The MMA thread
- Thread starter Fortitude
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Surely even just the training and cardio he would need would see him lose weight? What must his diet be like?
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Bit of a weird post, he seems kind of humble but also almost verges on the Diaz mantra that wrestling or grappling isn't proper fighting. He does seem like someone who is willing to learn, I don't know if he ever beats Khabib but fair play to him I do think he's willing to adapt unlike other fighters in the past who wouldn't (Rousey obviously being the most famous one but also the likes of Faber, Garbrandt etc have suffered the same fate)
Really keen to see Conor vs. Khabib II. I still think Khabib will win that one but it'll be interesting..
Largely fair enough I guess? Says he was beaten fair and square, says a lot of it was down to his own mistakes, says he has no problem facing the next in line if an immediate rematch isn't available. Basically what we'd want to hear.
Weird the way he claims to not have done any stand up sparring at all during his training camp. Bit fecking negligent for an MMA fight, surely?
feck no. Tony v Khabib is next. McGregor lost decisively, no need for a rematch.
GOAT
Meh, Tony is overrated IMO. I reckon Khabib will take him down easily enough. McGregor with a better game plan will put up a better fight.
And just like that, we are sucked in.
Imo opinion Khabib wins that fight 8/10 times, the rematch is much further off and thankfully Conor is open to other options to build himself up- it's easy for any fighter to come out of a loss and see their mistakes, say what they could have done etc.
Conor with 2-3 more fights, and then a rematch is interesting. I would still back Khabib but it gives Conor some time to realistically become better (and probably Khabib to get worse/complacent because that is what he would need.)
He did stand up sparring (there's videos and pictures of it) he said he didn't have specific ones, I'd guess he's implying he didn't bring anyone in to mimic Khabib's stand up style like he has in the past (he did for Diaz 2 and Aldo definitely.) I think his point is whilst he knew Khabib was obviously going to wrestle he underestimated his ability to strike as well and that cost him.
How so? His record is ridiculous he's beat the best in the division and pretty easily for the large part. I'm interested to see how you think he's over rated more than saying you're wrong. You're entitled to an opinion but it just seems an odd one to take when he's beaten everyone he faced and done it pretty well.
Tony is a better wrestler than McGregor ever will be. Ditto his submission game. And ditto his cardio. It's a far more competitive fight.
What? Find that a ridiculous statement but you are of course entitled to your opinion.
Tony is a beast, has a massive win streak, good wrestler, creative striker and most importantly, he's fecking dangerous off his back, so that provides the question of how Khabib does against him. Does he take him down like he does to everyone else and risk being submitted? Ferguson also has cardio for days, so there's no worry of fatigue kicking in. It's potentially the best fight you can hope for as a fan of the sport.
I can't see how much Conor can improve to be able to negate Khabib's relentless pressure and also, he himself has stated after every loss of his that his cardio is not great. You can't just magically improve your cardio and also, when you fight the champion and he beats you fair and square, there's no need for a rematch from a sporting sense. This isn't WWE.
Not really become better but dust off the ring rust. He was too defensive i n the fight, its why Khabib clocked him .because he feinted for the takedown and threw a ridiculously bad overhand right which caught a hesitant Conor.
An aggressive Conor would stand a better chance at beating Khabib but Khabib would still be favourite.
I can see Khabib taking Tony down and hugging him all night, IMO that fight is only drool worthy on paper.
For me, Tony's biggest weakness is the positioning of his arms, which are more or less around the midsection and it leaves his chin open. He's always a slow starter who sort of lifts his game in later rounds. Conor is always a fast starter with a good chance of beating him early, while I don't think Khabib really tires in later rounds.
I think Khabib can hurt him both while standing up and also in take downs. His arm position works well against grapplers like Khabib as it allows him to easily get snap-downs and d'arces, but I see Tony spending more time on his back in this matchup, and I don't see anything to suggest he can win from there. He's only managed to do it to an exhausted Kevin Lee, but Khabib will be a different beast to deal with IMO. I reckon it will be a lot easier for Khabib than people seem to think.
