Any khabib fans nervous about the gaethje fight?

[NorrisB]

Or is it just me?

I can't get a read on how the fight will go. Some days I'm very confident khabib will do what he does but other days, I think gaethje might just come away with the upset

Reasons why I think khabib wins:

• he's khabib
• "awkward" striking/underrated standup - Dustin, iaquinta, and Conor have all made comments about his stand up.
• training at AKA with collegiate championship/Olympic level wrestlers - should be used to the folkstyle in addition to the freestyle he's learned back home
• More well rounded - has more ways to win the fight, submission, decision, ko
• Fight IQ - I believe he's one of the smartest fighters in the game.
• Hard to hit - gets hit the least in the lw division among ranked opponents. Has fast reflexes
  
• Ground Game - Self-explanatory
• Better footwork

Reasons I think khabib may lose

• gaethjes defensive wrestling. - gaethje has never been held down. Each TD I can find, he's not down for long. Maybe one in wsof when he jumped into someone's guard .
• leg kicks - Gaethje has tree trunks for legs
• octagon control - Gaethje keeps the center of the octagon for most of his fights. Even against Poirier and Eddie, fights he lost he was always in the center. Not backed up.
• khabib never held Trujillo down. - 21 takedowns is very impressive. Especially in a three round fight but Abel was able to get up with almost most of them. Khabib never really had top control. He explained that he had a knee injury and had to improvise but it's something to note
• Khabib likes to play - doesn't listen to javier as much as he listens to his father. Javier joked about this on Mike swicks podcast that khabib doesn't listen at times. Didn't listen to a damn thing in the barboza fight, got cracked bc he didn't listen in the MJ fight and took the third round off against Conor. Notice khabib didn't do any of that against Poirier. Abdulmanap was there
• Gaethje has no ground game - Made comments about BJJ being usless in mma.

Both men can't be broken. If gaethje loses I believe he will be choked unconscious, KO the fuck out or have a limb broken. I don't see gaethje to be the type to tap out. I also don't see him getting discouraged or his will broken because he kept being taken down.

Good points @asdf122345

 

[NorrisB]

@Peli Khabib rarely gets hit and even when he does, it has little to no effect

His boxing defense will keep him safe in this fight for as long as the fight goes. Conor and Poirier have better boxing than Gaethje, and Khabib was able to avoid getting caught.

He didnt really stand much against Poirier and Conor, stood with Conor in the third, but Conor loses a lot of his power after the first two rounds.

 

[Bluehefner]

Gaethje is gonna SMACK the papakha off Khabib’s head!

I can’t wait to see all the Khabib fanboys shed gallons of tears once Gaethje KTFO of Khabib.

 

[laleggenda27]

I agree that then Gaethje back then would have been a bad match up.
But ironically the adjustments he made might make it an easier fight for Khabib

The Gaethje from days past was more reckless, thereby making takedowns easier and hurting his cardio (both incredibly bad things against Khabib). The more measured and strategic Gaethje will be more difficult for Khabib to take down and will be more durable in the later rounds.

 

[Warfist]

Khabib will win. Gaethje will be put on his back and be completely neutralized and beaten down. Good chance Khabib finds a submission.

Even though Tony lost to Justin, Tony is still the tougher fight for Khabib, IMO.

 

[Magnum1978]

Yes, its going to be a tough challenge - can't wait for the fight though

 

[yougetKTFO]

Sounds like you have experience striking so I'll defer to you but it seems like at least for the power shots, people can see when he's loading up.

Wouldn't call myself no tactician, just call em like I see em. I'm more interested to see how patient Justin will be, because nobody has really bum rushed khabib early that i can recall anyways. This fight is interesting for a lot of reasons but the first minute is going to be extremely tense.

 

[Andreh]

No. Not at all.

