Where do you get Khabib struggling in that round, but yet he was 1 for 1 on TDs? I thought it was obvious that Khabib wanted to keep the pressure on Gaethje even if it meant eating shots. With the exception of the first round against Conor, Khabib’s notorious for not respecting his opponents offense.
Only thing he struggled with was dealing with the strikes that come from pressuring a guy like Justin Gaethje. And even then, it was a round that could be judged either way. So it’s not like his gameplan wasn’t working.
Pressure fighters by nature risk getting hit early in a striking bout. But for Khabib v Gaethje it could be seen as effective because the pressure helped close the distance for the TD. It’s obvious he wanted to shoot from a shorter distance, at the expense of eating shots.
I’m not disrespecting Gaethje’s power, but Khabib was, plain and simple. Dustin literally said he couldn’t keep Khabib off him. Plenty of posters and fighters like Chandler will tell you Dustin hits harder than Gaethje. Khabib had a great chin.