Connor vs Khabib the update after

[WarMMA]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

What makes any fighter special isn’t one thing it’s how they put things together. When it comes to MMA striking. Connnnnor has put together a great strategy centered around delivering that big left hand.

The question that Connor hasn’t answered is if that game plan can deal with pressure. He can be overwhelmed with striking pressure (Diaz). But the pressure grappling can be suffocating.

Well seeing as Conor probably doesn't respect Khabib's striking at all (which isnt smart to do cuz everyone has a punchers chance), I doubt he'll be backing up. He's going to try to pressure Khabib most likely so if things go the way i'm thinking it will, they will both take center of the octagon. No idea what would happen next.

[ZombieRommel]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Khabib is not an experienced striker, and as someone else noticed, when he gets hit clean, he has a tendency to "freeze" like a deer in headlights, which is an absolute death sentence versus Conor because an onslaught of accurate punches always follows.

Khabib in this regard is similar to Brock Lesnar. An absolute grappling bully, but tag him hard on the feet once or twice, and suddenly he is out of his element and shaken.

I don't think Conor will rely on that snap kick. It'll make him too easy to get taken down. I think he will stay on the outside and throw uppercuts and pivot when Khabib gets on the inside, occasionally throwing body punches.

A Khabib wilted by body shots will barely move his head, when he already doesn't move his head a lot when fresh.

Which means... he will march forward Rousey style eventually with his head on the center, get hit clean, enter the stunned "WTF?!" state that almost all of Conor's opponents enter when they feel his power, and then get dropped into a fetal ball by a Tekken death combo and get TKO'd.

If Khabib is dumb enough to try to throw a haymaker, he will get KO'd clean, possibly a faceplant like Aldo, but I don't think he is that dumb. He will either jab forward like he did vs Iaquinta or put on the earmuffs as he pressures forward, but he will still get tagged clean.

[Phillyboi207]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Khabib is not an experienced striker, and as someone else noticed, when he gets hit clean, he has a tendency to "freeze" like a deer in headlights, which is an absolute death sentence versus Conor because an onslaught of accurate punches always follows.

Khabib in this regard is similar to Brock Lesnar. An absolute grappling bully, but tag him hard on the feet once or twice, and suddenly he is out of his element and shaken.

I don't think Conor will rely on that snap kick. It'll make him too easy to get taken down. I think he will stay on the outside and throw uppercuts and pivot when Khabib gets on the inside, occasionally throwing body punches.

A Khabib wilted by body shots will barely move his head, when he already doesn't move his head a lot when fresh.

Which means... he will march forward Rousey style eventually with his head on the center, get hit clean, enter the stunned "WTF?!" state that almost all of Conor's opponents enter when they feel his power, and then get dropped into a fetal ball by a Tekken death combo and get TKO'd.

If Khabib is dumb enough to try to throw a haymaker, he will get KO'd clean, possibly a faceplant like Aldo, but I don't think he is that dumb. He will either jab forward like he did vs Iaquinta or put on the earmuffs as he pressures forward, but he will still get tagged clean.

I mean I just posted a gif of him getting hit “clean” and he rolled away from it with no problem. Here’s another


This time the counter was flush on the chin. There’s no panic or anything close to Lesnar tier reaction.

He also has been training striking since a child. He has literal Sambo championships(Gold Medalist as far back as 2009) prior to joining the UFC. If you dont respect Sambo as a striking art that’s one thing but it’s unfair to pretend Khabib doesnt have that experience.

[ZombieRommel]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

A solid analysis but I have to disagree with some of your points there ZombieRommel. While Khabib does have an upperhand in grappling, and Conor a sharp and accurate left hand with tremendous follow through, we must consider over factors too.

The round durations favour Conor however the number of rounds favour Khabib, due to his ability to wear and grind people much like Cain vs JDS II.

Khabib traditionally takes a bit of time to get it to the ground, and those moments will be pivotal for Conor. His octagon control, distance management and overall outside game and head control will be key. Whilst Khabib will have to find ways to get past the non-commital jab kicks and then the more dangerous punches, and use the cage to ultimately drag Conor down.

