“When I watch Conor fight Chad Mendes, Chad Mendes is a great wrestler but he’s small,” Cormier said. “He beat him up for two rounds. He beat Conor for two rounds until Conor got up.
“He had done that for two straight rounds on 10 days’ notice. He ain’t getting up like Al Iaquinta got up. You see what happens when you get stuck under Khabib. You become frickin’ Edson Barboza and Michael Johnson.”
Cormier also dismissed the critics of Nurmagomedov’s performance against Iaquinta, noting that the bar must be set pretty high if people aren’t impressed with a 50-43 fight.
@Jabba DaHutt We both know none of them are going to fail drug test.Both dont need to do drugs nor they have failed before.
2. None of their previous fights have been a no contest. The chances of that happening are exactly equal to your iq, which is 0.
3. dont even get me started on draw. If this fight results in draw, then its probably going to be the best fight in the history of any fight game
“I think Khabib’s striking is developing,” Hardy said. “I will say that. He’s very elementary in the way he goes about it. His fundamentals are really good. His lead punch is very unorthodox ... it’s like he’s in a left hook position but he lifts it up with the chin. He knocked out Thiago Tavares with that punch. He’s got elementary striking. He’s got at what he does but ultimately it has the purpose of getting inside so he can get his hands on him. We may see developments in his striking in this fight, he may be working on things specifically for that we’ve not really seen. He’s developing between fights, but we don’t know if it will come to the level of Conor McGregor’s striking.”
I couldn't agree more with Dan Hardy.
I just can’t wait to see it happen! I’m pulling for McGregor but at
the end of the day they’re both fantastic fighters. I’m not a fan of
Khabib’s style but he is definitely the best at it. I’m Irish but
haven’t liked Conor at all but I grew to like him. Hopefully we’ll see a
war that results in Conor passing this test.
Posted
by Irishjuggernaut83
on Sep 30, 2018 | 1:24 PM
Great breakdown again by Hardy.
I’m leaning towards Khabib, the guy has never lost a round!
Posted
by Skippy Bush Wacker
on Sep 30, 2018 | 1:29 PM
I think Dan actually is showing bias towards Conor..
..although he is trying very hard to remain as objective as
possible. And it is not to say Conor won’t starch Khabib on the feet
before he gets a chance to employ his ground game, but I also think
deciding which is more likely (Conor taking out Khabib with strikes or
Khabib mauling Conor on the ground) is very subjective and you can find a
lot of evidence to argue either case depending on what you want to
focus on. I went back and watched Conor’s fights with Nate again last
night and two things really stood out.
(1) If Khabib can take away Conor’s space without receiving blows that sit him back the odds go massively towards Khabib unless Conor can somehow successfully slip back out and find space again. He might be able to do that in the first and 2nd rounds, but not later in the fight because..
(2) I don’t think Conor’s energy system is something that can be drastically changed. There is no reason to believe in his past fights that he did not train his cardio very well. Some athletes just aren’t made to have high endurance. I say this because if it does go into the later rounds, all past evidence says he simply won’t have the energy to repeal a persistent and sustained attack.
(1) If Khabib can take away Conor’s space without receiving blows that sit him back the odds go massively towards Khabib unless Conor can somehow successfully slip back out and find space again. He might be able to do that in the first and 2nd rounds, but not later in the fight because..
(2) I don’t think Conor’s energy system is something that can be drastically changed. There is no reason to believe in his past fights that he did not train his cardio very well. Some athletes just aren’t made to have high endurance. I say this because if it does go into the later rounds, all past evidence says he simply won’t have the energy to repeal a persistent and sustained attack.
Posted
by Bendy Bruce
on Sep 30, 2018 | 1:40 PM
OK, Dan Hardy is a Brit, god bless him, so of course he has bias. Almost impossible to do away with that.
And I do like your second point about McGregor’s "energy system". I
do think he trains hard, and I think he concentrates his energy into
his focus, quickness, and obviously his left hand, and he will always
tire after a couple rounds of what he does.
But, I don’t think you can examine his fights against Diaz and make claims about what Khabib can do, especially in terms of closing space. Because when fighting Diaz, you don’t have to worry about him charging, tripping, pushing against the cage, taking a single leg, etc. The styles are so different, that McGregor will approach space and range differently for each one.
But, I don’t think you can examine his fights against Diaz and make claims about what Khabib can do, especially in terms of closing space. Because when fighting Diaz, you don’t have to worry about him charging, tripping, pushing against the cage, taking a single leg, etc. The styles are so different, that McGregor will approach space and range differently for each one.
