Khabib is the mma grappling savior.

Prime Fredo was a good striker so not really.

Fedor in his prime was definitely a better striker than Khabib. I meant they are similar on the ground. Some of Khabib's GnP against Barboza reminded me of Fedor vs Big Nog and Heath herring.
 
Yeah but maintaining distance is exactly what you don’t want to do as the superior grappler. You benefit from constantly disrupting the ‘proper’ distance and the ‘proper’ rhythm of engagement .... learning striking in a way that privileges maintaining an ideal striking distance can build bad habits and limit your options.

The Gracies had weak standup grappling so they were something of a different case relative to a guy like khabib or Maia. Much of the time they didn’t want to be clinching either. They only wanted to be on the ground.

I definitely agree about the value of learning striking, obviously, but am just saying that many grapplers learn a sort of basic robotic striking that kills their ability to apply consistent pressure in MMA.

Slight misunderstanding, I’m saying learning how to truly strike, how to really threaten with strikes is the only real way to aid getting a fight to the ground.

Khabib has rudimentary striking in my opinion, but his basics, his strategy of covering up super tight upstairs and accepting he may eat a few glancing punches and low roundhouses works for him since his opponents have to worry about getting socked (reasonably hard) in the face or taken down.

All I meant was that learning to threaten with meaningful strikes on the feet forces the opponent to worry about the dual threat of striking and grappling.

Grapplers sometimes think they only need to learn striking enough to recognize threats or use strikes to simply MASK entries.

With Khabib, his punches have a little weight on them so his opponents have to pay them some respect.
 
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Slight misunderstanding, I’m saying learning how to truly strike, how to really threaten with strikes in the only real way to aid getting a fight to the ground.

Khabib has rudimentary striking in my opinion, but his basics, his strategy of covering up super tight upstairs and accepting he may eat a few glancing punches and low roundhouses works for him since his opponents have to worry about getting socked (reasonably hard) in the face or taken down.

All I meant was that learning to threaten with meaningful strikes on the feet forces the opponent to worry about the dual threat of striking and grappling.

Grapplers sometimes think they only need to learn striking enough to recognize threats or use strikes to simply MASK entries.

With Khabib, his punches have a little weight on them so his opponents have to pay them some respect.

You're right that he has a good strategy with his striking, but it doesn't seem like his striking flows well with his grappling in the tactical sense. It's strategically sound in that it helps him close the distance, but seems like he's always bolt upright when he finishes throwing. I wonder if he can avoid getting clipped by one of Tony Ferguson's sharp elbows over a five round fight.
 
Fedor in his prime was definitely a better striker than Khabib. I meant they are similar on the ground. Some of Khabib's GnP against Barboza reminded me of Fedor vs Big Nog and Heath herring.

Khabib has much better guard passing and general top control than Fedor, but I think it's hard to overstate how lethal Fedor was with his ground striking.
 
Khabib has much better guard passing and general top control than Fedor, but I think it's hard to overstate how lethal Fedor was with his ground striking.

Agreed. Fedor had better striking and slightly more lethal GnP, whereas Khabib seems to be a more well rounded grappler, with more rudimentary striking. I can't, for example, see Khabib doing the equivalent of outstriking Cro Cop on the fee, but I've never seen Fedor execute such ruthless pressure on the ground as Khabib regularly does.
 
He looks beastly...insane pressure, I would’ve liked to see him finish the fight though...
Not to show my ignorance too much, but I'm not sure why he didn't attempt any subs.

Seemed like there were a few opportunities to lock up am arm or an arm triangle.

Maybe I'm assuming too much but it also seems like with the level of top control he has a sub would almost naturally manifest
 
I like him alot but Ferguson deserves the title shot, khabib just can't stay healthy long enough and isn't as good at promoting.

I also think Ferguson would find a way to beat him and he will beat Connor.
 
Not to show my ignorance too much, but I'm not sure why he didn't attempt any subs.

Seemed like there were a few opportunities to lock up am arm or an arm triangle.

Maybe I'm assuming too much but it also seems like with the level of top control he has a sub would almost naturally manifest

Khabib has gone for subs in the past (kimuras and mounted triangles seem the his favorites) and it looked like he went for a kimura once against Barboza before quickly abandoning. Considering his mauling style, a sub needs to be 100% and/or without positional risk for him to attempt. If his opponent tries to escape the ground it needs to be on Khabib's terms so he can wrestle him back to the mat: otherwise he's back on the feet at striking range where he's vulnerable.
 
