So I've noticed that many people don't seem to understand this statement, or take it at face-value, which is understandable.
Obviously Khabib almost never finishes people in the first round, and Conor has never been finished in the first round during his UFC career. However, this statement isn't implying that Khabib will finish Conor in the first round.
The most common retort to this is "Every round starts on the feet". Fair enough....
Why I believe that Conor's chances will be next to nil if Khabib scores a takedown early in the 1st round: Sure, every round starts on the feet, but if Khabib scores an early TD either via his chain wrestling OR clinch trips/throws, he has a far more devastating and punishing top game than guys like Mendes or Diaz. Conor is underrated on the ground (I do recall him pulling off a slick sweep from Curu Curu guard in Diaz 1), but Khabib has mauled better grapplers than him, and will hurt him with vicious G&P and neutralise his attempts to get up or sweep off his back, which will tire Conor out.
We know that Conor isn't exactly known for his gas tank anyway, so by the time Khabib has passed his guard and punched his head over a hundred times by the end of the 1st round, he will be so fatigued and hurt that whatever "puncher's chance" he had at the start of the fight, will be totally gone because his reflexes and power won't be the same. This will only make a 2nd takedown even easier for Khabib, and we rinse and repeat for however many rounds the beating continues.
Conor is a great striker and him scoring a 1st round KO is not out of the realm of possibility, but it is my personal opinion that Khabib's chances to win the fight are much higher, for the reasons I stated above.
Obviously Khabib almost never finishes people in the first round, and Conor has never been finished in the first round during his UFC career. However, this statement isn't implying that Khabib will finish Conor in the first round.
The most common retort to this is "Every round starts on the feet". Fair enough....
Why I believe that Conor's chances will be next to nil if Khabib scores a takedown early in the 1st round: Sure, every round starts on the feet, but if Khabib scores an early TD either via his chain wrestling OR clinch trips/throws, he has a far more devastating and punishing top game than guys like Mendes or Diaz. Conor is underrated on the ground (I do recall him pulling off a slick sweep from Curu Curu guard in Diaz 1), but Khabib has mauled better grapplers than him, and will hurt him with vicious G&P and neutralise his attempts to get up or sweep off his back, which will tire Conor out.
We know that Conor isn't exactly known for his gas tank anyway, so by the time Khabib has passed his guard and punched his head over a hundred times by the end of the 1st round, he will be so fatigued and hurt that whatever "puncher's chance" he had at the start of the fight, will be totally gone because his reflexes and power won't be the same. This will only make a 2nd takedown even easier for Khabib, and we rinse and repeat for however many rounds the beating continues.
Conor is a great striker and him scoring a 1st round KO is not out of the realm of possibility, but it is my personal opinion that Khabib's chances to win the fight are much higher, for the reasons I stated above.