Posted
by Dustinovsky
on Sep 30, 2018 | 5:21 PM
Just watch inside the octogon on YouTube it's very good.
Posted
by Rope-a-Dope
on Sep 30, 2018 | 1:53 PM
I just don't see Conor hitting that perfect shot.
I’m a fan of neither really, or better put ‘equally’. That being
said I question Conor’s one hit power. He has great striking, and I
think most would agree that his true striking danger is accuracy more
than power. That is the reason Conor probably won’t win. If he had
devastating Ngannou power I would probably lean the other way.
The thing is that I think generally a striker is at a big disadvantage against a wrestler, and Khabib has a smothering style of wrestling that seems even worse for a striker. The striker can neutralize it with superior TDD or catching the wrestler when they shoot for a take down, but unless you hit hard enough to dissuade the wrestler from going for take downs or simply knock them out when they try, hitting them when they come in won’t be enough. I think Conor has the accuracy to catch Khabib coming in, but I don’t think he hits hard enough to stop him, and I seriously doubt Conor’s take down defense is going to save him from being mauled. Conor doesn’t have many other tools in his tool box beyond striking.
Unless Khabib comes in there high chinned and trying to box him, this fight is basically a slaughter. As stated by Dan Hardy, Conor has 5 chances to end it, and I would say given Conor’s gas tank, realistically he has maybe 3 chances. In fact I think Conor has nearly 0% chance of winning this fight after the 3rd round. He will be sapped and even if Khabib slows down, Conor won’t have the power.
but I am sure the rabid Conor fans will be in soon to explain that he is a real life One Punch Man and that Irish Saitama with hair can’t be defeated.
The thing is that I think generally a striker is at a big disadvantage against a wrestler, and Khabib has a smothering style of wrestling that seems even worse for a striker. The striker can neutralize it with superior TDD or catching the wrestler when they shoot for a take down, but unless you hit hard enough to dissuade the wrestler from going for take downs or simply knock them out when they try, hitting them when they come in won’t be enough. I think Conor has the accuracy to catch Khabib coming in, but I don’t think he hits hard enough to stop him, and I seriously doubt Conor’s take down defense is going to save him from being mauled. Conor doesn’t have many other tools in his tool box beyond striking.
Unless Khabib comes in there high chinned and trying to box him, this fight is basically a slaughter. As stated by Dan Hardy, Conor has 5 chances to end it, and I would say given Conor’s gas tank, realistically he has maybe 3 chances. In fact I think Conor has nearly 0% chance of winning this fight after the 3rd round. He will be sapped and even if Khabib slows down, Conor won’t have the power.
but I am sure the rabid Conor fans will be in soon to explain that he is a real life One Punch Man and that Irish Saitama with hair can’t be defeated.
Posted
by BearMob
on Sep 30, 2018 | 2:04 PM
Why would Conor need to be a 1 hitter quitter type fighter?
As you allude to, he isn’t such a 1 shot type fighter and he only has one clean KO in the UFC
– yet 6 other stoppages. He hasn’t needed to hit a one shot KO to win
in the past, just a shot hard enough to knock the other guy off his game
and pile on the volume from there.
Also "Unless Khabib comes in there high chinned" that is exactly how Khabibs entry’s are. With his chin up in the air.
Also "Unless Khabib comes in there high chinned" that is exactly how Khabibs entry’s are. With his chin up in the air.
Posted
by MMAUKOK
on Sep 30, 2018 | 3:50 PM
The fun thing
about this is that we’ll know for sure soon, and I may be proven wrong, but I’ve got Khabib.
I am a boxing first guy , and if I believed that Conor truly has one shot KO power, I would pick him. I just don’t.
He’s done it once to a much smaller man leaping into his fist. In fact, the buildup to this fight doesn’t seem much different than the lead up to MayMac which is a bit concerning given its MMA. I’ve yet to hear anyone lay out a case for Conor other than " that left" and we’ve seen Khabib rocked. On that last note, Mac has very poor defensive boxing himself, although I guess the logic is Khabib doesn’t hit as hard as Nate or Mayweather.
With Khabib, there is no question about what he is able to do in terms of wrestling. I think he’ll take Conor’s left, have more success on his feet than people expect, and take Conor down as often as he likes.
We shall see.
I am a boxing first guy , and if I believed that Conor truly has one shot KO power, I would pick him. I just don’t.