Conor is explosive and Khabib may find it hard to beat the athleticism early on however should Conor tire and the fight pace slow down, then Conor will be in for some difficulty.

The one key thing that you have overlooked, and perhaps the most important factor is the size of Khabib's head. With the power that Conor can generate, this will be a collision like none seen before.

The immovable head of Khabib, forged and enlarged in the bear mountains of Dagestan vs the razor sharp sling of a left hand from Conor, gifted to him by none other than Irish gypsy legend Brad Pitt. This will be the final battle.

I know you said that last part in jest, but Khabib does have a big very hittable head that he doesn't move well off the center line. It's a juicy target for Conor.

I mean I just posted a gif of him getting hit “clean” and he rolled away from it with no problem. Here’s another


This time the counter was flush on the chin. There’s no panic or anything close to Lesnar tier reaction.

He also has been training striking since a child. He has literal Sambo championships(Gold Medalist as far back as 2009) prior to joining the UFC. If you dont respect Sambo as a striking art that’s one thing but it’s unfair to pretend Khabib doesnt have that experience.

I respect sambo and followed Fedor's reign very closely as a huge fan. Fedor was able to KO people cold, but it usually required precise timing on his part. A slight mistime was a huge risk, as we later saw him get dropped/finished by Mitrione, and we saw Arlvoski box him up well with linear strikes before the flying knee mistake.

The thing I observe with sambo though is that in order to truly hurt people on the feet, it requires a large risk. Fedor was able to get away with those risks for a long time because he A) had superlative timing, B) could threaten well with grappling, and C) was very durable. As time wore on and he got older, he slowed down, which hindered his timing, and his chin wasn't as durable as before.

Traditional western boxing is far more conservative, and this is what Conor employs, with his own signature touches. Conor can finish people while fighting extremely conservatively and capitalizing on tiny openings. Sambo's striking, broadly speaking, has a lot of openings. It's a style that can be effective despite technical limitations, but the limitations and openings are there for someone like Conor to exploit.

Khabib legit look shook when he got tagged by Johnson. In that gif you posted above, Al got hit during the startup of his own punch, taking some of the potential force off it.

When I see that Johnson gif, I can't help but think that if that were Conor throwing the punch, Khabib would have been lights out, face down.

It's clear as day to me that Khabib is not comfortable on the feet. He's stiff and extremely hittable.

I think if Khabib himself is as assured as you are in his ability to stand with Conor, he will have a nightmarish night.

[ZombieRommel]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

One other thing I want to add. The reason Fedor's sambo was so fearsome is because he could use it to finish you out of the blue however he wanted. Cold c**k you with a right hand, armbar you from bottom, kimura from top, or brutal gnp.

By comparison, Khabib has essentially one means of finishing people -> withering GNP.

So my point here is that I'm not really criticizing sambo as an art when I point out Khabib's many limitations. Khabib has really dialed in on his grappling and doesn't seem to have the versatility in striking or submission Fedor had.

[Phillyboi207]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

I just dont believe we’ve seen anything to make us believe he’s Lesnar tier in the stand up.

He knows how to roll with punches, use head movement, keeps a tight guard under fire. His main weakness is that he backs up in a straight line and when throwing in combations he leaves opening. Connor can and likely will tag him at some point. The interesting thing is going to be how Khabib responds. Imo he has been striking for so long he knows how to handle being hit. And we saw him continue to pressure Michael Johnson and Barbosa after some flush shots. Mcgregor definitely has special power however so it’ll be Khabib’s job to wear Connor down before taking any chances on the feet.

Sambo as a pure striking art loses to boxing. Boxing is made to maximize a person’s ability to punch and deal with punches. Sambo has a lot of looping strikes and even take the striker off balance a lot but that’s complimented by clinch and TD entries.

I dont think it’s fair to use Fedor’s decline as a way to judge Sambo itself tho. Every athlete loses the battle with father time. Anderson Silva no longer can dodge punches effortlessly like the Matrix, Roy Jones Jr at one point looked untouchable but towards his later years was mediocre. As reflexes go your striking suffers, that’s consistent across all disciplines.

Edit: btw of Khabib’s wins be has 8 by ko, 8 by sub, 10 decisions. He is fairly balanced. Connor is the one that has only one path to victory.