I think Khabib can hurt him both while standing up and also in take downs. His arm position works well against grapplers like Khabib as it allows him to easily get snap-downs and d'arces, but I see Tony spending more time on his back in this matchup, and I don't see anything to suggest he can win from there. He's only managed to do it to an exhausted Kevin Lee, but Khabib will be a different beast to deal with IMO. I reckon it will be a lot easier for Khabib than people seem to think.
Thoughts on my last fight.
Round 1. I believe from a sport standpoint, round 1 was his. Top position against the fence. Zero position advancement or damage inflicted. But top position.
From a fight standpoint the first round is mine.
Actual shots landed and a willingness to engage. Straight left early. Knee to the head on the low shot. Elbows in any and all tie up scenarios. Opponent just holding the legs against the fence for almost the entire round.
Round 2 he is running away around the cage before being blessed with a right hand that changed the course of the round, and the fight.
It was a nice shot.
After the shot I bounced back up to engage instantly, but again he dipped under to disengage. That is the sport and it was a smart move that led to a dominant round, so no issue. Well played.
If I stay switched on and give his stand up even a little more respect, that right hand never gets close and we are talking completely different now.
I gave his upright fighting no respect in preparation. No specific stand up spars whatsoever.
Attacking grapplers/wrestlers only.
That won’t happen again.
I also gave my attacking grappling no respect. To defense minded.
Lessons.
Listen to nobody but yourself on your skill set.
You are the master of your own universe.
I am the master of this.
I must take my own advice.
Round 3. After the worst round of my fighting career, I come back and win this round. Again walking forward, walking him down, and willing to engage.
Round 4. My recovery was not where it could have been here.
That is my fault.
Although winning the early exchanges in 4, he dips under again and I end up in a bad position with over 3 on the clock. I work to regain position and end up upright, with my back to the fence.
A stable position.
Here however, I made a critical error of abandoning my over hook at this crucial time, exposing the back, and I end up beaten fair and square.
What can I say?
It was a great fight and it was my pleasure.
I will be back with my confidence high.
Fully prepared.
If it is not the rematch right away, no problem.
I will face the next in line.
It’s all me always, anyway.
See you soon my fighting fans I love you all
Genuine question but how was it a bad overhand right? It wasn't orthodox boxing granted, but he feigned then landed the shot clean as you like. It was perfect.
Personally don't think an aggressive Conor does stand a better chance, his best hope is still fighting how he did, catching a break and landing a big shot on Khabib. It's just a terrible match up for him all round.
Probably means technique wise it wasn't the best (it wasn't in fairness.) If it lands and it works I suppose it's not bad by default but it didn't look great.
Only way Conor can win is to not fixate on his Khabib's shooting threats and just go for a KO. Khabib can be KO'd and if anyone can do it, Conor can.
Worth watching just for Luke's Tech-induced foul-mouthed meltdown, which only happens regularly.
He's right of course, as everybody knows, the fight to make is Tony and Khabib. Feck everything else.
I'm glad Conor said the same thing. And I hope he's actually fully in the fight game again and rues his actions enough to come back all guns blazing.
Its too much of a swing, its covering too much ground and Khabib is ( if I remember ) looking away from his target. Its a wild overhand which would be coached out of him by any decent level trainer but it basically won him the fight.
that's me at work on a daily basis.
You're not alone there. Slightly unhinged is Luke, I'm all for it!It's an interesting fight. I do think Tony is overrated a bit, but, he has a very aggressive, never say die attitude, and he is certainly dynamic. I'd give the edge to Khabib, because, frankly, he's never looked to be in trouble outside of Michael Johnson tagging him, and I'd rate raw one shot punching power of Johnson above Conors. That's literally the only time I've seen him in trouble, and it was more of a "oh he got tagged and stunned" than a "Oh he looks hurt and wobbly".
