Khabib: I choked both McGregor and Poirier. Why should I fight them again?

[laleggenda27]

He's not wrong. Rematches might make sense where someone simply got caught with a big shot the first time around (e.g., GSP-Serra) or if it's a big upset (e.g., Anderson-Weidman). But where the favored fighter goes out and dominates the underdog, there's not much of a point in having a rematch. And it doesn't do much for the champion's legacy. Perhaps the only exception is a situation where the fighter who lost the first time around goes on an impressive win streak that suggests they've improved (e.g., Ngannou).

Otherwise, rematches are just for a payday...which is fine. But for someone like Khabib, who is already a made man, there's no need to chase another payday.

The only fights that really make sense for Khabib at this point are Tony, GSP, and Usman. Personally, I'd prefer to see him fight Usman because I believe great fighters should test the boundaries of their greatness.

 

[wolfss]

Imagine if Matt Hughes told GSP ... "I made you tap to an arm bar ... why should I fight you again".

Imagine if DC told Stipe ... "I KO'd you ... why should I fight you again".

DC would be arguably the best HW of all time if he retired after that KO.

With that said ... Conor didn't give Aldo a rematch so F him.

Seems not giving a rematch is a wiser move.

Just take your win and move on. That's the lesson we are getting from these "GOATs"

lol. Not the same in comparison. We already know the outcome if Khabib fight porier or connor. It’s just not necessary.

 

[GangGangGang]

That’s like 3 dudes. When you don’t fight them on your way up you better defend against the best.

The dude is 29-0. He doesn't need to rematch guys he demolished.

 

[chiefwiggum]

The dude is 29-0. He doesn't need to rematch guys he demolished.

not poirer. But if McGregor looks great that would be a massive fight. Or a couple other interesting fights at 170 even.

 

[RedDevilFan]

The dude is 29-0. He doesn't need to rematch guys he demolished.

How many of those fights in his 29-0 are actually ranked fighters or are they fighters in some obscure Moscow league. The problem I have with the 29-0 is that it gets thrown a lot in here yet it is never scrutinized like the other champions.

Khabib has about how many fights against actually ranked fighters.

 

[GangGangGang]

not poirer. But if McGregor looks great that would be a massive fight. Or a couple other interesting fights at 170 even.

I mean I'd watch it and it'd sell well but khabib would likely be a -400 favorite. It wouldn't be like Stipe VS DC 2 or 3 where odds were still nearly even.

 

[King Joffery]

Khabib knows he only has at most a 5% chance of beating Conor in a rematch. He knows the stars have to align perfectly for him to beat Conor. In order for Khabib to beat Conor all the following has to pan out:
Conor must be rusty enough to get caught by a telegraphed overhand right
Conor must be hungover
have a broken foot,
Khabib must secure a takedown early in both rounds 1 and 2 in order to weather the most dangerous period of the fight and sufficiently drain Conor's tank just to give him a sporting chance.
If any of these doesn't happen, Khabib loses, simple as.

 

[GangGangGang]

How many of those fights in his 29-0 are actually ranked fighters or are they fighters in some obscure Moscow league. The problem I have with the 29-0 is that it gets thrown a lot in here yet it is never scrutinized like the other champions.

Khabib has about how many fights against actually ranked fighters.

Well he's beat 5 of the current top 10 in arguably the hardest division in the sport. For comparison, Tony's only beat 1 of the current top 10. Does that help? That doesn't include his wins over Johnson and Barboza who were in the top 5 or 6 at the time they fought.

 

[fzoid4454]

he was champ of fw, and then became a lw (losing against a short notice opponent along the way). he became champ at lw and then fought in one of the biggest and most lucrative boxing matches of all time. he then took a break, and came back, and fought the champ. i mean, it's sort of an extraordinary set of circumstances.

It's not like he had other pursuits and said "I'm going to vacate the title because I have no intention of defending it."

He hung out, and and kept those two divisions in limbo.

Doesn't matter if he fought in the biggest carnival show boxing exhibition match ever. That's not defending the belt. That's not some magical event that prevented him from defending, that's him choosing not to defend and jerk-off doing other sideshow activities. Do I fault him for taking the money? No. But that's a choice he made, as champ, not to defend.

Nothing magical about it. He was champ for nearly three years, and he never defended. Not medical. No family tragedy. No pandemic lockdown. His choice.

 

[fzoid4454]

not poirer. But if McGregor looks great that would be a massive fight. Or a couple other interesting fights at 170 even.

But he's retired. Those possibilities existed before he retired, and he chose to retire. So, really, the question is what would change the calculus that went into his retiring in the first place?

 

[kflo]

It's not like he had other pursuits and said "I'm going to vacate the title because I have no intention of defending it."

He hung out, and and kept those two divisions in limbo.

Doesn't matter if he fought in the biggest carnival show boxing exhibition match ever. That's not defending the belt. That's not some magical event that prevented him from defending, that's him choosing not to defend and jerk-off doing other sideshow activities. Do I fault him for taking the money? No. But that's a choice he made, as champ, not to defend.

Nothing magical about it. He was champ for nearly three years, and he never defended. Not medical. No family tragedy. No pandemic lockdown. His choice.

his choice and again, just an understandable choice given all circumstances.

he's in the pool again.

guess we'll see what happens from here. you can't just summarize his career by not defending a title ignoring the things he's done in the cage.

but again, people are free to believe what they want.

 

[MyFavSport]

Problems with weight cuts and fearing Conor 2.0.

 

[NDiaz209]

Imagine if Matt Hughes told GSP ... "I made you tap to an arm bar ... why should I fight you again".

Imagine if DC told Stipe ... "I KO'd you ... why should I fight you again".

DC would be arguably the best HW of all time if he retired after that KO.

With that said ... Conor didn't give Aldo a rematch so F him.

Seems not giving a rematch is a wiser move.

Just take your win and move on. That's the lesson we are getting from these "GOATs"

Except DC did say this lol. And ducked Stipe like a bitch, electing to fight Black Beast.

 

[xn7]

Imagine Matt Serra after winning the belt: "I made him tap to strikes in the first round. There's no need for a rematch!"

then the same logic can be applied to why a 3rd match wasn't booked.

 

[deucesarewild]

I get that Khabin keeps winning, but he's boring as fuck to watch. People said the same thing about GSP, but I can see the criticism that it was like watching paint dry. In the end, I liked watching his fights more than I didn't but can't get to that point with Khabib. Just goes to show it doesn't matter how good you are, some people won't care.

 

[slicebergjim]

I only speak facts. The only reason Khabib is teasing with the retirement and staying in USADA testing pool is because he is praying that Conor 2.0 will slip on a banana peel against Poirier.

Jesus christ even from you this is garbage level trolling lmfao

 

[acannxr]

Blah blah blah just vanish aldready

I wonder if you said the same thing after both of McGregor's retirements.

 

[boingyman]

Even though I think Khabib would murk both of them again, it doesn't mean a rematch shouldn't happen (if they one of them deserves it) and it doesn't mean they don't have a chance of winning.

 

[260Bomber]

Khabib the weight bully ducking 170 for eternity

 

[pick999]

yeah paying donald to get koed in 1 round calls for title shot