[Good Grappler]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Well seeing as Conor probably doesn't respect Khabib's striking at all (which isnt smart to do cuz everyone has a punchers chance), I doubt he'll be backing up. He's going to try to pressure Khabib most likely so if things go the way i'm thinking it will, they will both take center of the octagon. No idea what would happen next.

Exactly. Pressure doesn’t work if your opponent doesn’t respect your striking. McGregor will have no reason to back up to Khabib’s pressure, McGregor will hold his ground and DARE Khabib to invade his space. Meanwhile Khabib’s gonna come right for Conor, in his mind that’s how the fight is won.

These guys are gonna meet at the center of the octagon, 100%,and what happens next is the most fascinating question in combat sports history.

[OPSPunk]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Khabib is not Lesnar tier. Lesnar is just horrible, but that is another conversation. If Connor is Level B striker. Khabib is level D. Lesnar is level M. Also in the gif with khabib v Iaquinta. Iaquinta touched. He didn’t roll all that much. Also keep in mind he ain’t Iaquinta.

[WarMMA]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Khabib is not Lesnar tier. Lesnar is just horrible, but that is another conversation. If Connor is Level B striker. Khabib is level D. Lesnar is level M. Also in the gif with khabib v Iaquinta. Iaquinta touched. He didn’t roll all that much. Also keep in mind he ain’t Iaquinta.

This. I'm not saying the first left hand he gets hit with is guaranteed to hurt him or anything, but you don't wanna be getting touched like that by Conor. That 1-2 in the gif he throws against Al...Conor would counter that with the quickness. Majority of his game is revolved around countering, so you have to be VERY defensively responsible when throwing strikes at Conor. Meaning when you throw, you have to be on defense preemptively, anticipating his countering and ready to get the hell outta dodge. If you're not doing that, Conor will light you up easy and what I saw in the gif above with Khabib wasn't good. That's a slip to counter left straight easy for Conor...i'm just being honest. I'm not saying Khabib has bad striking, but Conor is just waay to sharp a counter striker for him. He needs to get that grappling going asap. Whether it's diving for that low single, pressuring right away to not give Conor space, ect. He doesn't wanna be standing for any extended period of time imo

[Good Grappler]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Khabib is not Lesnar tier. Lesnar is just horrible, but that is another conversation. If Connor is Level B striker. Khabib is level D. Lesnar is level M. Also in the gif with khabib v Iaquinta. Iaquinta touched. He didn’t roll all that much. Also keep in mind he ain’t Iaquinta.

Yeah not at all, not even sure how that comparison rose up. Khabib’s striking is better than AL IAQUINTA tier, we know that for sure. And Al Iaquinta is actually a good striker in the LW division.

Khabib could actually be a legit, top 10 fighter with his striking alone. Whereas there are active NFL players who could outstrike Lesnar.

What about when Khabib was literally running straight at Barboza, punching him in the face, and laughing at his spinning kicks? What about when he literally jumped out of the way of every strike RDA threw, only to rush back in with lightning fast, powerful uppercuts, hooks and flying knees? That’s some insane distance control and footwork he showed against RDA. What about when he leapt in with a lead uppercut and dropped Thiago Tavares and Shalorous... both of whom have experience vs good strikers.

What about when he stood nearly the entire fight with Al Iaquinta and won a 50-43 decision? Iaquinta landed some flush punches to Khabib’s face, yet Khabib never waivered. What about when Michael Johnson - one of the best KO punchers at LW at the time - teed off on Khabib for nearly 2 minutes and hit nothing but arms, or air? And when MJ did land flush with a hard punch, Khabib rolled with it, stayed focused, and continued pressing forward... something Dustin Poirier couldn’t do.

MJ and Iaquinta are two of the better KO punchers at LW. They both punched Khabib in the face, and neither hurt him. So Khabib’s got a chin as well.

[OPSPunk]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Yeah not at all, not even sure how that comparison rose up. Khabib’s striking is better than AL IAQUINTA tier, we know that for sure. And Al Iaquinta is actually a good striker in the LW division.

Khabib could actually be a legit, top 10 fighter with his striking alone. Whereas there are active NFL players who could outstrike Lesnar.

