What does Islam have to do to surpass Khabib?

I don't think Khabib will go down as the greatest lightweight of all time. He's only got 3 title defenses, and at the end of the day that number is all that matters. Islam can easily eclipse that number, making him better than Khabib in the rankings.

Khabib's undefeated record means very little. He retired way too young. You can't do that and be remembered as the greatest of all time. The more time that passes, the more people will diminish his accomplishments because of this. That's not to say that Khabib couldn't have been the greatest, but potential means nothing if not realized.
 
orca said:
obvious answer
no one can deny you if u defend your belt more times
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Exactly. Khabib shot his chance at being the greatest of all time by retiring young with only 3 title defenses.

Someone will eventually defend the lightweight belt 4+ times and will be ahead of Khabib on every ranking list. Khabib certainly had the potential to continue to dominate and cement his place as the best lightweight ever, but potential means nothing if not realized.
 
Islam has already surpassed Khabib. Khabib has one of the overrated records in MMA history.
 
blaseblase said:
Why do you assume he's going to win all of those fights? He's been KO'd before and he got rocked by a featherweight not long ago. Khabib had to strike for a round against Gaethje, there's no guarantee Islam can do the same without getting hurt since he doesn't have Khabib's chin. I'd favor him for sure but it's MMA, anything can happen.

I remember people were saying Volk had no challenges at featherweight and should stay at lightweight then look what happened. And that's a guy who cleaned out his division, which Islam hasn't done yet.
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where is the rule that says you have to clean the division to move up? Did Conor or Cejudo clean their divisions? If you’re good enough to beat the next weight class champion and is willing to try, and the if the ufc is ok with it, I say let it rip if there’s demand for it.
 
blaseblase said:
Islam's in a weird place as a champion in that he didn't face any top fighters before getting a title shot and his two defenses were against a featherweight. He's only one win away from tying the lightweight title defense record but IMO that won't put him on Khabib's level. He's only beaten one contender in his division. You also have to consider Khabib's almost perfect career compared to Islam getting KO'd in the UFC.

Khabib - 7 top 10 wins
RDA
Poirier
Gaethje
Conor
Barboza
Johnson
Iaquinta


Islam - 2 top 10 wins
Oliveira
Hooker
Plus Volk 2x

How many more wins does Islam need to be a greater fighter than Khabib?
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beat Dustin, Armaan, and another challenger. Move up to WW, beat Leon/Shavkat/Belal...and then done
 
Corrado Soprano said:
Islam has already surpassed Khabib. Khabib has one of the overrated records in MMA history.
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on paper, khabib has more impressive wins:RDA,Barboza, Conor, Justin and Dustin

Islam has Volk, Dober, and Olivera. I don't think most will put too much stock into the Armaan win, considering that it was Armaan's debut.
 
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Alpha_T83 said:
I don't think Khabib will go down as the greatest lightweight of all time. He's only got 3 title defenses, and at the end of the day that number is all that matters. Islam can easily eclipse that number, making him better than Khabib in the rankings.

Khabib's undefeated record means very little. He retired way too young. You can't do that and be remembered as the greatest of all time. The more time that passes, the more people will diminish his accomplishments because of this. That's not to say that Khabib couldn't have been the greatest, but potential means nothing if not realized.
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All hail undefeated undisputed hall of fame coach of the year khabib. Replacement ain't even been born yet.
 
Alpha_T83 said:
I don't think Khabib will go down as the greatest lightweight of all time. He's only got 3 title defenses, and at the end of the day that number is all that matters. Islam can easily eclipse that number, making him better than Khabib in the rankings.

Khabib's undefeated record means very little. He retired way too young. You can't do that and be remembered as the greatest of all time. The more time that passes, the more people will diminish his accomplishments because of this. That's not to say that Khabib couldn't have been the greatest, but potential means nothing if not realized.
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some people consider him the GOAT.....

i think he is the strongest force that the division has ever seen. i cannot see anybody in that weight class beating him at his best apart from islam or penn. people like edgar or hendo don't really stand a chance against him either.
 
KungFuFoo said:
View attachment 1041495

so he slipped up in a few other weight classes. but he was the GOAT when he was whoopin BJ penns ass. YOU KNOW ITS TRUE!
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And then BJ came back and strangled him, then Frankie came around, then Benson came around, then RDA and so on and so forth. Guess what happened with Khabib though? He never lost.
 
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MrBlackheart said:
where is the rule that says you have to clean the division to move up? Did Conor or Cejudo clean their divisions? If you’re good enough to beat the next weight class champion and is willing to try, and the if the ufc is ok with it, I say let it rip if there’s demand for it.
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Fighters can do whatever they want. But Conor and Cejudo aren't in the GOAT conversation. I think it's foolish to be talking about moving up when the bar for being lightweight GOAT is much lower than it is in other divisions. Izzy moving up was a mistake. Volk moving up was a mistake. The double champ thing is for fighters who aren't confident they can dominate their own division.
 
I misread thread title as "What does Islam have to do to surprise Khabib"
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