He’s done it once to a much smaller man leaping into his fist. In fact, the buildup to this fight doesn’t seem much different than the lead up to MayMac which is a bit concerning given its MMA. I’ve yet to hear anyone lay out a case for Conor other than " that left" and we’ve seen Khabib rocked. On that last note, Mac has very poor defensive boxing himself, although I guess the logic is Khabib doesn’t hit as hard as Nate or Mayweather.
With Khabib, there is no question about what he is able to do in terms of wrestling. I think he’ll take Conor’s left, have more success on his feet than people expect, and take Conor down as often as he likes.
We shall see.
Posted
by Gestes2017
on Sep 30, 2018 | 2:33 PM
Will you stop saying that Conor has only slept one guy
There are other pr0motions outdide the UFC. He has a 4 second finish. 8 second finish 13 second finish and a 16 second finish
Posted
by bourbon.
on Sep 30, 2018 | 2:46 PM
Fair
enough.
I’ll stick with my arm chair prediction, but we’ll see if his exploits from 2011 make their way into the Octagon on Oct 6.
I’ve still yet to see someone outline a strategy for him other than his George Foreman like punching power…….. in one hand. What would be great to see is him show that he can’t be taken down or that he has some sick hidden submission game in the event he isn’t able to repeat what he did to Paddy Doherty.
I’ll stick with my arm chair prediction, but we’ll see if his exploits from 2011 make their way into the Octagon on Oct 6.
I’ve still yet to see someone outline a strategy for him other than his George Foreman like punching power…….. in one hand. What would be great to see is him show that he can’t be taken down or that he has some sick hidden submission game in the event he isn’t able to repeat what he did to Paddy Doherty.
Posted
by Gestes2017
on Sep 30, 2018 | 4:13 PM
Saying that is exactly the same
As saying I’d still like to see someone outline a gameplan for
Khabib that doesn’t necessitate getting the takedown and GnP. Incase
Khabib can’t repeat what he did to Vusal Bayramov.
They’re both specialists…
They’re both specialists…
Posted
by MMAUKOK
on Sep 30, 2018 | 4:28 PM
Your absolutely
correct. The difference to me is that I believe Khabib has a better
chance to take Conor down and beat up on him than Conor has of ending
the fight standing. Khabib has more recent and consistent history.
Again, it is predicated mostly on me not believing in the punching
power. The rest is a belief that Khabib has much more functional
striking than people think.
Also, it never gets talked about much, but Conor is pretty much a one handed fighter in terms of danger. At some point, someone is going to teach one of these guys how to negate that left hand.
I could absolutely positively be wrong on all of this. That’s the fun part. Markhope just wrote two great paragraphs below on how Conor can win without a one punch knockout.
Also, it never gets talked about much, but Conor is pretty much a one handed fighter in terms of danger. At some point, someone is going to teach one of these guys how to negate that left hand.
I could absolutely positively be wrong on all of this. That’s the fun part. Markhope just wrote two great paragraphs below on how Conor can win without a one punch knockout.
Posted
by Gestes2017
on Sep 30, 2018 | 4:47 PM
Khabib’s Right Underhook
I think the key to this fight is Khabib’s right underhook against
the cage. If he is able to consistently get that underhook, he will
win. You can shut down probably 80-90% of Khabib’s takedowns if you
deny him that underhook. From that position, Khabib chains together
multiple takedown attempts until he eventually gets you down.
For evidence of this, just watch Khabib’s fight against Gleison Tibau. Khabib was able to back Tibau up against the cage, but he was never able to get that right underhook. As a result, Khabib went 0 for 11(I think) in takedown attempts.
Also, Conor applies consistent pressure standing. Khabib only applies sporadic pressure standing. The one who wins this fight will be the one who owns the center of the cage. Khabib only shoots when his opponent is behind the two black lines on the canvas. With Conor’s superior footwork, it will be difficult for Khabib to back Conor up behind those two black lines. I see Conor taking center cage, with Khabib around the outside, looking for a way in. Khabib will tire himself out being on the outside of the cage and Conor will just pick away at him.
And, BTW, I am more of a Khabib fan than I am a Conor fan.
For evidence of this, just watch Khabib’s fight against Gleison Tibau. Khabib was able to back Tibau up against the cage, but he was never able to get that right underhook. As a result, Khabib went 0 for 11(I think) in takedown attempts.