We've seen Ferg get hurt badly standing, we've seen him get wrestle fecked for portions of fights. He certainly has the energy and durability to make it interesting, at the risk of sounding John Maddenesque, for me the fight boils down to, how well does Ferg weather the initial 1 or 2 rounds. Does he get taken down? Beat up? Worn out? Or does he manage to keep his energy despite it, or does he even manage to stand up, or limit the time he spends on his back?
If Ferg isn't badly compromised going into 4 and 5, I think the momentum shifts to him if Khabib shows ANY fatigue.
Here's the thing. This isn't boxing. Forget everything you think you know about striking when you're dealing with a legit, LEGIT, world class wrestler. Why? All the things you think you know about striking, from an orthodox perspective, don't matter. Distances are different. Setups are different. Footwork is different. How you hold your hands is different. Khabib has very effective striking. Why? His wrestling changes the dynamic of the engagement to such an extent, that in virtually every single fight we've seen him in, where he is fighting a "superior" striker, Khabib has WON the striking. Why? The striker is looking for angles that may never present themselves, because Khabib is either working a different set of angles entirely, or, the striker is compromising their positioning due to the risk the take down poses.
Barbosa got boxed up. Iaquinta, got show timed. Conor got blasted and out boxed over the duration of the fight. Nobody is going to say Khabib would win a boxing match, or a kick boxing match with these guys, yet, when you introduce that "third" dimension of "I'm going to take you to the ground if you make a single mistake, and then punch you in your face for 5 minutes while you're helpless" the dynamics change.
A long looping overhand right might be an ineffective punch in boxing, because it's telegraphed, but what happens when its chained off a feint that might look like a single or double shot? Suddenly you see the dip of the shoulder, the feint makes you think that a level change is coming, you lower your already low hands (to defend the take downs), and you move backwards, and suddenly you're moving DIRECTLY into the path of an overhand right that lands flush, hurts you, and puts you on your ass. This is how, and what good wrestlers train. Unorthodox striking because their wrestling threat creates opportunities and openings orthodox striking NEVER incorporates. World class wrestlers have that added advantage of their opponents being forced to change their own striking game due to the risk of the take down.
Khabib might be the worst striker of the elite guys in the division, but he's gotten the better of all the elite "superior" strikers he's fought so far while standing. So make of that what you will.
It's an interesting take, something John Kavanagh mentioned in a podcast recently and it can be bad thing. So many different angles, concepts in mixed martial arts being perfect form on striking can be a disadvantage. This isn't as tactical as a boxing match, wild strikes in boxing very rarely KO people you need to be concise and efficient, score points with judges for 12 rounds.
Gotta love Eddie. Deserves every penny/dollar/whatever. More sure to follow, and who can blame them?!
@Nucks
Throwing a punch is throwing a punch no matter what sport its in.
Conor has made a career from a bit of boxing training in his teens ffs!
That overhand should never have landed because it came from so far away never mind being wide open for the counter right hand.
Throwing a punch is throwing a punch no matter what sport its in.
Conor has made a career from a bit of boxing training in his teens ffs!
That overhand should never have landed because it came from so far away never mind being wide open for the counter right hand.
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crazy shit.
I get that DJ has never been a big draw for the UFC but wilfully losing someone that good is all kinds of wrong.
Cruz said a while ago he heard they were closing the division I guess he's right. Now DJ is going and the TJ super fight is off no one is bothered about it
NAC released 50% of Khabib's money.
Number one bullshit
They've treated him like absolute shit for years. He's right to feck them off, and I hope more can follow suit.
It would be great if there was a full blown mutiny within the UFC, but that will never happen, unfortunately.
It doesn't really read like he's fecking them off though. Seems like it suits both parties to be honest
Arguably the pound for pound greatest champion the sport has ever had who was as dominant as he was for so long going anywhere else because it's a better option for him is a disgrace and comes off the back of years of mistreatment from Dana.
He should be retiring as a legend in the UFC when his career is done, not going off to another franchise.