What about when Khabib was literally running straight at Barboza, punching him in the face, and laughing at his spinning kicks? What about when he literally jumped out of the way of every strike RDA threw, only to rush back in with lightning fast, powerful uppercuts, hooks and flying knees? That’s some insane distance control and footwork he showed against RDA. What about when he leapt in with a lead uppercut and dropped Thiago Tavares and Shalorous... both of whom have experience vs good strikers.

What about when he stood nearly the entire fight with Al Iaquinta and won a 50-43 decision? Iaquinta landed some flush punches to Khabib’s face, yet Khabib never waivered. What about when Michael Johnson - one of the best KO punchers at LW at the time - teed off on Khabib for nearly 2 minutes and hit nothing but arms, or air? And when MJ did land flush with a hard punch, Khabib rolled with it, stayed focused, and continued pressing forward... something Dustin Poirier couldn’t do.

MJ and Iaquinta are two of the better KO punchers at LW. They both punched Khabib in the face, and neither hurt him. So Khabib’s got a chin as well.

All fair points. The interested big thing is that khabib has faced decent strikers and used his wrestling to shut them down. Many did touch him. We do know those guys ain’t Connor. On the other hand Connnnor has not faced anyone with the grappling even remotely on khabibs level in terms of takedowns and control.

It’s an interesting fight

[WarMMA]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Yeah not at all, not even sure how that comparison rose up. Khabib’s striking is better than AL IAQUINTA tier, we know that for sure. And Al Iaquinta is actually a good striker in the LW division.

Khabib could actually be a legit, top 10 fighter with his striking alone. Whereas there are active NFL players who could outstrike Lesnar.

What about when Khabib was literally running straight at Barboza, punching him in the face, and laughing at his spinning kicks? What about when he literally jumped out of the way of every strike RDA threw, only to rush back in with lightning fast, powerful uppercuts, hooks and flying knees? That’s some insane distance control and footwork he showed against RDA. What about when he leapt in with a lead uppercut and dropped Thiago Tavares and Shalorous... both of whom have experience vs good strikers.

What about when he stood nearly the entire fight with Al Iaquinta and won a 50-43 decision? Iaquinta landed some flush punches to Khabib’s face, yet Khabib never waivered. What about when Michael Johnson - one of the best KO punchers at LW at the time - teed off on Khabib for nearly 2 minutes and hit nothing but arms, or air? And when MJ did land flush with a hard punch, Khabib rolled with it, stayed focused, and continued pressing forward... something Dustin Poirier couldn’t do.

MJ and Iaquinta are two of the better KO punchers at LW. They both punched Khabib in the face, and neither hurt him. So Khabib’s got a chin as well.

Definitely get what you're saying. Thing is though man Conor is a whole different animal. I do agree from his past fights, Khabib does seem to have a good chin. Thing is though Conor even rattles guys with good chins, as we saw against Diaz. Is Khabib's chin good enough to take a hard shot from Conor's left though? We may see Oct 6 if Khabib is forced to stand for any extended period of time. I will say though if he's got a chin the likes Diaz, Conor's in BIG trouble cuz that means he'll be able to take the left hand. If he doesn't, he needs to go after Conor just like he did Barboza while making sure to stay on his p's and q's defensively.

[Phillyboi207]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Everyone underrating Khabib’s striking needs to bow down to the king lol

He deflected, rolled with, and angled off of Connor’s shots. He got hit cleanly like 3 times.

He is a good striker.

[aholbert32]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Everyone underrating Khabib’s striking needs to bow down to the king lol

He deflected, rolled with, and angled off of Connor’s shots. He got hit cleanly like 3 times.

He is a good striker.

I dont see me suggesting any nerfs to Khabib's striking after this.

[tomitomitomi]

Re: Connor vs Khabib the update after

Everyone underrating Khabib’s striking needs to bow down to the king lol

He deflected, rolled with, and angled off of Connor’s shots. He got hit cleanly like 3 times.

He is a good striker.

Ehh he alleviates a lot of pressure due to his grappling threat.

On a side note, Pettis/Ferguson is another example why doctor stoppages shouldn't be in MMA games unless we are speaking of a hardcore simulation which won't be a thing.