I Understand Why Khabib Retired

[Azyy]

Yes I'm sure he'd be average in a division where Pettis KO'D a top 5 Welter, Masvidal fought for a title twice, RDA was at one point ranked #1 contender, and Chiesa was in the top 5.

Clearly LWs do so poorly at 170


Edit: oh and I forgot to shout out former 155er Burns(who wasn't even a top 10 LW) who's currently ranked #2.

Lightweight has a failed featherweight with 8 losses as a champ, 3/6 of the last champs are former featherweights.

#3 Dariush got brutally finished by Chiesa and Barboza, who aren’t even contenders in their divisions. Chandler got finished by a featherweight a few fights ago and is 1-1 but is ranked #4. Justin is 5-3 and Conor is 1-3 and are in the top 10. Tony is still ranked somehow too. The supposed P4P uncrowned champ Dustin went life and death with Hooker last year. The division is so stagnant Islam got in the top 5 with one ranked win.

Welterweight shits on lightweight and it’s not even close.

 

[DagOban**]

He went out on top, on his own terms, and seems to have a life outside the sport / long-term plans. It's a rare feat that should be commended instead of scrutinized. He left his fans wanting more instead of dragging things out, as is too often the case in the sport.

This.

Besides GSP, not many fighters managed to do this.

 

[JonJonesNeedle]

I want to say you're right, but everyone is different and has different tolerances. When he got on the scale against Gaethje he looked like a ghost and could barely stand. And we all remember the controversy that ensued with the guy doing the scale.

That was moreso because he got sick that camp, and he also got injured during that camp. Most fighters would have pulled out, but Khabib instead went through with the fight and had a masterclass

 

[JonJonesNeedle]

Khabib basically ended his career in the most ideal way possible: on top, undefeated, financially sound, and with an incredible post - fighting career/ventures all lined up.
Yet Sherdog can't seem to wrap its mind around it.

That's because 99% of Sherdog consists of miserable human trash who spread hate and misery.

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

Lightweight has a failed featherweight with 8 losses as a champ, 3/6 of the last champs are former featherweights.

#3 Dariush got brutally finished by Chiesa and Barboza, who aren’t even contenders in their divisions. Chandler got finished by a featherweight a few fights ago and is 1-1 but is ranked #4. Justin is 5-3 and Conor is 1-3 and are in the top 10. Tony is still ranked somehow too. The supposed P4P uncrowned champ Dustin went life and death with Hooker last year. The division is so stagnant Islam got in the top 5 with one ranked win.

Welterweight shits on lightweight and it’s not even close.

Lol you're reaching so hard.

Olivera was a LW who dropped fights at 145 because he was killing himself with the weight cut. He routinly missed weight at 145. No sabe person considers him a FW

Youre trying to count Frankie as a former FW BEFORE he moved down. Nice try tho. Conor and Olivera are proper LWs.

Barboza was still top 10 when he left the division and his last loss at 155 is very questionable. Edson could move back up and be top 10 again easily. Oh and he's still in the top 10 of 145.

Chiesa beat Dariush 5 years ago. Just stop.

You intentionally ignoring the Context behind Gaethje, Conor, and Chandler is hilariously pathetic.

Dustin didn't go life and death with Hooker lol.

Tony is ranked because his only losses are to top 4 fighters. Islam is in the top 5 because of his long win streak.

Every single one of these guys could go up to 170 and fill out the top 15. The may not get the belt because Usman is a beast but they'd all be ranked easily. The top 5 would just be Lightweights and Edwards lol

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

Him and Usman are legitimately friends. They check on each other before fights, train together on occasion, and openly speak about being close

You can’t take everything they say at face value, yeah they know each other and respect each other, but how would they be close friends? They have never spent a significant amount of time with each other lol. They are both tight with Ali which is the main reason they even mention each other. Usman has hinted at wanting to fight Khabib multiple times, but Ali wants the perception to be that they didn’t want to fight because they’re so close… which is why Usman has said he would never fight Khabib because they’re so close, but has also implied he wanted to fight Khabib.