Also, Conor applies consistent pressure standing. Khabib only applies sporadic pressure standing. The one who wins this fight will be the one who owns the center of the cage. Khabib only shoots when his opponent is behind the two black lines on the canvas. With Conor’s superior footwork, it will be difficult for Khabib to back Conor up behind those two black lines. I see Conor taking center cage, with Khabib around the outside, looking for a way in. Khabib will tire himself out being on the outside of the cage and Conor will just pick away at him.
And, BTW, I am more of a Khabib fan than I am a Conor fan.
Posted
by markhope
on Sep 30, 2018 | 3:26 PM
Great
analysis, and I wish I would have seen this prior to repeating that " I hadn’t seen anything".
I don’t have too much of an emotional attachment to any fighter, although I’ll admiit to liking Khabib for whatever reason. With that said, I know Conor is dangerous, but the " one shot with the left" just seems like wishful thinking. You have painted a picture of why he could potentially stay upright and consistently land his punches. Now we’ve moved past May/MAC and into MMA.
BTW, i was a fan of that fight. It was fun and I love that both those guys used their fame to come together and make a ton of money. The fight was marketed the only way that made sense.
I don’t have too much of an emotional attachment to any fighter, although I’ll admiit to liking Khabib for whatever reason. With that said, I know Conor is dangerous, but the " one shot with the left" just seems like wishful thinking. You have painted a picture of why he could potentially stay upright and consistently land his punches. Now we’ve moved past May/MAC and into MMA.
BTW, i was a fan of that fight. It was fun and I love that both those guys used their fame to come together and make a ton of money. The fight was marketed the only way that made sense.
Posted
by Gestes2017
on Sep 30, 2018 | 4:30 PM
Could it be the money. Could it be desire?? Could it be the whiskey?? Who knows.
Would love to see Nick Diaz return though.
Same reason he got hit with that big punch, he was keeping his hands way down in order to drop his underhooks which left his head wide open to punches.
https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/9/30/17901558/dan-hardy-breaks-down-khabib-nurmagomedov-vs-conor-mcgregor
https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/4/17/17249420/daniel-cormier-conor-mcgregor-will-get-taken-down-and-smashed-by-khabib-nurmagomedov
https://www.bloodyelbow.com/platform/amp/2018/10/9/17955724/ufc-229-mma-news-interview-video-nick-diaz-conor-mcgregor-khabib-nurmagomedov-fight
Conor looked exactly like himself...having to deal with the skillset and pressure of Khabib for the first time.
I don’t doubt in a rematch he would refine and change his approach, but this narrative that Conor was "off" that night is ruby tinted to the extreme.
Conor was off for sure. I agree with Nick though, I cant stand
the Leg Humpers of MMA. I would much rather watch a brawl than a leg
rubbing contest. Connor did a pretty good job defending the take-down
but once he was on the ground he didn’t have anything. He did better
towards the end but pretty much gave up and tapped. It looked like he
was just ready for it to be over. In all honesty he should have had a
warm up fight or two. Kabib has been very active, Conor not so much. He
clearly wasnt working on his ground game.
Conor’s striking did not look as crisp
If you watch Conor’s past fights, his striking was on point. He looked slow in the Khabib fight. He did take punches in the 2nd ( not close to being stopped however), but even before that Conor looked off.Could it be the money. Could it be desire?? Could it be the whiskey?? Who knows.
Would love to see Nick Diaz return though.
Didn't look like himself...
Or looked like someone who had to be aware of the takedowns, fight someone closer to his own size who can take a shot and punch back with power. Conor didn’t lose, Khabib won.Forgetting the obvious
Don’t kid yourself. Conor spent 2 years away from the octagon and consistent training. Of course Conor was off, but yes, Khabib won. It was legit. Conor’s own fault for thinking he could just come back and fight arguably the best lightweight of all time.You can’t throw
punches the same way when you’re so worried about the takedown and getting your underhooks in.Same reason he got hit with that big punch, he was keeping his hands way down in order to drop his underhooks which left his head wide open to punches.
https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/9/30/17901558/dan-hardy-breaks-down-khabib-nurmagomedov-vs-conor-mcgregor
https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/4/17/17249420/daniel-cormier-conor-mcgregor-will-get-taken-down-and-smashed-by-khabib-nurmagomedov
https://www.bloodyelbow.com/platform/amp/2018/10/9/17955724/ufc-229-mma-news-interview-video-nick-diaz-conor-mcgregor-khabib-nurmagomedov-fight
Conor definitely did not look like himself...
Everyone else Diaz said…Is crap.