At what point does it become ducking? Beat the guys they put in front of you. If he doesnt like Conor and think he can dominate him again why not do it?
In my alternate universe Tony will beat Khabib, Conor beats Tony, and Khabib is the one begging for a rematch. Now that would be funny.
It is only ducking if someone declines fighting the TOP CONTENDER. Tony Ferguson is the #1 contender with a 12 fight win streak at 155 against former champions and top contenders. After Tony there are a few 155 fighters on three fight win streaks.
Meanwhile Conor is on a 1 fight win streak against a "Legend" that never held a belt and has lost about 6 of his last 10 fights. This is a joke.
Only noobs want to see Conor rematch Khabib.
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Conor has fought five times against 155 fighters and lost twice. And in two of the fights (vs Nate and vs Donald) the UFC agreed to hold those matches without any weight cutting involved - even though the result of would directly impact the 155 rankings. The special treatment Conor gets is out of this world.
Use your reasoning. Stop being a fanboy.
Why not beat the pulp out of him again then and forever tarnish Conor's legacy? Hell if i was positive i was always going to win the same match up against a guy I dont like Id take that fight every time.
Why not make it like Ortiz/Shamrock where you beatdown your hated rival 3 times forever tarnishing his legacy?
There are two kinds of champions. The kind that wants to be a champion, and the kind who wants to be the greatest.
Khabib is the latter. He's focused on advancing his legacy through competition, he doesn't care about Conor's popularity.
So he's only going to take fights against legitimate contenders, not fights that increase his instagram followers.
Everyone knows despite being a fan favorite, Conor has never been the #1 contender at 155.
Make no mistake - Conor did NOT earn a title shot at 155 as a result of his body of work inside the octagon.
He earned because his unparalleled self promotion made him immensely popular thus profitable to book a title fight.
Beating fan favorites does nothing to cement one's legacy. Beating #1 contenders makes you the greatest.
So, in your opinion, did Conor duck Aldo? Holloway? Poirier?
Conor has a history of ducking people. He left Cage Warriors without defending any belts. He never defended the belt at 145 in the UFC...yet he has the audacity to call himself the champ champ. The ONE time he defended his title against Khabib, he lost.
Based on his record of never successfully defending four belts...Conor is the most famous paper champion ever.
Of course he ducked ALDO, Aldo was on like a 15 fight win streak. Not giving him a rematch was robbery.
Of course he ducked MAX, you can't call yourself the champ champ, if someone else is holding the belt.
Of course he ducked Poirier and Gatheje, Conor campaigned to fight Donald Cerrone even though Donald was on a 2 fight skid and never held a belt in his life.
The only people who want to see Conor fight Khabib again are delusional fanboys.