Khabib managed only ONE takedown when Al was not against the cage

[Crystaline Entity]

lol you know my history of mms
fandom from my join date.

No. I know your MMA fandom history by your ignorant uneducated comments.

 

[Bacco]

If you think good strikers like Conor McGregor and Max Holloway won't notice and make use of this fact, you are blind.

They will remove the cage?

 

[pick999]

so

 

[sapporo ichiban]

Being that you are looking closely at details ts, I would imagine that you also noticed how low and square Al was standing in that fight. This was obviously to help him deal with the takedowns and it worked to some extent from what I could see. The trade off is clearly the trade off in mobility when moving around and striking. Al can wrestle and has power in his shot so this was actually a good short notice strategy.

Other fighters with less wrestling ability will probably be more easily taken down as we have seen in the past. I don't see Conor avoiding takedowns like Al did.

 

[quadrunner]

People are going to flame you for this because everyone on Sherdog has been Khabibs biggest fan since day one now, but you are absolutely right.

His typical single/double leg shots in the center of the cage are average at best. It is his clinch game that is levels above everyone else.

Conor isn't exactly SRL out there with his footwork, but I have no doubt that Holloway would have been circling away from that cage like his life depended on it.

I actually gave max a better chance to beat Khabib than Conor, strictly because he has much better footwork, is faster, and has cardio for days. Not to mention his boxing is obviously much much better than Khabibs.

 

[ranch]

...and I'm not quite as convinced as you that Conor won't get back up....

Not who you were talking to, but Conor gets away and gets up until sometime in round 2. After that, nope, won't have the gas.

 

[sapporo ichiban]

Wasn't it the first takedown? When Khabib shot that really low outside single from very far away and Al still couldn't stop it? If Al couldn't defend that takedown, there is no way in hell McGregor will defend it.

Here is a preview of what Khabib would do to Conor:

Conor likes the long stance and draw back at times to play the distance game to set up his counters. Like Andersons half step. Great against someone who will charge in upright in an exchange. Not as great against someone who will shoot low and chain wrestle as it is harder to catch them clean. Leaving the front leg exposed too much and being light footed is not great.

I have a feeling that your idea of how it plays out is likely the safe bet.

 

[what-wut]

People are going to flame you for this because everyone on Sherdog has been Khabibs biggest fan since day one now, but you are absolutely right.

His typical single/double leg shots in the center of the cage are average at best. It is his clinch game that is levels above everyone else.

Conor isn't exactly SRL out there with his footwork, but I have no doubt that Holloway would have been circling away from that cage like his life depended on it.

I actually gave max a better chance to beat Khabib than Conor, strictly because he has much better footwork, is faster, and has cardio for days. Not to mention his boxing is obviously much much better than Khabibs.

Both of them have good footwork. Like you said he's kinda average in the center so the key to beating him is backing him up through a lot of pressure, I would favor Conor because of his power.

 

[what-wut]

Being that you are looking closely at details ts, I would imagine that you also noticed how low and square Al was standing in that fight. This was obviously to help him deal with the takedowns and it worked to some extent from what I could see. The trade off is clearly the trade off in mobility when moving around and striking. Al can wrestle and has power in his shot so this was actually a good short notice strategy.

Other fighters with less wrestling ability will probably be more easily taken down as we have seen in the past. I don't see Conor avoiding takedowns like Al did.

You could be right. But I don't think keeping distance through footwork is the key to beating Khabib. intense pressure is the way. If you try to avoid Khabib through footwork he WILL get you against that cage imo. Whenever the fight was in the center Khabib was much less effective and forced to rely on takedowns from far.

 

[quadrunner]

Both of them have good footwork. Like you said he's kinda average in the center so the key to beating him is backing him up through a lot of pressure, I would favor Conor because of his power.

Conor definitely has good footwork, but his is more of a boxers footwork, he uses his efficiently to create angles for his punches and to just slightly get out of the way of a punch. Max has fast feet so his footwork IMO would help him out more when trying to stop takedowns, he would be able to circle out against the cage much faster than Conor would and create distance quickly to avoid takedowns in the center.

Don't get me wrong, Conor would have a great chance to beat Khabib with his power, countering ability and accuracy, but I felt like max was a terrible matchup for Khabib and I was really hoping the AC would allow him to continue cutting the weight.

