What are the technical specifics required to defeat Khabib?

[sprucelees]

elite striking
elite TDD
BJJ black belt

other option is be a better wrestler, and take him down the whole fight

 

[cmw43]

I'd love to see that fight go down eventually.
On paper, Gaethje seems like a tough matchup indeed; it's possible that:
Gaethje>Khabib
Khabib>Conor
Conor>Gaethje
...which would show again, how much MMA is about matchups.

I agree.

I think Conor likely picks apart Gaethje.

Khabib dominates Conor in a rematch.

Gaethje Vs Khabib, who knows, that's why I'd like to see it.

 

[cmw43]

elite striking
elite TDD
BJJ black belt

other option is be a better wrestler, and take him down the whole fight

You don't need to be better at wrestling you just need to defend takedowns long enough to land something decent standing. Khabib's not that great standing if you're not worried about the takedown.

 

[cmw43]

Be a LW GSP basically. Prime Aldo with his TDD and pivots would be a tough match up too

Yep, pretty sure that's why Khabib turned down a fight with Aldo at 155lbs when Khabib was on his way up the rankings.

 

[BBMN]

BJ's take down defense
Cruz's footwork
Hughes' wrestling
Nate's cardio
Nate's heart
Conor's left hand
TJ's horse meat

 

[MuaythaiGangstalicious]

The one fighter I think can out grind/out box khabib, is gregor Gillespie. Unfortunately ufc fighter Kevin lee took his soul in his last fight

 

[jx820]

The single most important factor I never hear anyone mention is Octagon Conrtol. Khabib does his best work against the cage and moving forward. A fighter that can move him backwards and angle away from the cage is much more likely to succeed. Khabib is not great moving backwards to the best of my recollection and he's not a power double middle of the cage TD kind of wrestler.

Dictating range and cutting angles on the feet could be a key factor here. A rangy jab to dictate distance and maybe calf kicks could be really helpful if applied by the right fighter. The ability to move forward while avoiding the takedown by keeping him on his heels with the jab would probably frustrate him over time. Cutting angles to keep to the center and not stand in front of him all night would be big too.

The problem is actually doing it. Your looking for a lightweight Dominic Cruz with GSP's rangy jab. I don't see anyone at LW now or on the horizon that can do it.

Your only other options are a wrestler who can put Khabib on his back which I don't think exists right now, and someone who just lands a bomb on him. If Kevin Lee makes the most of his time at TriStar he could be a possible threat sometime in the future. Gathje could knock out King Kong if he lands clean, but I don't see that happening. Conor can also knock out pretty much anyone he hits clean but he had 20 minutes to try and didn't manage. Tony could maybe get a cut stoppage with those boxcutter elbows, but again, it's a long shot.

 

[jx820]

Bjj black Belt

I feel like you've alreay lost if you're trying to implement BJJ against Khabib.

 

[Gabicho]

I understand Tony is wild and due to his background, a lot of Sherdoggers identify with him.
But he was dominated by Michael Johnson and almost KO'ed by a .500 Vanatta who is from a lower weight class.
The only chance he has against Nurmagomedov, is if Khabib has the worst performance of his carreer.
He's tough and will probably sustain 5 rounds of being Donkey Kong'd if the referee is not nice enough to stop the fight earlier.

 

[dragovic]

Too all of you saying ”elite TDD”/”elite wrestling” - those are not technical specifics.

 

[Alpha_T83]

I would say mostly elite wrestling to keep him off of you, and then decent striking.

This actually isn't a difficult skillset to find in the UFC. Triple C Cejudo, Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley, Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero, Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Stipe Miocic, etc.

All these guys have good takedown defense and good striking. For whatever reason, 155 is populated with fighters that have bad wrestling and elite striking. Poirier, Barboza, Hooker, Iaquinta, etc. None of these guys actually have good wrestling credentials.

Khabib would get mauled by a lightweight equivalent of GSP, Covington, Usman, Cejudo, etc. Because he wouldn't be able to take them down, and his striking is nowhere near good enough. He's just a lucky lucker that runs a division devoid of good wrestlers. Probably the only 155 exception is Justin Gaethje, but he's seemingly abandoned his wrestling base and would probably get taken down too.

 

[Drugstore Cowboy]

I'm lazy to write an essay, but just be the lightweight Robert Whittaker.

 

[thobra]

There was another russian multiple Sambo world champion (just like Khabib), that was a world class judoka (like Khabib), known for his world class ground/clinch game, just like Khabib, but still had improved striking, like Khabib. This guy was undefeated for 10 years, 30 fights.

Who knows. Maybe wear And tear is the only thing that can beat Khabib too.. (And fighting smaller guys And taking less damage, that might be a long time)..