Khabib seemed so unique, but we already have two who do it better

[TheScorpionDude]

What a piece of shit thread. And I don't even like Khabib or Islam.

 

[TheAmericanGazelle]

I think Islam looks a little worse and Khamzat a step better than Khabib at comparable points in their career, but that's mostly moot since neither has fought the top of the division yet, let alone for extended periods of time.

MMA fans...be patient FFS lol

All things will (eventually) be revealed.

 

[D 1 Wrestler]

It was weird, his awkward style and the threat of the takedown made him kind of an above average striker, but really only applied to MMA. I would imagine he'd do much, much worse in pure striking, but being MMA he was able to really make it work for him.

We're kind of arguing chicken before th egg but his striking wasn't above average, it's just with the extreme takedown threat below average is able to land more. GSP would be an example of an above average striker combined with great takedown threat. GSP would be manageable in a kickboxing fight, khabib would get destroyed. I mean he would have lost to Gaethje if not for the takedown

 

[suffersystem]

For comparison, if khabobs boxed mayw

We're kind of arguing chicken before th egg but his striking wasn't above average, it's just with the extreme takedown threat below average is able to land more. GSP would be an example of an above average striker combined with great takedown threat. GSP would be manageable in a kickboxing fight, khabib would get destroyed

Slightly disagree about Khabib, but really can't argue against it either as I think I do understand your point as well and it has merit.

 

[D 1 Wrestler]

Slightly disagree about Khabib, but really can't argue against it either as I think I do understand your point as well and it has merit.

I think khabib loses to the top 10 in a striking only fight

 

[suffersystem]

I think khabib loses to the top 10 in a striking only fight

I think he'd do better than what you'd think, but yeah most likely would in a striking only battle yeah.

 

[daltonames]

Khamzat? you have to be kidding. Khabib was champ with 3 title defenses, the best guy Khamzat has fought is the Leech. You can miss me with this bullshit.

 

[Grandwizard666]

Islam and khamzat are nowhere near khabibs level, yet.
Khabib also had a ground and pound heavy style that differs from both of them.

 

[Talon81]

He's not unique. He simply never fought one single bad style matchup since losing to Tibau. He realized that if he can't ragdoll an opponent in grappling, he can't guarantee winning, so since that loss he ducked anyone he couldn't manhandle on the ground. There's a reason he avoided guys like Oliviera even though they were in the same division at the same time.

Terrible revisionist history. Until less than 3 years ago, Oliviera's win streak was nobodies and he wasn't taken seriously as a threat to the division. That didn't happen until Khabib retired. Khabib beat all the guys at the top during that time except Ferguson.

 

[Sepremento]

Nobody take TS serious when it comes to Khabib, he hates him for emasculating Conor lol he's a Conor fanboy.

It took 21 comments before someone mention Conor in a Khabib thread, suprisingly long

 

[CPH]

Wow, what a pile of garbage. 0/10

 

[Talon81]

"Surpassed" (Khabib)
"Do it better" (than Khabib)
These guys each have 1 top 10 win if im not mistaken. Khabib actually defended the title 3 times, with all finishes, so they have work to do before those hyperbolies can be taken seriously.

 

[SkinnyClaw]

It's too early to tell, but Khabib had some things going for him that I'm not sure Islam and Khamzat have.
I don't think Islam has the chin of Khabib, and we have to see if Khamzat has the cardio to keep up his dominant pace for more than 2 rounds, like Khabib could.
We also don't know how either guy reacts to adversity and the pressure of fighting the absolute best.

 

[fightfan70]

facts are facts.

fanboys use 1 set of facts

and haters use the facts the fanboys overlook, due to fanboi bias.

khabib looked great at the very end of his career, too bad he quit before facing adversity.

never know how good he really is or could be. was the best at 155 when he left, no doubt.

it is what it is. khamzat looks to be the real deal, time will tell.

he is jumping in with the sharks. taking challengers in two different weight classes and finishing impressively.

islam looks promising too.. but he is taking the dagestani route to the belt. slow and careful

 

[MartinGibson86]

Dustin and Justin atent really grapplers, but he mauled them. Hard to shit on that.

Gamrot and Gillespie would be wins unmatched on Khabibs resume imo. Disappointing that niether stepped up.

 

[Bad Karate]

Khabib was special. the sport is evolving and as such the quality of fighters will improve but Khabib's level of dominance truly may never be seen again. listen to his opponents talk about the hopelessness they felt in the cage once he got a hold of them and then realize if Khabib didn't exist these guys would be considered the best in the world. he took one of the historically toughest divisions in the history of the sport and absolutely made the top contenders look like they didn't know how to fight.

 

[Dirty Frank]

Progress in sports can be strange. There is a long period of stagnation, then somebody comes and shows a new way and shortly thereafter the sport is full of guys doing that same thing.

Khabib was thought to be unique in his grappling dominance, but now there's two guys that are more dominant than Khabib ever was at any point in his career: Khamzat Chimaev and Islam Makhachev.

Khabib was a decision machine, grinding out boring decisions and late subs. He found a way to win all fights, but kinda like late career GSP he never made them look like they didn't belong in the same cage with him. He retired with an undefeated record, which is arguably unheard of in MMA.

Islam and particularly Khamzat are collecting early finishes that are much more dominant than what Khabib ever did in his career. Early Khabib was fighting cans, but didn't make it look anywhere near as easy as what Khamzat is currently doing. Khamzat seems to combine Khabib's grappling and pressure with explosive striking and much more brute strength. Islam is Khabib 2.0 with more aggressiveness and finishing ability.

Crazy how quickly the level that Khabib brought was surpassed.

Damn. All that salt.

 

[Don't Call Me A Casual]

Islam gets knocked out by old Brazilian black belts.

he has one loss and basement dwellers are trying to define his whole career by it

 

[dildos]

he has one loss and basement dwellers are trying to define his whole career by it

MEH, IT HAPPENED.

just sayin,

 

[DestinedAussie]

??? I agree with the rest of your point but this part makes no sense.

A) Khabib had 12 finishes in 16 fights when he joined the UFC. The reason he took so long to join the UFC is became he had to go through legal battles to free himself from his current contract which took years.

B) in the UFC Khabib finished 7/13 of his fights and the ones he didn't finish were generally brutal beatdowns of fun matches. He didn't get a title shot because 1) he got hurt after beating RDA 2) Conor stole his shot vs Eddie 3) Conor wouldn't defend his belt 4) he needed to get back surgery after 209.

There are many things Khabib is. A decision machine is not one. 19 finishes in 29 fights. He got unlucky with injuries and contracts which really screwed him over.

Khabib was 60% decisions in his first 10 fights in UFC (for example Conor only had 20% decisions in his first 10 ufc fights). People who get title shots quickly finish the majority of their fights. Outside of WMMA there wouldn't be many other examples of fighters winning the majority of their 10 in UFC with only 40% being finishes.

It is true he had 3 finishes at the end to make the record look better. It seems clear to me be improved significantly at the end since the people he finished were harder fights than the ones he failed to finish.