Unbiased: Mcgregor vs Nurmagomedov

[josh345]

That Michael Jordan shit is golden lol. I always laugh when seeing it

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

OP your take would make sense if Khabib was 3 inches shorter. Unfortunately, he's taller than Conor.

Conor has never been able to finish a UFC-caliber fighter taller than he is.

Joe Duffy
Max Holloway
Nate Diaz 1
Nate Diaz 2

Conor has never finished a taller fighter. Khabib is taller than Conor and has never been finished period. But you're predicting that Conor will finish Khabib?

A: using the Duffy fight is disingenuous, as Conor was like a white belt then and is now a brown belt, not to mention he was piecing him up badly and would annihilate Joe today.
B. The beating he put on Holloway was probably his best performance, and, he did it on one leg
C. Poirier is probably taller, but the height difference is similar to Khabib, which is minimal and un-noticeable. Conor was wearing his jacked up dress shoes.
D. Eddie was listed as taller
E. Nate Diaz fight was the only true size difference and he is a legit welterweight now, filled in to his body like Max did. Khabib and Conor tho are the same size and Conor has a reach advantage, and, he knows how to use it.

 

[The Don]

SO based off the UFC which is knocking out RDA, knocking out Gaithje, beating Melendez, Pettis, you don't rate him?

Cmon now, Alvarez is easy top 5 LW in anyones books, he has done his time and had belts in top two orgs. Who beat him? Mcgregor? Poirier? Cerrone? Cerrone is huge and the other two are top 5 LW also. Go away if you are not going to talk facts. He is a legit LW.

There's no disputing Alvarez is a legitimate contender, but his first three fights in the UFC weren't very dominant despite winning two of them.

The RDA fight however, I just watched again and I stand corrected. My memory of that fight was way off and Eddie Alvarez looked tremendous in that fight.

Also, I never said I didn't rate Alvarez, I just stated he never looked like a world beater.

Edit: I'll just respond to your other post here.

The Khabib vs Abel fight showed what Khabib can do once he gets a hold of you. My concerns for the fight, and arguments are this: Can Khabib close the distance against Conor as easily as he did against Abel?

Conor fights very differently from Abel, he fights long and lengthy and is a very crafty striker in terms of being very good at setting up and feinting for his left straight. Can Khabib avoid Conor's standup game, can he distinguish the feints from the real strikes well enough for him to be able to do what he wants? Because at the start of every round, he's going to have to play into what Conor wants.

 

[lagofala]

I always favor the grappler in mma. Khabib's gonna be the first grappler that Conor's faced since Mendes and Khabib is a heavier, better conditioned and more technical grappler.
Conor has been beat before but I would love for him to prove me wrong.

 

[The Don]

I always favor the grappler in mma. Khabib's gonna be the first grappler that Conor's faced since Mendes and Khabib is a heavier, better conditioned and more technical grappler.
Conor has been beat before but I would love for him to prove me wrong.

But I would argue Mendes is the better striker than Khabib.

 

[The Don]

he difference is that in MMA (and Muay Thai) the distance (the gap) between fighters is greater than in boxing. Thus, closing the gap is more critical. This accounts for the success of people like Machida and Wonderboy. When your opponent is shorter (implying both arm and leg reach) in MMA, it is easier and less dangerous for you to close the gap than for your smaller opponent. Fighting inside is also much more of a boxing than an MMA option. I think its also accepted that, for example, height is a huge advantage in fencing where bridging the gap is similarly critical.

Agreed on all points. I simply refuted his claim that the difference between Conor and Khabib in terms of height (and possibly reach) were significant and a factor when, in my honest opinion is a non-factor. Unless I read your post all wrong.

 

[esdoornblad]

Agreed on all points. I simply refuted his claim that the difference between Conor and Khabib in terms of height (and possibly reach) were significant and a factor when, in my honest opinion is a non-factor. Unless I read your post all wrong.

I think the point is that much of Conor's "danger" is eliminated if his reach does not exceed his opponent's.

 

[The Don]

I think the point is that much of Conor's "danger" is eliminated if his reach does not exceed his opponent's.

Really? I thought he meant physical height, nonetheless neither of those things are a factor to be quite frank with you, unless of course the difference are dramatic. Which in this context between Conor and Khabib, aren't.

Edit: Maybe I missed your post but, who are you rooting for and who do you want to win, brother?

 

[esdoornblad]

But I would argue Mendes is the better striker than Khabib.

