Should Khabib retire the flying knee?

Khabib's flying knee is similar to Conor's spinning kicks, the point isn't to land the technique, if they do then great but the point is to use it to set something else up and to be unpredictable. Khabib uses his flying knee to set up the clinch, takedowns or throw combos. Conor uses his spinning kicks to get people to circle into his left hand.
 
Does it look good no

Does it land no

Is it super effective yes
 
I didn't say he's invulnerable, I said he throws the knee at the right time. He throws the knee when guys are either against the cage or backing up a lot and circling away, it's really hard to get much power on a counter strike while running backwards and sideways away from your opponent. In the gif in this thread RDA shells up while Khabib could be countered because he's more worried about Khabib taking him down than his striking. The less predictable Khabib is on offense while both men are standing up the better it is for him.

Most of the time when Khabib throws the flying knee he winds up in the clinch which is where he wants to be and where his opponents don't want to be so the vast majority of the time they are more worried about getting the hell away from him then banking on finishing him in one shot.

He could get caught using it and lose but it's a very useful tool for him and it works really well for him to use sparingly.

And all it takes is for an opponent to pick up on this read and counter him in the fight when he does it. No matter how you’re placing or timing a strike, or what you’re using it for, it can be countered if your opponent adjusts and times you (if they have the time to). It CAN happen; but it’s a matter of if it happens. But again, because of how little he utilizes it, the chances are slim.
I just know that everybody loses in MMA. And a lot of the times it’s the little things like this fighters do naturally with their style, that rising contenders who have been watching them forever pick up on. Sort of like how Rose timed a small tendency in Joanna’s “perfect” formula with that (forgot whether it’s right or left) hook several times in the first fight and KO’d her with it. Or how Conor knew Aldo would be suceptible to the left cross when he bangs with his right hook.

I agree entirely with your last paragraph though.
 
And all it takes is for an opponent to pick up on this read and counter him in the fight when he does it. No matter how you’re placing or timing a strike, or what you’re using it for, it can be countered if your opponent adjusts and times you (if they have the time to). It CAN happen; but it’s a matter of if it happens. But again, because of how little he utilizes it, the chances are slim.
I just know that everybody loses in MMA. And a lot of the times it’s the little things like this fighters do naturally with their style, that rising contenders who have been watching them forever pick up on. Sort of like how Rose timed a small tendency in Joanna’s “perfect” formula with that (forgot whether it’s right or left) hook several times in the fight. Or how Conor knee Aldo would be suceptible to the left cross when he bangs with his right hook.

I agree entirely with your last paragraph though.

This is true of almost any technique, that's no reason not to use it, they all have risks and rewards and Khabib does a great job minimizing the risk of the flying knee. He also uses it in most of his fights and no one has come close to capitalizing on it yet, i'm not saying it can't happen but to give up on a technique that works extremely well and one that he's really good at minimizing the risk of is silly.
 
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Ha ha ha perfect!
 
This is true of almost any technique, that's no reason not to use it, they all have risks and rewards and Khabib does a great job minimizing the risk of the flying knee. He also uses it in most of his fights and no one has come close to capitalizing on it yet, i'm not saying it can't happen but to give up on a technique that works extremely well and one that he's really good at minimizing the risk of is silly.
I don’t think he should give up on it entirely. He just needs to keep adapting. The if it ain’t broke don’t fix it philosophy will have him throwing it the same way every fight, like he has been, and make it easier to counter. It could also as a lot of posters here have said be a lot less sloppy. Dos Anjos actually, ironically, uses the technique a LOT better imo.

EDIT - but for different reasons
 
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