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Khabib's 29-0 record gives him mystique that still looms heavily over the MMA world

hbombbisping said:
His combined Sambo and MMA record is estimated to be 229-1, his one loss a close decision where nothing happened.

And it's a farce to believe many of those Sambo fighters weren't beasts, not to mention the sport is very similar.

He holds many UFC records for dominance. GOAT's like GSP and Jones consider him a GOAT for a reason.

Fans of combat sports recognize Khabib more than UFC-centric fans.
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Khabib's Sambo record could be a 1000-0 and it would still be inconsequential if he didn't have success in the UFC. Sambo is not the internationally recognized testing ground for professional martial artists, MMA is. He quit on top instead of challenging the heavens the way BJ Penn, Aldo, and Jones did. That hurts his mystique more than the zero adds to it in the eyes of hardcore MMA fans.
 
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hbombbisping said:
His combined Sambo and MMA record is estimated to be 229-1, his one loss a close decision where nothing happened.

And it's a farce to believe many of those Sambo fighters weren't beasts, not to mention the sport is very similar.

He holds many UFC records for dominance. GOAT's like GSP and Jones consider him a GOAT for a reason.

Fans of combat sports recognize Khabib more than UFC-centric fans.
Click to expand...

What many records for dominance?? Just asking cause I've never seen this brought up.
 
JKS said:
What many records for dominance?? Just asking cause I've never seen this brought up.
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- Only UFC champ to retire undefeated
- Highest round winning %
- Most wins vs. losses ratio
- Most 10-8 rounds
- Only pro MM fighter to go 29 fights without getting dropped or cut
- Most takedowns in a fight
 
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That's only because the Conor fight made him famous, Khabib doesn't have a better resume than DC from his own gym.


Too bad DC fought into his 40's and had to fight GOATS though.


The problem with the Khabib Glaze is that if he was 29-2 you guys would be shitting on him, he got mainstream after Conor made him famous. Then his skill combined with a couple good wins made him a household name. But he is NOT a top 10 all time fighter, he's not the best fighter from his own gym.


If you take all the greats and have them retire at 32, they would all have spectacular records if they only had to fight 13 times in the UFC. Khabib fought 3 great fighters in Dustin, Conor, and RDA. Conor was clearly unwell and intoxicated weeks leading into their fight. That was literally the worst version of Conor we've ever seen.


Gaethje and Barboza are good wins but cmon, his resume is 5 fights.

Michael Johnson is 24-19 in MMA & Al Iaquinta is 14-7


DC is 22-3 in MMA and only lost to GOATS, his resume is better and more impressive.
 
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Gamer007 said:
The problem with the Khabib Glaze is that if he was 29-2 you guys would be shitting on him, he got mainstream after Conor made him famous.
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If Khabib was 29-2 nobody would talk about him, hence the point of the thread.

An aura of invincibility and undefeated mystique is why people still talk about him.
 
hbombbisping said:
If Khabib was 29-2 nobody would talk about him, hence the point of the thread.

An aura of invincibility and undefeated mystique is why people still talk about him.
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Khabib's aura is largely built on media hype. Sure, his undefeated record is impressive, but a huge chunk of his legend comes from being in the highest-selling MMA PPV ever. That fight reached so many casual fans, and his dominance there really got ingrained as part of his mystique. Objectively though, there are solid arguments that he isn’t even the best fighter out of AKA, let alone the GOAT overall.

I'm not a hater of Khabib, but god damn it's annoying when people say he's even close to being compared to fighters like Jon Jones. If you really value his dominance against the 4-5 legit contenders he fought, I can see some niche arguments putting him around 9-15, but there are many fighters from his era that had just as good or better resumes.

Cejudo was a 2-division champion, with wins on par or better than Khabib. same thing with Volk, same thing with Stipe, same thing with MM, same thing with Izzy, same thing with Usman. The fame from UFC 205 & UFC 229 propelled this guy into conversations he shouldn't be in historically.


Khabib is a top 20 talent of all time, sure. But placing him at the top of GOAT lists is when it gets insane and illogical.
 
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Not really. He shoulda lost to Gleison Tibau. (Not that I care. Tibau was juiced up)
Same when GSP should have lost to juiced up Jonny Hendricks.

Khabib didn't really feel "unbeatable" to me either. Just in context of the competition at the time who didn't have an answer to his wrestling. And he defended his title only 3 times within a 3 year span. Khabib vs Islam, Arman or Oliveria all would have been interesting fights.
 
There's a reason he's the LW GOAT. Unless Islam surpasses him, which is a very real possibility.
 
hbombbisping said:
- Only UFC champ to retire undefeated
- Highest round winning %
- Most wins vs. losses ratio
- Most 10-8 rounds
- Only pro MM fighter to go 29 fights without getting dropped or cut
- Most takedowns in a fight
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yeah, but only three title defenses? come on, man.
 
kuroro said:
Khabib's Sambo record could be a 1000-0 and it would still be inconsequential if he didn't have success in the UFC. Sambo is not the internationally recognized testing ground for professional martial artists, MMA is. He quit on top instead of challenging the heavens the way BJ Penn, Aldo, and Jones did. That hurts his mystique more than the zero adds to it in the eyes of hardcore MMA fans.
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He has a handful of great wins in the UFC. A few more good ones.

Overall he has a very good career, but his legacy is defined by a padded record, a highly debatable decision, inactivity, and relatively few elite wins.

He had a very respectable career as a fighter and he is a very good coach. But based solely on his accomplishments and resume, he is not really in the GOAT discussion.
 
GOAT discussion is bullshit fanboyism anyway so who cares
 
This is what I'm talking about.

Screenshot-2025-02-23-230228.png


Someone pitting Khabib up against a WW in a fantasy fight. It will never end because people are trying to take Khabib's 0 on a forum when they can't from his record.
 
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Why retire when you lose? He did the best thing IMO. He made a ton of money, helps his village, coaches. Here are who gives him issues:

1. GSP
2. KOS
3. VOLK
 
Ibm said:
Why retire when you lose? He did the best thing IMO. He made a ton of money, helps his village, coaches. Here are who gives him issues:

1. GSP
2. KOS
3. VOLK
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Koscheck? I mean if we are pickin welterweights, then there are alot of guys who would give him issues.

Volk (and Aldo) is one of the smaller guys who actually could give him a good fight.
 
HHJ said:
Koscheck? I mean if we are pickin welterweights, then there are alot of guys who would give him issues.

Volk (and Aldo) is one of the smaller guys who actually could give him a good fight.
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Yes the reason I picked Kos is he was a smaller WW(GSP's and Khabibs size) but stylistically identical.
 
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