Why do people think Justin would beat Conor

[MrFreeze]

If he's so damn hittable, then why has barely anyone hit him in his last three fights?

Gaethje has fought 3 match ups quite generously favoured towards him
Vick, Barboza and Cowboy all get snuffed out by pressure

 

[I_IZ_BACK]

lowkicks

 

[MIKOM]

How do you sell Gaethje to the public though. Cowboy was a draw, but a lot of folk have never heard of Gaethje. He has no persona.

 

[fortheo]

Gaethje has fought 3 match ups quite generously favoured towards him
Vick, Barboza and Cowboy all get snuffed out by pressure

And everyone who beat Conor beat him by pressuring him.

Duffy: pressured past Conors punches, took him down, submitted him.

Diaz: pressured Conor until Conor quit and panic wrestled.

Khabib: literally walked Conor down

 

[RoJo303]

New Justin is a fighter with an unknown peak TBH. Im not sure how much progress he has made, but he certainly has made it. Im not sure of that is enough for a lifelong wrestler to box and strike with a life long boxer, but it is a fun idea to find out. It would probably be like Chad vs Conor, except no takedowns as Justin said he would just strike, but who knows. Its simply too much of a gap to make up, like asking Conor to out grapple Khabib, or black belt Condit to out BJJ Maia. There are levels to this stuff.

 

[RoJo303]

How do you sell Gaethje to the public though. Cowboy was a draw, but a lot of folk have never heard of Gaethje. He has no persona.

You don't sell or need to sell Gaethje. Conor could fight a bum off the street and the show would quadruple anything else the UFC can do. Gaethje also has some pull, don't fool yourself, all those years on main stream TV did him well. He is super exciting and is guaranteed fireworks when you tune in to watch him.

 

[Kevster]

I don’t but ignoring him and picking Cerrone instead and now trying to force it at 170 has me curious.

Somebody has seen something in Gaethje that’s made them hesitant and that’s interesting.

 

[PatrickBatemanVHS]

Because a lot of people hate Conor and want him to lose, it's called confirmation bias. It's no different to the Conor fans who convinced themselves he'd beat Mayweather.

As a neutral on Conor, I think it's a really fun fight I'd love to see. As for who wins? I don't care, but I'd favor Conor if he's at his best to get Justin outta there within 2 rounds.

Conor McGregor has somehow managed to become the most overrated and the most underrated fighter in the UFC, he's the GOAT or he sucks depending on who you ask, it's madness. Love him or hate him though, the sport has more buzz when he is active.

 

[MIKOM]

You don't sell or need to sell Gaethje. Conor could fight a bum off the street and the show would quadruple anything else the UFC can do. Gaethje also has some pull, don't fool yourself, all those years on main stream TV did him well. He is super exciting and is guaranteed fireworks when you tune in to watch him.

Compared to the likes of Masvidal, Diaz, Cowboy he is unknown to the general public. I agree that conor could elevate even a bum off the street , however I believe the UFC want to continually get bigger and bigger numbers with Conor to maintain momentum, so they need needle movers.
Personally I would love to see Conor fight Justin.

 

[cmw43]

Cool, then book it. #1 contender fight.

Me? I'm curious about JG. He got beat by two brawlers, and says it forced him to make adjustments. He makes compelling arguments / statements, and I want to see how real it is. Problem is, he's only been in the cage like 6 minutes since (3 KO wins), so there's not enough data for me to confirm or deny that he's full of hot air or not.

The little data there is either shows he made adjustments to people who tend to believe him, or prove he's exactly the same fighter to those who don't believe him.

So I would absolutely love to find out via a Conor fight. Either he's full of hot air and gets wrecked.....or he destroys McGregor in a barn burner. A barn burner that every MMA fan would love to see.

But you and I both know it won't get booked. You and I both know the risks are too high. That alone should tell you all you need to know.

I think JG is a tougher match up for Khabib style wise than Mcgregor.

And I don't think Connor can win the Khabib rematch.

I'd rather see Justin get his shot at the belt.

 

[C0NCH3TO]

I don’t see it going much differently to any other Conor fight.

Like the 4 times he got choked or the 22 he won?

 

[MrFreeze]

And everyone who beat Conor beat him by pressuring him.

Duffy: pressured past Conors punches, took him down, submitted him.

Diaz: pressured Conor until Conor quit and panic wrestled.

Khabib: literally walked Conor down

Sure
But, my point was regarding why Gaethje has left his most recent fights unscathed
Not difference in the match ups, Gaethje still doesn't have good defence

 

[MrFreeze]

How do you sell Gaethje to the public though. Cowboy was a draw, but a lot of folk have never heard of Gaethje. He has no persona.

You sell Gathje with his highlight reel
Start the conversation with Justin and Conor together, show some clips of Gaethje going to war and voila

 

[MCS]

It wouldn't go past the 1st. Chin-first brawlers don't have much of a chance. Gaethje matches up probably the best against Khabib. Rather have that fight.

 

[honzo]

He probably wont beat him, it still doesn't mean Conor can skip the line for a TS over Justin

 

[fortheo]

Sure
But, my point was regarding why Gaethje has left his most recent fights unscathed
Not difference in the match ups, Gaethje still doesn't have good defence

Looked good to me. He used to get hit on average far more per minute than he has in the last minutes of fighting we've seen from him. He also didn't even pressure cowboy.....he fought him at range and knocked him out while moving backwards.

 

[snootylol]

He would destroy Gathje.. and then everyone would call him (Gathje) a bum who got knocked out by Porier/Alvarez

 

[Gilday]

Gaethje has the power to finish anyone and unlike any of Conor's opponents in recent memory, he's going to pressure him on the feet

 

[PatrickBatemanVHS]

Like the 4 times he got choked or the 22 he won?

Technically only 1 of those losses was a choke.

One thing you can guarantee though, if Conor beat Justin, Justin would be dubbed a journeyman and be called overhyped.

"Conor fans celebrating a win over a bum who lost to Poirier and Alvarez LOL"

 

[PitDoggMMA]

Maybe its because he got outstruck by a wrestler with barely serviceable standup.

Or maybe because he's only had 2 fights at LW and other than starching Alvarez there is no indication that the power advantage he had at 145 translates well to 155?

Or perhaps its because Justin has changed his fighting style significantly as a result of his 2 UFC losses? He is fighting far more defensively than before. He used to wade into fights and count on his chin and recovery time to save him. Justin has serious leg kicks, something that Conor hasn't had to deal with.

Or maybe its because Conor has only had 5 fights in 4 years (getting smashed by Mayweather excluded) and has gone 2-3 in that time period.

Justin has the tools to beat Conor, he just needed to adjust his gameplan, something he has done.

Smashing Cerrone provides Conor zero credibility, who knows if he still has what it takes.

Khabib actually has better standard than Justin.

Khabib is quicker, faster, has way better footwork, and is far less-predictable than Justin Gaethje.

Gaethje only has devastating power, but he is basically a slow, nonathletic boxer that Conor would destroy with the reach and precision advantage.

To say that Justin Gaethje is a better boxer than Khabib is simply not true. He's a better puncher, but Gaethje is much easier to predict and counter.