So I tend to wait a while before I post following a big fight night as the discussions in here just become too heated.
The fight
I predicted Khabib to win but I also thought it would be much more competitive. I don't think any of us (including Justin) expected Khabib to have leveled up to Super Saiyan mode. I doubt Justin prepped for that. With that said, Justin did win round 1 on the judges scorecard (I didn't agree with that) and his leg kicks were doing damage. Had the fight gone on longer, that could have come into play. I think if Justin fight Khabib before the passing of his father, it might have been more competitive.
GOAT
This is generally a pointless conversation as it's so subjective but if I had to talk about it, I would put it into two tiers:
Tier 1
GSP (bloody amazing but lost a couple of fights), Khabib (levels above anyone in lightweight but never moved up and got that second belt) and Nunes (after a patchy start, she went on an absolute tear).
Tier 2
Jones (drug cheat questions will always be there), Mighty Mouse (mainly fought cans, not his fault), Shevchenko (officially lost twice to Nunes), Cejudo (not a sustained period of dominance), Spider (drug cheat questions), Cyborg (mainly fought cans and never got her loss back from Nunes) and Fedor (not tested at the highest level)
Those are my top 10. Probably forgot a few but I think that's a good list.
Khabib retiring
I don't think this was a heat of the moment retirement. It seemed thought out. I know retirements in combat sports mean little but this is a man that seems to stick to his words. Maybe he'll come back for a legacy fight with someone like GSP but doubt he'll come back for money. If he was money motivated, he would have given McGregor a rematch already. It's a shame we'll never get that Ferguson fight...
McGregor
That fight was not the mauling that Barboza was, I think people are remembering it wrong. With that said, it was hugely one-sided and Khabib was never for a second in danger. Whether McGregor was in the best mental shape is irrelevant. That's up to him to control. No point whining about that. Poirier (and lord brimage) was the closest to beating Khabib with that guillotine but even then, Khabib looked unbeatable.
The fact that people are talking about rounds he's lost or times when he seemed in trouble just shows HOW dominant this guy was.
Overall I think Khabib is in the conversation for the best ever, I'm glad I saw most of his career and hope he can now grieve and find peace doing whatever he feels like doing.
I reckon he'll take his father's spot and start training Dagestani fighters and mentoring them.
As for the lightweight division, it's very interesting now...