Mendez is probably a better (technical) standing striker than Khabib, but at the same time he is in more danger than Khabib because of the reach disparity. And of course Khabib is a better ground striker.

 

[The Don]

Mendez is probably a better (technical) standing striker than Khabib, but at the same time he is in more danger than Khabib because of the reach disparity. And of course Khabib is a better ground striker.

I did not actually take into consideration the reach difference. Do you think Khabib's reach will be negated by his striking flaws? Because Mendes' was able to negate his reach disadvantage by being a better striker technically.

 

[esdoornblad]

Really? I thought he meant physical height, nonetheless neither of those things are a factor to be quite frank with you, unless of course the difference are dramatic. Which in this context between Conor and Khabib, aren't.

Edit: Maybe I missed your post but, who are you rooting for and who do you want to win, brother?

Physical height, leg reach, arm reach. They come in a package. And I agree that they are not factors now -- unlike many of Conor's previous fights where they were big factors in his advantage. Does that make sense?

I general favour the striker but not this time. I think Khabib wins 2 out of 3 times, which is in line with the current odds. Conor rubs me the wrong way.

 

[The Don]

Physical height, leg reach, arm reach. They come in a package. And I agree that they are not factors now -- unlike many of Conor's previous fights where they were big factors in his advantage. Does that make sense?

I general favour the striker but not this time. I think Khabib wins 2 out of 3 times, which is in line with the current odds. Conor rubs me the wrong way.

Of course.

And Conor rubs me the wrong way too. His gimmick was fun and very entertaining and fresh for a couple of months, but it went stale really quickly.

 

[SoberAwakening]

It's a toss up fight for me. I can see Khabib ragdolling and then TKOing or submitting Conor. I can also see Conor making quick work of Khabib.

I don't like Conor and I like Khabib, but that's my unbiased opinion.

 

[lagofala]

But I would argue Mendes is the better striker than Khabib.

More technical yes, but Khabib's is more effective for a grappling game. Mendes striking is gear towards a KO on the feet, while Khabib's striking is specially geared to get him into the clinch.

 

[The Don]

More technical yes, but Khabib's is more effective for a grappling game. Mendes striking is gear towards a KO on the feet, while Khabib's striking is specially geared to get him into the clinch.

And that is where I think Conor can capitalize on. Khabib doesn't have the best head movement, he has some bad striking habits that he has gotten away with because of the threat of his grappling, but I would be surprised if Conor cannot exploit some of the holes in his standup within the span of 15 minutes.

 

[Jezzus]

I think Conor's gonna go full Travis Brown on Khabib and make it really hard to get the takedown against the cage. Lately we have seen more and more fighters using "almost illegal" elbows when opponent works the legs against the cage. I think Conor has been using this before. Khabib can of course take some damage and still get the takedown but it get easier to get up if you give some nice blows behind the ear.

 

[Bagatur]

I think this fight will be like Woodley/Till fight. Conor will be very hesitant because he knows if he gets taken down, he is fucked. Khabib will take him down eventually, 3rd or championship rounds, Conor will promptly offer his back to avoid the beating, like he did with Nate, but Khabib will say "nah, thank you" and will continue to pound to a TKO win. Conor might even tap to strikes.

 

[penontoc]

I'll preface this by saying I am a Khabib fan and I can't stand McGregor. That said, I'll try to be as impartial as possible.

I think this fight is going to be a blow out. It won't be close. The only thing is I'm not 100% sure who will be the hammer and who will be the nail. It's either going to be Khabib taking Conor down and pounding him until the ref stops or it it'll be Khabib failing to get take downs with Conor potshotting him until Khabib goes to sleep. There will be no in between and it will not be a competitive fight. You will know the outcome of this fight within the first 2 minutes.

I'm fairly confident that Khabib gets the TD and pounds Conor out pretty easily but I can see it going Conor's way.

Yeah many people think the outcome will be clear by end of R1, but after watching some of Khabib's recent fights, he has a tendency to not listen or pay attention between rounds 2 & 3 when he's in control. He then comes out in R3 and fights a bit differently / more stand up. I could see him doing something obnoxious / bullheaded like this after dominating Conor for 2 rounds and then getting clipped and hurt. Still think he'll win though.

 

[The Don]

And of course, I could have never been more wrong. What an amazing performance by Khabib and goes to show how much the threat of takedowns can neutralize so much. An absolute shame how the event ended. Had Khabib stay composed, it would have been an even sweeter victory. What an amazing card all in all.