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

You can’t take everything they say at face value, yeah they know each other and respect each other, but how would they be close friends? They have never spent a significant amount of time with each other lol. They are both tight with Ali which is the main reason they even mention each other. Usman has hinted at wanting to fight Khabib multiple times, but Ali wants the perception to be that they didn’t want to fight because they’re so close… which is why Usman has said he would never fight Khabib because they’re so close, but has also implied he wanted to fight Khabib.

You also can't just doubt everything they say.

Not spending time together physically doesn't mean anything. My best friend lives in another country. We never see each other anymore but we're still super close. There's videos of Khabib and Usman calling each other up before and after fights to joke around, talk shit, and wish each other luck. They're definitely friends.

And Usman said if Khabib wanted to fight he'd fight him but they're close and wouldn't want/pursue that.

 

[HHJ]

BJ PLEASE RETIRE

KHABIB U CHICKENSHIT GET BACK IN HERE

.....


THATS WHY BJ IS THE GOAT

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

You also can't just doubt everything they say.

Not spending time together physically doesn't mean anything. My best friend lives in another country. We never see each other anymore but we're still super close. There's videos of Khabib and Usman calling each other up before and after fights to joke around, talk shit, and wish each other luck. They're definitely friends.

And Usman said if Khabib wanted to fight he'd fight him but they're close and wouldn't want/pursue that.

I don’t

Key term is anymore… of course I’m speculating to a degree so who knows, but I don’t see how they could possibly be “close” it’s more of a business relationship

In typical Usman fashion he has said conflicting things regarding the Khabib fight, IMO this shows that he truly would love to have had the fight, but Ali told him it wasn’t gonna happen, and to go with the we’re too “close” to fight, even though it very obvious Usman would’ve taken the fight in a second if it was actually offered.

The core of what bothers me about it is people pretending like the thing that stopped the fight from happening was their friendship, and it clearly wasn’t. Khabib didn’t want to fight a weight class up for the same reason GSP didn’t want to fight Anderson, Anderson didn’t want to fight Jones etc. do you disagree with that? Do you really think they both wanted the fight, but they were just too close to be able to compete against each other?

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

I don’t

Key term is anymore… of course I’m speculating to a degree so who knows, but I don’t see how they could possibly be “close” it’s more of a business relationship

In typical Usman fashion he has said conflicting things regarding the Khabib fight, IMO this shows that he truly would love to have had the fight, but Ali told him it wasn’t gonna happen, and to go with the we’re too “close” to fight, even though it very obvious Usman would’ve taken the fight in a second if it was actually offered.

The core of what bothers me about it is people pretending like the thing that stopped the fight from happening was their friendship, and it clearly wasn’t. Khabib didn’t want to fight a weight class up for the same reason GSP didn’t want to fight Anderson, Anderson didn’t want to fight Jones etc. do you disagree with that? Do you really think they both wanted the fight, but they were just too close to be able to compete against each other?

I think you make a fair point. There's probably truth to both sides of it. Fighting friends and teammates is rough but like you said if it was offered...

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

I think you make a fair point. There's probably truth to both sides of it. Fighting friends and teammates is rough but like you said if it was offered...

Honestly unless you’re really really close friends or training partners like DC and Cain or something, I think if a fight makes sense on both sides the guys will take it… millions of dollars and legacy at stake… grown men have to be really damn close to let friendship get in the way of that. Look at Rashad and Jones, or TJ and Garbrandy, etc…. I would fight one of my teammates if we were gonna make a bunch of money lol, it’s just a sport at the end of the day.

 

[true_fan]

When GSP's fazza died he went on an epic tear and cemented his legacy as one of the GOAT's.