 

[Final Say]

Not who you were talking to, but Conor gets away and gets up until sometime in round 2. After that, nope, won't have the gas.

It's possible... but Khabib wasn't exactly fresh or landing takedowns at will after that point the other night

 

[sapporo ichiban]

You could be right. But I don't think keeping distance through footwork is the key to beating Khabib. intense pressure is the way. If you try to avoid Khabib through footwork he WILL get you against that cage imo. Whenever the fight was in the center Khabib was much less effective and forced to rely on takedowns from far.

Exactly right. Al came in low and solid and met him in the middle, making it harder to get the takedown. Al has the tools to do this because he can also wrestle and he is strong. When a guy does this though they have to sacrifice some mobility. Some of the higher stance shitty take down defence guys may not be able to pull it off as well as Al did.

I would not suggest running away as a strategy. When Barboza was in trouble he literally tried to run and couldn't shake him, lol. I am saying that the best strategy I have seen so far is what you have said and what Al did. It just needs to be done better and with a good gas tank or a lucky punch.

I actually think Tony is a way harder match up for Khabib than Conor.

 

[sapporo ichiban]

It's possible... but Khabib wasn't exactly fresh or landing takedowns at will after that point the other night

Al did a great job making it difficult. It turned him into an easy target to punch but he did stifle the takedowns.

 

[OriginMMA]

And Conor got taken down by Nate and Max taken down by Conor. Whats your point?

 

[Final Say]

Al did a great job making it difficult. It turned him into an easy target to punch but he did stifle the takedowns.

The sweat played a big part too

 

[xyzxyz94]

Ankle picked him like Tony wished he could.

 

[Sparky]

This is how it plays out in my mind:
Conor has excellent accuracy, especially when it comes to blink-of-an-eye speed. He also has a much longer reach than people expect, and has power at the end of it- rare. Khabib would not catch up to Conor most likely for the first two rounds and would need to survive that storm first- I don't think he would.
But for argument's sake lets say he does- Khabib is not the finisher on the ground some might think. Since 2012 he almost always goes to a decision, and if Conor trains to survive and either use that explosiveness to spring up to a standing position again or just stall without injury to the next stand-up whether it be the end of the round or a lack of work. Khabib would need to win the last three rounds, and he can do this providing he survives.

If I'm Conor I'm working on a jab since take-downs require commitment, and if their opponent isn't in the area they commit to then they aren't helping themselves. Keep some leather in Khabib's face and keep the lateral movement and angles. If I'm Khabib I'm wanting to survive the first two rounds and tire out Conor.

 

[Stixx]

This isn't the only time he has had problems taking someone down, but it doesn't change the fact that he still gets them down and beats them every single time.

 

[dragonclaw]

Khabib is terribly overrated, and when he actually fights somebody in the top ten, he will be put in his place, and also have his fake belt stripped.

 

[sapporo ichiban]

This is how it plays out in my mind:
Conor has excellent accuracy, especially when it comes to blink-of-an-eye speed. He also has a much longer reach than people expect, and has power at the end of it- rare. Khabib would not catch up to Conor most likely for the first two rounds and would need to survive that storm first- I don't think he would.
But for argument's sake lets say he does- Khabib is not the finisher on the ground some might think. Since 2012 he almost always goes to a decision, and if Conor trains to survive and either use that explosiveness to spring up to a standing position again or just stall without injury to the next stand-up whether it be the end of the round or a lack of work. Khabib would need to win the last three rounds, and he can do this providing he survives.

If I'm Conor I'm working on a jab since take-downs require commitment, and if their opponent isn't in the area they commit to then they aren't helping themselves. Keep some leather in Khabib's face and keep the lateral movement and angles. If I'm Khabib I'm wanting to survive the first two rounds and tire out Conor.

Conor won't be difficult for Khabib to take down. He was a large fw but he is not a great big lw. Conor also has had gas tank issues in the past. Being under a grinder like Khabib for 2 rounds will be a lot more draining than throwing flashy kicks and big punches at Nate. If he does manage to explode as you say into a standing position then he will get picked up and slammed again. But hey, we will have to see. Conor does have a punchers chance for a few rounds.