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I’ve been reading a lot on the forum about Khabib not deserving the title shot because he “hasn’t fought anyone”, “hasn’t fought anyone in 2 years” so today I am posting for the first and only time on why Khabib does indeed deserve the title shot and why McGregor has no business fighting for it.
First, I want to debunk this “hasn’t fought anyone in 2 years” argument and I find it very relevant now that Rousey is back after a long absence and is immediately fighting for a title. You can also look to Dom Cruz, who also struggled similarly to Khabib with injuries for another example of this. The UFC knows Khabib is the best in the division, that’s why they ranked him at #1 in their own rankings. The UFC has set the precedent that injury layoffs don’t effect quality of wins, ranking, etc. Their decision to have McGregor vs. Alvarez is a pure money decision. Nothing more. I understand this decision, but I don’t agree at all with the argument that other contenders deserve the shot over Khabib because of solely this.
Now, I’m going to start by looking at Khabib’s resume in relation to many of the fighters I’ve heard deserve a title shot over him those being: RDA, Ferguson, and McGregor.
A main point Khabib haters have against him is his only good win is vs RDA and RDA has gotten better since they fought. I encourage you all to watch this fight and understand that no version of RDA was going to win this fight. It was a 15 minute beat down. RDA got rag dolled, out struck, out wrestled, and purely dominated. One of the most lopsided fights between 2 elite fighters you’ll ever see. This in itself, trumps Khabib over RDA for the right to fight for the title even if RDA beats Ferguson.
Next, people talk about how Ferguson holds the longest win streak in the division and how he finishes fights. Look at the people he has fought. People love to say Khabib has fought no one. Ferguson almost lost his last fight to a no name last minute replacement. His best win is probably Barboza and his next best wins are against Abel Trujilo and Gleison Tibau, two guys Khabib also beat. The Trujilo fight for Khabib was another dominant display. The Tibau fight was close, but Tibau was found to be using PEDs before and after the fight and had been for what I speculate to be his entire MMA career. Keep in mind Tibau also beat RDA earlier in his career so to write him off as a nobody is just wrong. Regardless, Tony doesn’t have a better win then Khabib unless you think Barboza is better than RDA, which I hope you don’t.
Lastly, onto Conor McGregor, Sherdog forum troll’s most loved fighter. The guy hasn’t defended his FW belt. He barely beat Mendes after a short camp and being tossed around by a smaller man for the first round. He flashed KO’d Aldo, which is a win, but in my opinion, very fluky. Then he proceeds to move up, get dominated on short notice to Nate Diaz, who is probably a top 10 LW at the time, surely not top 5. Diaz’s stock goes through the roof after the win. People who didn’t even know who he was before now think he’s this top 5 fighter or something. The guy has double digit losses, including an absolute beat down from RDA. They rematch, and McGregor barely escapes with a win by legitimately running around the cage and picking 2-3 shots and dancing again. Not a convincing win by any means. I’ve never seen anything like this where a champion hasn’t defended his belt before pursuing another one. It’s some WWE-esque type stuff. The UFC lost their cash cows when GSP, Lesnar and Silva left and lost respectively. They manufactured Rousey and McGregor to replace the hype they lost when their stars left. I can’t blame them for this. But to say McGregor is this P4P #1 is not even close when you have to recognize that the UFC has paved the way for his success with advantageous matchups, instant rematches, and title shots.
This is just my opinion, and I understand if you disagree with me, but I’m just laying out the facts. I’m by no means a McGregor fan, he’s got legit power at FW, very questionable at LW. I think Alvarez is a bum and has the worst resume of everyone I mentioned above. He got his title shot because no one was available. He was a huge underdog to RDA and got a lucky KO in my opinion. I hope McGregor beats him.
However, if McGregor wants to fight Khabib he will lose and lose badly. Khabib is the worst possible matchup for McGregor and anyone in the UFC for that matter. His strength, technique, timing, and control are all top notch. Khabib haters I encourage you to watch his full fights, not just highlights and truly appreciate his technique and dominance. I’m looking forward to UFC 205 and I hope that after this mess is sorted out we can get back to giving the top guys the matchups they deserve.
