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Raoul

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Dustin was the closest guy to get to Khabib imo. Anyone wants to include Gleison Tibau, then be my guest. Conor did 'okay' I guess.
Dustin and Gaethje came closest imo.

Dustin nearly had him and Justin was a few more leg kicks away from severely impairing his legs today. Khabib still managed to get it done on both occasions which means he's now in the GSP/Jones pantheon.
 

Bubz27

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Conor's mouth is the only reason we're even talking about him tonight.
 

V.O.

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This is in danger of turning into a poundland version of the Messi vs Ronaldo thread. :lol:
 

Welsh Wonder

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There are only two fights I'd really find interesting were Khabib to renege on his retirement and both of them would be more matters of curiosity:
1) GSP - two all time greats going at it but with the caveat that GSP hasn't been an active fighter for a long time while Khabib is in his prime and therefore the result would mean nothing.
2) Ferguson - based on his unorthodoxy and that he's probably the only fighter Khabib has faced that's comfortable and capable of dishing out lots of damage from his back with his elbows. Probably just gets pinned against the cage just like everybody else though.

No interest in a McGregor fight and don't really understand the attraction of it. Also don't understand why so many are keen for him to be next in line for the vacant Lightweight title when he wants to face Poirier at 170 and actually asked Dana for a Diego Sanchez fight.
 

Paxi

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Nah, the next level up of strikers: Wonderboy, peak Silva, Adesanya, Mighty Mouse level who don't scrap and back up their striking with evasive footwork on their exit points. Gaethje and Pourier are there to bomb and scramble; Conor is reliant on too few tools. The kind of striking I'm talking about is evasive, unpredictable and infinitely dangerous.

Khabib was getting lit up by the leg kicks tonight, but Gaethje does not shape up for the next one and the next - he stands there and wants to bomb, which keeps him in range to be grappled. Khabib fights with his chin in the air, too, but he's not afraid of getting him to get his hands on someone - if he was fighting someone who could get at his legs and his chin and then exit safely and reset, it would be something else entirely.

I am talking about the top level of strikers, though. It's clear that the element of risk in him changing levels and switching to a mauling position is the highest in the sport and terrifies opponents who have better stand-up than he does. Just absolutely nobody backs it up with the fight-ending grappling he has.

I thought Gaethje would win tonight, too, but that was a man possessed out there going all out with no let up from the moment the 1st round started. Gaethje was shell-shocked by the pressure and trying to keep this bear from pouncing on him.

Anyway, his performance tonight was fantastic, I'm just saying he's not infallible, but still the one fighter who might stylistically matchup with him in the division probably will never fight him now.
But the simple question is, why would Khabib ever stand up with Silva, Izzy or Wonderboy? DJ? Guys are killers in their own divisions and its hard to quantify what would happen exactly. I'm certain that Gaethje would have been on this list before tonight because he got 7 out 9 bonuses and for being know as well rounded fighter. That's fair. But it wasn't so long Porier and Gaethje threw down and where does that leave us?

I kind of think we're setting new levels on Khabib after he reaches them and surpasses them with little difficulty.

I actually think Khabib would have been better if he had taken a loss and worked really hard on his stand up. I don't think he has peaked, oddly. Something only a defeat can teach you. I don't know.
 

Paxi

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Dustin and Gaethje came closest imo.

Dustin nearly had him and Justin was a few more leg kicks away from severely impairing his legs today. Khabib still managed to get it done on both occasions which means he's now in the GSP/Jones pantheon.
Yeah I saw those kicks but I always thought that Khabib had his ground game to fall back on. Dustin had him worried both in stand up and on the ground. I know people joke about that guillotine but it was close and it will be as close as anyone that will come to submitting Khabib.
 

Raoul

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I don’t. Could you briefly explain?
There was a time when Dana and the UFC were aggressively marketing the hell out of Conor, Ronda, Sage Northcutt, and Paige Van Zandt as the current and future stars they wanted to promote. Then all of them lost within a relatively short period of time (Conor to Nate, Ronda to Holly Holm etc), so everyone mocked Dana, Rogan et al, for annoyingly overpromoting their preferred fighters.