 

[baconCrunch]

gaethje has some good wrestling credentials, ncaa all american 7th
but it's not even close to kabib's, or what he's experienced

we know what gaethje is going to do, standup

what will happen, is prob the same in all of kabibs fights
kabib takes him down, pounds and wears his down
either to a sub, or to the pt where he gets tired

 

[Jokeri]

Not a Khabib fan like some here, but yes, this is a difficult fight for him. Justin has better boxing and his wrestling might be enough to keep it standing. Khabib leaves openings there and he'll slow down if Gaethje starts connecting. You're also right that Khabib might deviate a lot from his coaches advice and his current mental state is a bit of a question. Justin on the other hand looks to be in his absolute best.

 

[StylesMakeFights101]

When did he get cracked against MJ?
has never been cracked by anyone as far as I recall

Khabib is done. He couldnt keep Raging Al down...he ain't keeping a division 1 wrestler down. He going to get wrecked.

 

[ocfightfan]

I think it all depends on how Khabib responds in the wake of his fathers death. Abdulmanap was a major force in Khabib's life. A big part of Khabibs motivation was an effort to please him. Now that he is gone does Khabib go off the rails? Or is he sufficiently motivated internally?

 

[Peli]

I wish I knew whre his head was at.

He sounds determined, but on the other hand, he's saying stuff unprovoked. Saying he's going to drown justin, god willing. I've heard Khabib talk like that before, but it was in response to conor. Justin's been quiet this whole enitre time. The media has been talking about GSP, overlooking justin.

Is khabib purposely trying to put more pressure on himself to succeed, is he little bit nervous so he's sending out statements on IG to justin to intimidate him? Or is he straight in kill mode? I don't know!

 

[Cat Biscuits]

I'm a fan of both fighters, so i'm not nervous but i'm excited. Gaethje has great tools to win this fight.

 

[Willie]

I wish I knew whre his head was at.

He sounds determined, but on the other hand, he's saying stuff unprovoked. Saying he's going to drown justin, god willing. I've heard Khabib talk like that before, but it was in response to conor. Justin's been quiet this whole enitre time. The media has been talking about GSP, overlooking justin.

Is khabib purposely trying to put more pressure on himself to succeed, is he little bit nervous so he's sending out statements on IG to justin to intimidate him? Or is he straight in kill mode? I don't know!

Honestly you are just making assumptions, khabib often does that, he stays polite and respectful but he knows how to hype it up. He respected Dustin but he also warned him he never fought anyone like him before. Justin being a member of Dominance MMA team doesnt change anything.

 

[Peli]

Honestly you are just making assumptions, khabib often does that, he stays polite and respectful but he knows how to hype it up. He respected Dustin but he also warned him he never fought anyone like him before. Justin being a member of Dominance MMA team doesnt change anything.

Of course I am. I said I don't know! Lol

Maybe you're right and I'm just reading too much into it

 

[YodaMaster]

Ok guys I will give you my opinion, you have all been waiting for it and now here it is.

Ok so for me what might make Justin a dangerous opponent to Khabib isn’t his wrestling.

Of course there is Justin’s incredible power that could turn anybody’s lights off at any time, especially in the first minutes of the fight.

But to me it’s not even that. Conor, Dustin, Barboza and even MJ had that, even though none of them hits as hard as Justin IMO.

The one thing that could make Justin dangerous is his wild style !

He is the kind of guy who’s not afraid to try crazy stuff. By that I mean that he could very well be the guy who’s gonna pressure Khabib like hell and throw all his best shots as soon as the fight starts, without worrying about the takedown unlike all the other guys.

That’s also why he unlike everyone else could be the one guy who’ll have more success at keeping the fight in the center of the cage.

Justin doesn’t care ! And his wildness could play a major role even in the grappling exchanges. To me Justin is the kind of guy who’ll give Khabib his leg because he’s willing to scramble wildly and fight his way back to the feet. Justin will stay active and fight like a wild bull in all the aspects, wherever the fight goes.

That could play a role. And that might change the way Khabib usually tires his opponents. Khabib might have to fight hard for everything he’ll potentially attempt.

