Khabib & GOAT's

[Rambo89]

I have been racking my brain and I just cant fathom why Khabib gets so much respect? I saw Aspinall give his mount rushmore for the GOAT's and he put Khabib in there which is so crazy to me. If I had to pick 4 of the GOAT's it would have to be Jones, GSP, Silva, and Demetrious Johnson with Jose Aldo sitting right there outside of the top 4. All four of those men were extremely dominant during their reign and all have double digit title defenses. GSP and Jones were even champs at 2 weight classes and both Silva & DJ competed at the next weight class up.

If were talking about Khabib, yes he is 29-0 but only 13 of those were in the UFC and his opponents before that were horrendous and hand picked by his father. His title reign, albeit very dominant was incredibly short. He only defended the title 3 times and he didn't beat a champion to become the champ. He fought Al Iaquinta for the belt (we all know). If we just look at the lightweight division.. BJ Penn, Frankie Edgar, and Benson Henderson all have the same exact number of title defenses as Khabib. There are a ton of people outside of that division that also have more than 3. I do think Khabib could have been considered in this conversation if he was still fighting today but retiring at age 31 with only 3 title defenses is not even to warrant him being in this discussion imo.

 

[tymikeson]

hall & oates is better

 

[Luthien]

Khabib opened up a whole new market for casual MMA pretty much

Like how Ronda got girls to watch. Khabib got Muslim casual viewers to tune in.

 

[KO Shotz]

Khabib gets so much respect because he's never lost & when he fought he dominated guys. I personally think that if Khabib & Tony were to fight when they were supposed to, that Tony would've handed him his first loss or it would've been very close, but oh well it never happened. I'm not a Khabib fan boy in any sense of the definition, but he did manhandle guys like Conor, Porier, & Gaethje who were some bad mf'ers.

 

[Corrado Soprano]

Well... Stipe is a two time heavyweight champion with 4 title defenses which I think is the most in the divisions history if I remember correctly.

Being a multi-time champion in a weight-class just means you lost the belt at one point. Also half his title defences were against a fat light-heavyweight who was close to retirement.

 

[Oscar Madison]

Khabib vs "Open House" Al for the Title --

in a Decision win --

is the stuff of legends.

 

[weaselkenievil]

Rather than racking your brains just use the search function. There are about 30 threads exactly the same. Doesn’t get in your top 5 goat list? Me either, it’s subjective but the fact that he’s respected by fighters tells you something…he is the best LW ever imo.

 

[Rambo89]

Khabib gets so much respect because he's never lost & when he fought he dominated guys. I personally think that if Khabib & Tony were to fight when they were supposed to, that Tony would've handed him his first loss or it would've been very close, but oh well it never happened. I'm not a Khabib fan boy in any sense of the definition, but he did manhandle guys like Conor, Porier, & Gaethje who were some bad mf'ers.

Thats kinda my point though. He only defended 3 times. Like BJ Penn was extremely dominant when he was the champion as well. He dominated and finished Sherk, Florian, and Sanchez. He also won the 170 pound title against Matt Hughes. I would argue what he did as a champion was equally as impressive as what Khabib did. Everyone who claims Khabib is the GOAT always says the "what if's" like if he had continued to fight he would of continued to be dominant but that means jack because it didnt freakin happen!!!!

 

[Rambo89]

Rather than racking your brains just use the search function. There are about 30 threads exactly the same. Doesn’t get in your top 5 goat list? Me either, it’s subjective but the fact that he’s respected by fighters tells you something…he is the best LW ever imo.

I dont care if you talked about this 8 months ago.... I wanna talk about it now lol

 

[KO Shotz]

Thats kinda my point though. He only defended 3 times. Like BJ Penn was extremely dominant when he was the champion as well. He dominated and finished Sherk, Florian, and Sanchez. He also won the 170 pound title against Matt Hughes. I would argue what he did as a champion was equally as impressive as what Khabib did. Everyone who claims Khabib is the GOAT always says the "what if's" like if he had continued to fight he would of continued to be dominant but that means jack because it didnt freakin happen!!!!

Woah, woah, woah...my boy BJ held gold in two different divisions. Khabib only held gold in one & was asked to move up but he denied. BJ & Khabib aren't the same lol

 

[Rambo89]

Rather than racking your brains just use the search function. There are about 30 threads exactly the same. Doesn’t get in your top 5 goat list? Me either, it’s subjective but the fact that he’s respected by fighters tells you something…he is the best LW ever imo.

