Will Khabib ever be a popular headliner or will he be another Maia?

[When DC Cries]

Technical assassins that get no love.

It's irritating how little respect these guys get in the mainstream. I guess since Brown got turned in an accessories fashion model , Maia has drawn more appeal. The dude is just amazing and a rare class act, for any sport.

Is Khabibs fate to be like Maia's , just a co head liner at best.

I see allot of similarities in both these guys. II hoping to see Khabib retire undefeated with the belt.

 

[Kyler Ruxin]

You think Maia's win over Brown made people like him more?? You visit different threads than I do.

 

[Mochan]

People loathe Maia more than ever because of his Backpacking Adventures with Brown.


As for Khabib, as long as he keeps winning he'll have a fanbase. Fans are inexorably drawn towards undefeated fighters. But as long as he isn't able to reliably finish high-level competition he'll never be a big draw.

he needs to transform himself the same way Machida did.

 

[Death By Samson]

I like Khabib but neither will appeal to the masses. It is what it is.

 

[DIABOLUS]

I think Khabib's unorthodox striking and the way he ragdolls guys goes over better with the fans compared to Maia's technical wizardry on the ground. And I say that as a huge Maia fan. And don't forget about the bears.

 

[When DC Cries]

You think Maia's win over Brown made people like him more?? You visit different threads than I do.

Still got more discussions, then he did before because of it . People just seem to want to ignore his awesomeness

 

[FeloniousMonk]

No, because Maia actually
finishes a decent amount of his
opponents.

 

[MEAN357]

i think hes already popular amongst the ruskies or w/e they are on sherdog. I dont think his style will ever give him mass appeal, even with how good he is. I dont personally enjoy wrestling too much myself so I usually just check his record after his fights, and if anything awesome happened i catch a highlight. Dudes good tho, no two ways about it. Just doesnt do much for me.

Same thing with Maia. dudes absurdly good on the ground its just not thrilling for me to see a juijitsu match. Personal preference.

 

[wartor]

Is he still undefeated? If so he can become huge if he becomes a champ and remains undefeated.

 

[Pacemaker Joe]

You think Maia's win over Brown made people like him more?? You visit different threads than I do.

Yea, I can't remember too many people who loved that fight. Maia dominated, and demonstrated an incredible amount of skill doing so, but it wasn't an exciting or popular fight. Watching 4 minutes per round of a guy doing nothing but trying desperately to defend an RNC isn't the most exciting thing. Maia's transitions to back mount were awesome though.

If Khabib can do to the top guys what he did to Horcher, he'll be pretty popular. But that's a big if.

 

[blazerkor]

View attachment 107279 View attachment 107277 Technical assassins that get no love.

It's irritating how little respect these guys get in the mainstream. I guess since Brown got turned in an accessories fashion model , Maia has drawn more appeal. The dude is just amazing and a rare class act, for any sport.

Is Khabibs fate to be like Maia's , just a co head liner at best.

I see allot of similarities in both these guys. II hoping to see Khabib retire undefeated with the belt.

He may dominate the LW division and according to him try to storm the WW division after that. The guy suplexes opponents regularly and is an action fighter. He can be a headliner people love him. I'm not sure he can complete all of that but if he does he will be extremely popular.

 

[Kyler Ruxin]

Yea, I can't remember too many people who loved that fight. Maia dominated, and demonstrated an incredible amount of skill doing so, but it wasn't an exciting or popular fight. Watching 4 minutes per round of a guy doing nothing but trying desperately to defend an RNC isn't the most exciting thing. Maia's transitions to back mount were awesome though.

If Khabib can do to the top guys what he did to Horcher, he'll be pretty popular. But that's a big if.

Yea I don't think most people deny that Maia has a ton of skill. But it's the same as it was with GSP, watching someone that is that dominant on the ground just isn't very exciting.

 

[Rex Kwon Do]

He could be because he has a lot of charisma. Maia has none. He's old and avuncular. Khabib is brash and young. They both have styles that bore casuals, but Khabib could be put over with fans do to his personality. If the person behind the fights resonates with them--like Randy--they'll forgive that person's grappling.

Also, with Maia, when he gets you down you stay down. When Khabib gets you down, you'll probably get up and then he'll take you down, rinse and repeat ad nauseam. The latter is more exciting for casuals than the former because there's more movement, more slams, more carrying the guy on your shoulders and tossing him to the ground. Small, technical movements done by a BJJ guy are much more boring to the untrained eye.

 

[ninja boot]

khabib just seems a little easier to watch for me. maia fights are repetitive to the point of redundancy.

 

[Lucifer Alpha]

Not after what happened at Pulse.

 

[hashback*]

Khabib does to spectators what he doesn't do to his opponents, puts them to sleep. Dudes pretty boring. Well hear and see less of him once he loses.

 

[FrancisBergoglio]

Khabib is the next MMA goat. Very funny. " No true cowboy" " always drink, drunk uhahahaauau IIIII am cowboy" " I miss very miss" He killed RDA like he was nothing using is amazing grappling. In fact he is actually very popular in Russia, in US and in Vatican. He could be a very good draw if they promote him more.

 

[Strange Shadows]

among the people writing on mma forums, yes

 

[Maybesomeday]

Not sure what his popularity would be based on. But he can change over the time. Stranger things have happend.

 

[Kryptt]

People loathe Maia more than ever because of his Backpacking Adventures with Brown.

Heh Very few can resist the lure of the backpack!!

Try one on!!!