Khabib's wrestling in the cage has developed in a way a lot like Ben Askren's has; by which i mean to say, both started life in the cage often shooting for singles, but over time, transitioned more and more to predominately utilizing upper body techniques.

The Tibau fight in particular was something of a 'come to jesus' moment for Khabib (so to speak); you look at that fight, and his very next fight after vs Trujilo (where he set the record for most takedowns per minute), and his approaches are radically different.
 
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Not to show my ignorance too much, but I'm not sure why he didn't attempt any subs.

Seemed like there were a few opportunities to lock up am arm or an arm triangle.

Maybe I'm assuming too much but it also seems like with the level of top control he has a sub would almost naturally manifest

I dont believe your post is ignorant at all, I think there are 100% times when Khabib could attempt to go for a variety of subs and he dosent. (Which is okay because we all have our preferences and thats what makes grappling beautiful).

I also think the position we see Khabib attack with GNP from is interesting also.

When it comes to inflicting damage from the closed guard I dont think he is the best. I think that title goes to Urijah Faber or Jon Jones.

But when it comes to using GNP from the half guard(top) or from side mount I think that is where he truly shines. I dont think we have ever seen someone nullify people from half guard the way he does and use short elbows and punches to swell guys up. Also the way he uses his knees to pin people in side mount is not something we have really seen before.

Khabib is also great at leg riding instead of taking the back , I think we are going to see more of that in MMA.

Guys like GSP, Cain and Khabib dont even bother trying to take the back anymore because even in high level BJJ we see masterful black belts lose back mount and end up in guard, which is NOT okay for a fight. For goodness sakes at times we have even seen Roger Gracie lose the back mount in mma. So I think guys like Khabib are paving the way for the new MMA meta.
 
I think Maia at his best is better overall grappled but my god is Khabib great.
 
The development of Khabib's wrestling in the cage has progressed a lot like Ben Askren's has; which is to say, both started life in the cage often shooting for singles, but over time, transitioned more and more to almost exclusively utilizing upper body/body lock techniques.

The Tibau fight in particular was something of a 'come to jesus' moment for Khabib (so to speak); you look at that fight, and his very next fight after vs Trujilo (where he set the record for most takedowns per minute), his approaches are radically different.
I can't recall Askren using much upper body wrestling in MMA. In fact, the upper body exchanges I can recall involved Sapo Santos tossing Askren to the ground. Not saying Ben ain't incredible, he is, but Ben and Khabib are as different as their backgrounds would suggest.
 
Check out some of his more recent fights; he's all about getting those double unders and body locks. When he shoots it's often more like a greco high dive, for the purposes of getting that waist lock so he can come up and wrestle them down.

 
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Not to show my ignorance too much, but I'm not sure why he didn't attempt any subs.

Seemed like there were a few opportunities to lock up am arm or an arm triangle.

Maybe I'm assuming too much but it also seems like with the level of top control he has a sub would almost naturally manifest

He did attempt. He just didn't over commit.

I think Maia at his best is better overall grappled but my god is Khabib great.

Maia is a better pure grappler, but Khabib is better suited for MMA because of how he mixes his strikes into his ground game.
 
He did attempt. He just didn't over commit.



Maia is a better pure grappler, but Khabib is better suited for MMA because of how he mixes his strikes into his ground game.
How on Earth nobody has tried to book Khabib vs Maia in a grappling match is beyond me. Can you imagine?
 
I personally think Conor has a good chance of beating Khabib

Thanks, I was having a bad day and needed some humor.

Nate Diaz and Chad Mendes showed that Connor has nothing on the ground if you can get him there and keep him there. Khabib would 100% get him there and keep him there.
 
He did attempt. He just didn't over commit.



Maia is a better pure grappler, but Khabib is better suited for MMA because of how he mixes his strikes into his ground game.
Which is a shame bc Damian Maia post drop to 170 became a even better grappler than he was already with his newfound dedication to wrestling training. If not for his definite aversion to hurting his opponents im sure his GnP would be better.
 
Thanks, I was having a bad day and needed some humor.

Nate Diaz and Chad Mendes showed that Connor has nothing on the ground if you can get him there and keep him there. Khabib would 100% get him there and keep him there.

And I’m saying dude has a 65-70% of beating Conor, not a 90- 100% guarantee. If the fight goes past midway of the second round, it’s all Khabib. Conor’s reflexes and accuracy make him ridiculously dangerous the first three minutes and Khabib will come forward, which gives Conor a chance of rocking him and perhaps finishing him.

Anybody who reads my posts knows I’m not a Conor fan, it’s just my read of situation. I’d love for Khabib or Ferguson or Diaz to maul him.
 
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