I can see Gaethje getting back up cause he’ll try everything to get that done, even some crazy shit.

But that might as well expose Justin.
After all, Khabib is a grand master grappler, one of the most complete we’ve ever seen. He could punish Justin severely, cause Khabib is the much superior, by far the more technical grappler. Dustin’s switching attempts against Khabib were brilliant, but they didn’t work. Because Khabib is that good.

This fight will be determined in the first 2 rounds. It’s up to who will manage to impose his will first.

I believe Khabib is very smart and solid mentally, he could be able to survive the early hurricane that Justin will bring.

I don’t see patient Justin outclassing Khabib over 5 rounds. It won’t work like it did against Tony IMO.


But they both have a strong will. The one with the strongest one will win. And I believe it is gone be Khabib.

Khabib is bringing MMA to next level, an Olympic level. Justin is still too wild, and being wild is actually his biggest asset in this fight. He won’t be winning constantly the grappling exchanges by being patient. Khabib is a better and smarter grappler.

 

[Filthymaggot]

When did he get cracked against MJ?
has never been cracked by anyone as far as I recall

MJ hit him VERY hard once. All it really did was stop khabib in his tracks and get his attention as i recall. He wasnt seriously hurt at all.

 

[Homervanderjaz]

Or is it just me?

I can't get a read on how the fight will go. Some days I'm very confident khabib will do what he does but other days, I think gaethje might just come away with the upset

Reasons why I think khabib wins:

• he's khabib
• "awkward" striking/underrated standup - Dustin, iaquinta, and Conor have all made comments about his stand up.
• training at AKA with collegiate championship/Olympic level wrestlers - should be used to the folkstyle in addition to the freestyle he's learned back home
• More well rounded - has more ways to win the fight, submission, decision, ko
• Fight IQ - I believe he's one of the smartest fighters in the game.
• Hard to hit - gets hit the least in the lw division among ranked opponents. Has fast reflexes
  
• Ground Game - Self-explanatory
• Better footwork

Reasons I think khabib may lose

• gaethjes defensive wrestling. - gaethje has never been held down. Each TD I can find, he's not down for long. Maybe one in wsof when he jumped into someone's guard .
• leg kicks - Gaethje has tree trunks for legs
• octagon control - Gaethje keeps the center of the octagon for most of his fights. Even against Poirier and Eddie, fights he lost he was always in the center. Not backed up.
• khabib never held Trujillo down. - 21 takedowns is very impressive. Especially in a three round fight but Abel was able to get up with almost most of them. Khabib never really had top control. He explained that he had a knee injury and had to improvise but it's something to note
• Khabib likes to play - doesn't listen to javier as much as he listens to his father. Javier joked about this on Mike swicks podcast that khabib doesn't listen at times. Didn't listen to a damn thing in the barboza fight, got cracked bc he didn't listen in the MJ fight and took the third round off against Conor. Notice khabib didn't do any of that against Poirier. Abdulmanap was there
• Gaethje has no ground game - Made comments about BJJ being usless in mma.

Both men can't be broken. If gaethje loses I believe he will be choked unconscious, KO the fuck out or have a limb broken. I don't see gaethje to be the type to tap out. I also don't see him getting discouraged or his will broken because he kept being taken down.

I think Khabib will eventually get him down and submit him. If that doesn’t happen I see Khabib winning on points. If it does play out like that we will get people posting how it was an easy match up for Khabib and the drum will start beating for him to face yet another opponent who will be a tougher test. You can’t really win with the fans in a sport like this. There is of course a chance of an upset happening if all goes to plan for G which makes it an interesting fight.

 

[Bluehefner]

I think it all depends on how Khabib responds in the wake of his fathers death. Abdulmanap was a major force in Khabib's life. A big part of Khabibs motivation was an effort to please him. Now that he is gone does Khabib go off the rails? Or is he sufficiently motivated internally?

No fucking excuses mate!

Gaethje is going to WRECK Khabib!