First, I want to debunk this “hasn’t fought anyone in 2 years” argument and I find it very relevant now that Rousey is back after a long absence and is immediately fighting for a title. You can also look to Dom Cruz, who also struggled similarly to Khabib with injuries for another example of this. The UFC knows Khabib is the best in the division, that’s why they ranked him at #1 in their own rankings. The UFC has set the precedent that injury layoffs don’t effect quality of wins, ranking, etc. Their decision to have McGregor vs. Alvarez is a pure money decision. Nothing more. I understand this decision, but I don’t agree at all with the argument that other contenders deserve the shot over Khabib because of solely this.
Now, I’m going to start by looking at Khabib’s resume in relation to many of the fighters I’ve heard deserve a title shot over him those being: RDA, Ferguson, and McGregor.
A main point Khabib haters have against him is his only good win is vs RDA and RDA has gotten better since they fought. I encourage you all to watch this fight and understand that no version of RDA was going to win this fight. It was a 15 minute beat down. RDA got rag dolled, out struck, out wrestled, and purely dominated. One of the most lopsided fights between 2 elite fighters you’ll ever see. This in itself, trumps Khabib over RDA for the right to fight for the title even if RDA beats Ferguson.
Next, people talk about how Ferguson holds the longest win streak in the division and how he finishes fights. Look at the people he has fought. People love to say Khabib has fought no one. Ferguson almost lost his last fight to a no name last minute replacement. His best win is probably Barboza and his next best wins are against Abel Trujilo and Gleison Tibau, two guys Khabib also beat. The Trujilo fight for Khabib was another dominant display. The Tibau fight was close, but Tibau was found to be using PEDs before and after the fight and had been for what I speculate to be his entire MMA career. Keep in mind Tibau also beat RDA earlier in his career so to write him off as a nobody is just wrong. Regardless, Tony doesn’t have a better win then Khabib unless you think Barboza is better than RDA, which I hope you don’t.
Lastly, onto Conor McGregor, Sherdog forum troll’s most loved fighter. The guy hasn’t defended his FW belt. He barely beat Mendes after a short camp and being tossed around by a smaller man for the first round. He flashed KO’d Aldo, which is a win, but in my opinion, very fluky. Then he proceeds to move up, get dominated on short notice to Nate Diaz, who is probably a top 10 LW at the time, surely not top 5. Diaz’s stock goes through the roof after the win. People who didn’t even know who he was before now think he’s this top 5 fighter or something. The guy has double digit losses, including an absolute beat down from RDA. They rematch, and McGregor barely escapes with a win by legitimately running around the cage and picking 2-3 shots and dancing again. Not a convincing win by any means. I’ve never seen anything like this where a champion hasn’t defended his belt before pursuing another one. It’s some WWE-esque type stuff. The UFC lost their cash cows when GSP, Lesnar and Silva left and lost respectively. They manufactured Rousey and McGregor to replace the hype they lost when their stars left. I can’t blame them for this. But to say McGregor is this P4P #1 is not even close when you have to recognize that the UFC has paved the way for his success with advantageous matchups, instant rematches, and title shots.
This is just my opinion, and I understand if you disagree with me, but I’m just laying out the facts. I’m by no means a McGregor fan, he’s got legit power at FW, very questionable at LW. I think Alvarez is a bum and has the worst resume of everyone I mentioned above. He got his title shot because no one was available. He was a huge underdog to RDA and got a lucky KO in my opinion. I hope McGregor beats him.
However, if McGregor wants to fight Khabib he will lose and lose badly. Khabib is the worst possible matchup for McGregor and anyone in the UFC for that matter. His strength, technique, timing, and control are all top notch. Khabib haters I encourage you to watch his full fights, not just highlights and truly appreciate his technique and dominance. I’m looking forward to UFC 205 and I hope that after this mess is sorted out we can get back to giving the top guys the matchups they deserve.