True and he looked very natural

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

Honestly unless you’re really really close friends or training partners like DC and Cain or something, I think if a fight makes sense on both sides the guys will take it… millions of dollars and legacy at stake… grown men have to be really damn close to let friendship get in the way of that. Look at Rashad and Jones, or TJ and Garbrandy, etc…. I would fight one of my teammates if we were gonna make a bunch of money lol, it’s just a sport at the end of the day.

It depends but I'd agreed with you in most cases. I know Gaethje got emotional in the Cowboy fight because the ref made him beat on Cowboy more than he had to. I don't think they're terribly close but it still got to him.

I don't like competing against my teammates personally. I feel weird about taking a win away from them at big comps. For big money for both of us tho it'd obviously change things but I'm softy with my friends.

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

It depends but I'd agreed with you in most cases. I know Gaethje got emotional in the Cowboy fight because the ref made him beat on Cowboy more than he had to. I don't think they're terribly close but it still got to him.

I don't like competing against my teammates personally. I feel weird about taking a win away from them at big comps. For big money for both of us tho it'd obviously change things but I'm softy with my friends.

Yeah I’m talking about at that level, I’ve never competed against a teammate, but I’ve had teammates compete against each other (in BJJ, definitely not MMA.) You probably know this, but at ADCC teammates have to fight each other in the first round which happens regularly. It can create a weird dynamic though, I know Keenan talked about purposely training a certain way with Kaynan leading up to 2017 ADCC to mislead him lol, definitely would be weird to have a teammate also be your competition.

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

Yeah I’m talking about at that level, I’ve never competed against a teammate, but I’ve had teammates compete against each other (in BJJ, definitely not MMA.) You probably know this, but at ADCC teammates have to fight each other in the first round which happens regularly. It can create a weird dynamic though, I know Keenan talked about purposely training a certain way with Kaynan leading up to 2017 ADCC to mislead him lol, definitely would be weird to have a teammate also be your competition.

Dude I hate that ADCC rule so much. Having to be the one to prevent your teammate from having a shot at the podium feels gross. That why I like doing ibjjf despite the controversy. Both of us walking away with gold or silver sucks way less than one of us kicking the other out in the qualifiers

 

[Local Plata]

It's a shame, and yes, he retired too soon to be in the GOAT convo.

But I understand his position. He was in a very tough spot. Making 155 was literally killing him,

but moving up and defeating Usman was simply not going to happen

 

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

Dude I hate that ADCC rule so much. Having to be the one to prevent your teammate from having a shot at the podium feels gross. That why I like doing ibjjf despite the controversy. Both of us walking away with gold or silver sucks way less than one of us kicking the other out in the qualifiers

They have to do it like that though, there are so many fake matches in ADCC history. Like Galvao and Drysdale, thank god for ADCC putting an end to that BS. They even made Galvao go through the trials again the next year lol.

 

[ClosetVitorFan]

For me, honestly, Khabibs career seems like Cains IMO, without the drop off that Cain had. Had several injuries and even contemplated retirement long before he won the belt. He was out for almost 3 years, but his dad at the time pushed him to keep going. Dad is gone, he’s well off financially, and some ppl think he’s the goat. That’s pretty good if you ask me, but if you look at his body of work, many other fighters are more accomplished than he was, and his undefeated streak doesn’t mean that much too me. I think he should be in a coaching role, and keep himself in shape, I can already see him putting on weight, the man likes to eat and I expect him to look more like his dad in the future. I think proper diet was a big issue with him, he liked to eat. He’s still young enough to come back if he wants, but why? I think as fans we just gotta move on.

 

[WildShrimper]

He went out on top, on his own terms, and seems to have a life outside the sport / long-term plans. It's a rare feat that should be commended instead of scrutinized. He left his fans wanting more instead of dragging things out, as is too often the case in the sport.

I think he realizes that life is more important than a sport that gives no shits about you. Look at our fan base, we just wait on fighters to lose so we can shit on them.

 

[Rorschachxx]

Close to a perfect retirement imo. Could've handled one more fight just so he could set a new record for LW title defenses, but even now he is the greatest LW to ever do it so who cares.