There is an argument forsure that he could be the best LW ever but why? Is it just because he retired before he lost? BJ, Edgar, and Bendo all did what he did as far as title reigns are conserned but they all continued to fight into their 40's which caused a lot of losses on their records. Khabib retired at 31 so he didn't get the opportunity to lose. Also Islam is still the champ and also has 3 title defenses is he higher on the list than Khabib now?

So my question to you is, do you consider him the best lightweight because he retired at 31 before he was out of his prime?

 

[Mammothman]

Khabib opened up a whole new market for casual MMA pretty much

Like how Ronda got girls to watch. Khabib got Muslim casual viewers to tune in.

And Brock got the WWE dweebs into the sport, I was one of those lol.

 

[RockyLockridge]

I have been racking my brain and I just cant fathom why Khabib gets so much respect?

I've always wondered this too. I dont even consider him a top 15 all time

Khabib got Muslim casual viewers to tune in.

I hate him every day for it.

Thats kinda my point though. He only defended 3 times.

Which is even funnier, because he got his first title win from raging Al, And some how, with only 3 defenses unified an interim champion twice.

 

[weaselkenievil]

I dont care if you talked about this 8 months ago.... I wanna talk about it now lol

Lol fair enough It’s been done to absolute death though mate.

 

[weaselkenievil]

There is an argument forsure that he could be the best LW ever but why? Is it just because he retired before he lost? BJ, Edgar, and Bendo all did what he did as far as title reigns are conserned but they all continued to fight into their 40's which caused a lot of losses on their records. Khabib retired at 31 so he didn't get the opportunity to lose. Also Islam is still the champ and also has 3 title defenses is he higher on the list than Khabib now?

So my question to you is, do you consider him the best lightweight because he retired at 31 before he was out of his prime?

All fair points, just opinions I guess. I can see how people can put Islam higher if they wanted, personally I wouldn’t. Even though awesome fighters like Frankie kept on fighting maybe too long, I think prime vs prime Khabib wins that fight. Same with Bendo.

And no sir, I consider him the best due to his record and the dominance he showed in his fights. Had some close fights sure but was never really hurt or in trouble.

 

[Rambo89]

All fair points, just opinions I guess. I can see how people can put Islam higher if they wanted, personally I wouldn’t. Even though awesome fighters like Frankie kept on fighting maybe too long, I think prime vs prime Khabib wins that fight. Same with Bendo.

And no sir, I consider him the best due to his record and the dominance he showed in his fights. Had some close fights sure but was never really hurt or in trouble.

That is fair. I agree with his dominance I suppose I guess I just dont put as much merit into it because he only did it a few times. Like Jones, Silva, GSP, Aldo, MM, Penn all have several examples in their career where they looked insanely dominant and untouchable and they didn't lose for a very long time. They might have had some close fights in that time period but they continued to prove they were the best. It truly is a shame he retired at 31 because if he had continued and fought guys like Chandler, Tsarukyan, Oliveira, and Volk and continued to win, than his GOAT status would be impossible to argue. That is just not the case unfortunately.

 

[weaselkenievil]

That is fair. I agree with his dominance I suppose I guess I just dont put as much merit into it because he only did it a few times. Like Jones, Silva, GSP, Aldo, MM, Penn all have several examples in their career where they looked insanely dominant and untouchable and they didn't lose for a very long time. They might have had some close fights in that time period but they continued to prove they were the best. It truly is a shame he retired at 31 because if he had continued and fought guys like Chandler, Tsarukyan, Oliveira, and Volk and continued to win, than his GOAT status would be impossible to argue. That is just not the case unfortunately.

Right back at you dude, think that is a fair take.

 

[HHJ]

Khabib gets so much respect because he's never lost & when he fought he dominated guys.

The TS couldnt fathom it though. He was racking his brain and couldnt come up with that.

 

[Evenflow80]

1) LW division has always been the deepest shark tank, because average male is 180-200 which translates in LW.

2) he dominated McGregor, Gaethe, Porier. Those 3 are far far tougher and more rounded than Florian, Sherk, or Gomi.

3) the current MMA fighter is far more well rounded and advanced than an MMA fighter during BJ Penn and arguably GSPs time. The UFC is so much bigger and popular now, its so competive to even get a spot on the roster.

4) BJ Penn winning the WW title isn't as impressive as if Khabib would have done it. Look at th size of WWs today vs back then.

5) Khabib needed 8 straight wins to get a title defense. This speaks to how competive the LW division is. If he got his title shot 4 wins into his UFC career, he'd had 8 + 3 title defenses.

Plus just use your eyes. The guy never so much as got a scratch his entire career. Even GSP didn't do that. And Jones you can argue lost against Dominick and Gustafson.

 

[Luthien]

And Brock got the WWE dweebs into the sport, I was one of those lol.

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