As it stands, Ronda is out of MMA, Northcutt is out of the UFC, Conor rarely fights, and Dana has recently told Van Zandt she should "test free agency" after getting easily dispatched by Amanda Ribas.
 

V.O.

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So why are you all against Khabib shifting to a heavier category?
You were talking about him fighting Ngannou, mate. Weight divisions exist for a reason. :lol:

He'd need to be morbidly obese, on stilts, and have a fecking gun.
 

Paxi

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You were talking about him fighting Ngannou, mate. Weight divisions exist for a reason. :lol:

He'd need to be morbidly obese, on stilts, and have a fecking gun.
What? :lol:
 

Alemar

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You were talking about him fighting Ngannou, mate. Weight divisions exist for a reason. :lol:

He'd need to be morbidly obese, on stilts, and have a fecking gun.
I saw it differently: firstly to get some additional weight and fight Adesanya. If it goes well, then think about getting more weight. Not to fight Ngannou now :)
 

Paxi

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Anyway. I'm glad Gaethje said he's ready to go in 2 months. We've got Porier, McGregor, Gaethje, Tony and Hooker as an outsider. All animals. I can't wait for 2021.
 

Bubz27

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I saw it differently: firstly to get some additional weight and fight Adesanya. If it goes well, then think about getting more weight. Not to fight Ngannou now :)
That doesn't really happen though mate. I can't think of one time.
 

sammsky1

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There was a time when Dana and the UFC were aggressively marketing the hell out of Conor, Ronda, Sage Northcutt, and Paige Van Zandt as the current and future stars they wanted to promote. Then all of them lost within a relatively short period of time (Conor to Nate, Ronda to Holly Holm etc), so everyone mocked Dana, Rogan et al, for annoyingly overpromoting their preferred fighters.

As it stands, Ronda is out of MMA, Northcutt is out of the UFC, Conor rarely fights, and Dana has recently told Van Zandt she should "test free agency" after getting easily dispatched by Amanda Ribas.
:lol: :lol: :lol: oh dear!

what did you make of Dana's post interview? i thought he looked like he wanted to cry as he saw millions of future $$$ vanish into thin air.
 

Reditus

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Anyway. I'm glad Gaethje said he's ready to go in 2 months. We've got Porier, McGregor, Gaethje, Tony and Hooker as an outsider. All animals. I can't wait for 2021.
And Chandler. As much as I would like to see Khabib Continue it’s really opened up the division and historically it’s always been a very competitive division so without himself it’s made things very exciting. I really hope McGregor comes back and comes back frequently as there is a some great fights now
 

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But the simple question is, why would Khabib ever stand up with Silva, Izzy or Wonderboy? DJ? Guys are killers in their own divisions and its hard to quantify what would happen exactly. I'm certain that Gaethje would have been on this list before tonight because he got 7 out 9 bonuses and for being know as well rounded fighter. That's fair. But it wasn't so long Porier and Gaethje threw down and where does that leave us?

I kind of think we're setting new levels on Khabib after he reaches them and surpasses them with little difficulty.

I actually think Khabib would have been better if he had taken a loss and worked really hard on his stand up. I don't think he has peaked, oddly. Something only a defeat can teach you. I don't know.
The why is in not having a choice because the stand up is so good it exposes the weaknesses in his own game and the shoot follow-ups are much, much harder to come by because these guys have exit points a mile away from where they struck from, which is not the same as what he encounters currently - he scrambles and trades and then he's grappling and the opponent falls to pieces and is subsequently terrified for the rest of the bout, understable as that is from their perspective.

Before his loss, Ferguson was 'the one' custom-built to match Khabib and not be intimidated whilst providing volume and aggression by the bucketload.

I don't think a new level is set for Khabib - he's at a level where everything is scrutinised because there's discussion of greatest of all-time etc. at which point these guys get broken down to the minutiae. Thing is, though, strikers of the level I'm talking about are so few and far between that hoping one emerges in Khabib's division whilst he's still at his peak is like waiting on a unicorn - Khabib can only beat what's in front of him, but you can't sweep his flaws under the carpet. He's vulnerable to certain things and it would have been great to see a truly masterful standup exponent go at it with him just see how it would turn out for the both of them.
 

