McGregors Cardio might be the deciding factor against Khabib.

[nick jacoby]

Thinking about the matchup while drinking my morning coffee so I've decided to try to act like I know what I'm talking about.

First of all McGregor's take down defense is possibly a little underrated. He got taken down at 145
yes... By one of the best wrestlers in the sport and at 145 ..where lets face it ... McGregor was clearly
a little bit gaunt and dehydrated... But if that mattered is up for debate.

He fights Nate twice and is taken down I believe one time at the end of the second fight when McGregor is clearly gassed. And Then against Eddie he stuffed the attempts.. Though Eddie was rocked the entire fight pretty much. But at moments he showed some pretty damn great TD defense....But were talking about Khabib. A different breed of grappler


Now Khabib is going to takedown Conor in my opinion. There really hasn't been a current LW
that has shown us he can really stuff all of Khabibs takedowns in the early rounds. But Can Conor make him work? Can he survive like Iaquinta did, make Khabib work and make Khabib stand for enough moments that Conor can put him down? McGregor's cardio is questionable in those later rounds and the way I see him winning is either by an early knockout or by a late TKO in which he forces Khabib to catch his breath and stand after stuffing some takedowns. But that early knockout? Man... Khabib has an Iron Chin.. It's gonna be a tall task. But again Khabib sometimes chooses to stand when he misses a few takedowns and he keeps his chin high and backs straight up. And that often happens in the later rounds...

So basically will Conor have good enough cardio that allows him stuff some later takedowns,
keep the amount of power he needs to hurt Khabib, and put him away? And will he be able to
maintain that cardio if he is taken down and beaten up like Khabib has done to every fighter
he faces?

P.S. I have no doubt that Tony Ferguson could keep up the cardio. Dude is a monster with his conditioning. But his path to victory in my opinion would be submission or accumulation of strikes. Im not saying he has any better or worse of a chance than Conor. Thats a different breakdown though

I apologize for the formatting of my paragraphs. For some reason it seems to restructure the way I spaced everything

 

[VAfan]

mcgregor would have a puncher's chance in the 1st round, that's it. he'd be completely gassed by the 2nd round and then it would be a slaughter on the ground.

 

[Final Say]

His ability to survive the first round or two while having enough left to maintain his stopping power is the story here

He did it with Chad, who he outclassed standing the entire fight and who is a better striker than Khabib.

But obviously the weight and wrestle level are the variables we can't quantify

Can't wait to see it!

 

[Final Say]

mcgregor would have a puncher's chance in the 1st round, that's it. he'd be completely gassed by the 2nd round and then it would be a slaughter on the ground.

Why do you assume he'd be completely gassed by round two if he wasn't against Chad?

 

[Streeter]

In other news water might be wet

 

[Azure]

Your thoughts on Nate's takedown ability is delusional

 

[VAfan]

Why do you assume he'd be completely gassed by round two if he wasn't against Chad?

because khabib will have less trouble getting the TD and would do more with it. chad was used as a punching bag for most of that fight. you have to either take conor down or pressure him in the standup (like nate did).

chad got a TD or two but it wasn't enough - he didn't do enough on the ground with it. khabib would get more TDs and would inflict damage once it got there.

 

[nick jacoby]

In other news water might be wet

Honestly if water can keep up its conditioning and cardio it will just keep getting wetter throughout the years.
But can water do that? What camp is water training with? We'll have to see.

Leonard Garcia by Split decision

 

[nick jacoby]

Your thoughts on Nate's takedown ability is delusional

What did I say about Nates take down ability?

 

[wigglestick]

Lol mcgregor will get easily taken down, and has nothing for him off his back. If he even survives the first couple rounds he'll be gassed after for sure

 

[nick jacoby]

Lol mcgregor will get easily taken down, and has nothing for him off his back. If he even survives the first couple rounds he'll be gassed after for sure

This is what we all are thinking. But I wouldnt be suprised if Conor stuffed more takedowns than any of Khabibs last opponents. since Gleison Tibau

 

[Azure]

What did I say about Nates take down ability?

Referencing the number of takedowns in 2 fights against Nate to try to prove your point.. Nate has terrible takedowns if and when he ever attempts them(which is almost never)

 

[nick jacoby]

Referencing the number of takedowns in 2 fights against Nate to try to prove your point.. Nate has terrible takedowns if and when he ever attempts them(which is almost never)

I referenced the fact that in the 2 fights where I remember him being taken down.
And against Nate he was gassed. If anything I was referring to the fact that Nate took down
a gassed conor to point out his questionable cardio. I wouldnt ever say Nate Diaz
has great takwdowns

 

[Final Say]

because khabib will have less trouble getting the TD and would do more with it. chad was used as a punching bag for most of that fight. you have to either take conor down or pressure him in the standup (like nate did).

chad got a TD or two but it wasn't enough - he didn't do enough on the ground with it. khabib would get more TDs and would inflict damage once it got there.

It's possible I suppose. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Conor KO even in championship rounds. Not everyone has the tank or chin of Nate Diaz

 

[nick jacoby]

It's possible I suppose. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Conor KO even in championship rounds. Not everyone has the tank or chin of Nate Diaz

Truth.

But maintaining cardio against Nate is a different story then against Khabib

 

[sypher]

Conor and cardio lol. Thats the worst aspect of his fight game, he's an habitual gasser. He'd be gassed and helpless long before Khabib

 

[Ozze]

I can't imagine Conor KOing Khabib in the 4th or 5th round.

He was gassed against Nate, imagine what 3 rounds of mauling would do to him.
He wouldn't have the strengh to KO anyone after the raping he would suffer.

 

[nick jacoby]

Conor and cardio lol. Thats the worst aspect of his fight game, he's an habitual gasser. He'd be gassed and helpless long before Khabib

I wish he'd do some fricking road work. Not just riding a bike. Take a lesson from Floyd and Ferguson and khabib.

You gotta run miles. I just still cant let that die lol. Frickin' run... Beside from a few
fighters like Dillashaw and Garbrandt... Every fighter who has great cardio seems
to do massive amounts of running.

 

[nick jacoby]

I can't imagine Conor KOing Khabib in the 4th or 5th round.

He was gassed against Nate, imagine what 3 rounds of mauling would do to him.
He wouldn't have the strengh to KO anyone after the raping he would suffer.

If I were to be putting money on the fight outcome I would say yes you are probably right.

But I want to say Conor and his camp have to know that he has to focus 100 percent on cardio
and wrestling... nothing else for this camp. Run run run, wrestle , run, and then run more

at least I want to think that

 

[HelloJapan]

If Habib goes full on grapple mode with him (which, if he has one brain cell, he should), then without a doubt Conor's cardio WILL be a factor. Grappling is must more tiring then standing, and we've seen Conor gas from standing, plus the fight would be 5 rounds...it would look like Andy/Sonnen 1, minus the sub near the end.