down, but he also isn't standing and striking either. I haven't seen the fight in a long time, it was against Trujillo, right? I'll have to go rewatch it but I would assume with 21 takedowns, majority of that fight was clinch, takedown, repeat. Not stand and bang for a minute or two, takedown, repeat. If I'm wrong, since I haven't seen the fight since watching it live, feel free to correct me.

Yep 100% correct. Forget 50% on the ground or on the feet. Khabib had a full body lock on Abel for nearly 50% of that fight.
He may very well try to do that to Conor.

 

[68WCombatMedic]

Yep 100% correct. Forget 50% on the ground or on the feet. Khabib had a full body lock on Abel for nearly 50% of that fight.
He may very well try to do that to Conor.

He very well may succeed too, only thing is, with Conor's reach advantage and counter striking and Khabib's penchant for "bull rushing" opponents straight back into the cage, Conor can potentially have quite a few angles to land some solid shots as Khabib comes in. Khabibs striking isn't bad, as some people will say. It's awkward, but not bad, but he does have a tendency to come forward, chin up, throwing hooks. He does that against Conor and he's serving his head up on a silver platter. Khabib's biggest challenge is going to be closing that distance. Conor does have very good footwork and distance control. Combine that with his reach and it won't be easy for Khabib to get into that clinch position.

It's such an intriguing fight because both guys have a clear, yet separate, path to victory.

On a side note, I wanna thank you for being a solid poster and not just shit talking or throwing around baseless claims. It's a breath of fresh air to actually have a decent conversation with someone on here.

 

[CPH]

Yeah I agree. In the Khabib/Tibau fight. Rogan thought Tibau won going to the judges. It was a pretty clear 30-27, I think.
It's strange how bad Rogan is at watching fights.

Classic Rogan moment: Koscheck vs Thiago

From the opening bell, Rogan is on a mission to sell Kos' improved striking. So obviously, he completely overstates whatever success Josh is having and decides to pick apart Paulo's striking using his armchair expert's book of striking cliches.

Meanwhile, I'm watching this wondering what the fuck Rogan is talking about, as it's obvious that a) Kos is still just your basic wrestle-boxer b) Paulo actually has some nice timing and is looking dangerous.

Then just as Rogan proclaims that Thiago is "getting KOed any moment now..." or some shit like that):

 

[TheHouyhnhnm1]

Classic Rogan moment: Koscheck vs Thiago

From the opening bell, Rogan is on a mission to sell Kos' improved striking. So obviously, he completely overstates whatever success Josh is having and decides to pick apart Paulo's striking using his armchair expert's book of striking cliches.

Meanwhile, I'm watching this wondering what the fuck Rogan is talking about, as it's obvious that a) Kos is still just your basic wrestle-boxer b) Paulo actually has some nice timing and is looking dangerous.

Then just as Rogan proclaims that Thiago is "getting KOed any moment now..." or some shit like that):

The image isn't working!! I NEED TO SEE

 

[I Am Legion]

Yeah I've seen it to. It honestly looks like a rope-a-dope tactic to me. He's not seriously going to try some of those combinations against Connor is he? You gotta assume he's gonna with a pure low-risk strategy on the feet.

You would think, but his confidence is off the charts. He bullies most of the guys he fights...never technical, but he does land...but none of the fighters he has faced has the angles, movement and power Connor has. Khabib always comes forward closing the distance....a good counter guy will take advantage of that. I just don’t see Connor stopping the takedowns.

 

[cevo]

Khabib's technique in his punches and kicks are very mediocre, which makes his overall striking appear much worse than it actually is. His distance, timing and defense are very good and that is why no one can hurt him standing up. Also having the ability to ragdoll people in the clinch when you feel pressured helps.

 

[mikesparrow]

After watching that "highlight" video, I'm convinced he is going to get slept.

 

[Rear Nakey]

Khabib has sub-novice level striking. It is so bad as to be laughable.

 

[D 1 Wrestler]

 

[Bend NvR Break]

Gassed McGregor>>>>>>>>>99% UFC striking. UFC striking is really low level and that is why Conor, just a normal dude with youth boxing, was able to steamroll thru some of the fighters considered to be the best strikers in the UFC.

We gonna pretend his massive size advantage didn't play a role?

 

[Arne Rud]

Its underrated I think

 

[Mookie]

It's super unorthodox and hilarious to watch at times, but it's effective enough to get him into clinch range, and he's not easy to tag cleanly.

It's going to be fucking hilarious to watch him try that shit on McGregor.

 

[Mookie]

Not good. But that grappling is top-tier and what got him here. This will be the classic striker vs wrestler - Joe.

And from what we've learned? Historically the better striker wins more times than not. It's true. When you get to that striking peak? You start to eat wrestlers alive. Silva, Chuck, Conor, etc. The only way wrestlers can *truly* beat a top tier striker is to setup the takedowns with strikes and thats where they usually come apart.