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@Paxi @Raoul @George Owen

Why was Justine struggling for Cardio end of first round? Is that because Khabib was actually the guy more on the front foot?
I was very surprised.
I am surprised that a guy with such an outspoken opinion like yourself still has trouble to correctly spell Justin or Conor. For a “casual MMA fan”, your level of petty is unheard of.
 

Paxi

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@Paxi @Raoul @George Owen

Why was Justine struggling for Cardio end of first round? Is that because Khabib was actually the guy more on the front foot?
I was very surprised.
I actually have no clear idea. If I were to guess, then I'd say, Justin didn't expect that amount of pressure. We all know Tony Ferguson has great cardio right, and Gaethje was able to deal with it, but with Khabib, I just think he was out of kilter. I don't think Khabib would have sustained that pressure for 25 minutes but I don't think Gaethje expected that ridiculous pace from Khabib. Rhythm, pace and momentum. Honestly, I thought Gaethje would knock Khabib out tonight so I'm shocked.
 

sammsky1

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I am surprised that a guy with such an outspoken opinion like yourself still has trouble to correctly spell Justin or Conor. For a “casual MMA fan”, your level of petty is unheard of.
name spellings is what you have on me :lol: :houllier:
 

sammsky1

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I actually have no clear idea. If I were to guess, then I'd say, Justin didn't expect that amount of pressure. We all know Tony Ferguson has great cardio right, and Gaethje was able to deal with it, but with Khabib, I just think he was out of kilter. I don't think Khabib would have sustained that pressure for 25 minutes but I don't think Gaethje expected that ridiculous pace from Khabib. Rhythm, pace and momentum. Honestly, I thought Gaethje would knock Khabib out tonight so I'm shocked.
Im going to sleep now, will watch the fight again tomorrow and watch some interviews.
Perhaps we can continue chat about the fight itself over next few days? Would love to learn your analysis.

your next post is 20000! Congrats in advance. Make it a good one! (ie don't waste it replying to this one!)
 

Paxi

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The why is in not having a choice because the stand up is so good it exposes the weaknesses in his own game and the shoot follow-ups are much, much harder to come by because these guys have exit points a mile away from where they struck from, which is not the same as what he encounters currently - he scrambles and trades and then he's grappling and the opponent falls to pieces and is subsequently terrified for the rest of the bout, understable as that is from their perspective.

Before his loss, Ferguson was 'the one' custom-built to match Khabib and not be intimidated whilst providing volume and aggression by the bucketload.

I don't think a new level is set for Khabib - he's at a level where everything is scrutinised because there's discussion of greatest of all-time etc. at which point these guys get broken down to the minutiae. Thing is, though, strikers of the level I'm talking about are so few and far between that hoping one emerges in Khabib's division whilst he's still at his peak is like waiting on a unicorn - Khabib can only beat what's in front of him, but you can't sweep his flaws under the carpet. He's vulnerable to certain things and it would have been great to see a truly masterful standup exponent go at it with him just see how it would turn out for the both of them.
I'm going to sleep now mate, I'm fecking pissed up, therefore, I'll reply the best I can once I recovered tomorrow evening.

Parting words for tonight: really enjoyed that. Long live legal violence.
 

Paxi

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Im going to sleep now, will watch the fight again tomorrow and watch some interviews.
Perhaps we can continue chat about the fight itself over next few days? Would love to learn your analysis.

your next post is 20000! Congrats in advance. Make it a good one! (ie don't waste it replying to this one!)
I will wake up tomorrow absolutely hanging mate and I'll probably not want to touch anything to do with mma until I'm in the mood again. But sleep well.
 

sammsky1

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Amazing interview from GSP and his views on the retiring GOAT that is Khabib.
GSP is an amazing personality

 

Reditus

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Amazing interview from GSP and his views on the retiring GOAT that is Khabib.
GSP is an amazing personality

For what it’s worth GSP is my GOAT. Ahead of Jones, Anderson and Khabib.
 

Tel074

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I posted that to prove he was the aggressor in that round and stopped 3 takedown attempts. He won the round. He lost the fight.
He was out of his depth like every other fighter against Khabib . Like I said before Khabib was never under any pressure even for a second in the McGregor fight