UFC 229: Khabib v McGregor

[WarMMA]

Quote: Originally Posted by DJ

I've convinced myself that Khabib will smash McGregor. I think the two-year absence from MMA will hurt Conor, and if he can't catch Khabib in the first round, he's going to gas out again and Khabib will maul him for 15-20 min.

Imo, the opening round will tell a lot about how the fights going to go if nobody get's finished in it. There are important questions that I feel will be answered in that first round like "does Khabib have a good enough chin to take the left? Can he defend/avoid the left hand while on the feet?" and "can Conor stop Khabibs pressure heavy grappling style?". The exciting thing about it is those questions being answered could very well spell the end of the fight in that opening round.

[p_rushing]

Quote: Originally Posted by DJ

I've convinced myself that Khabib will smash McGregor. I think the two-year absence from MMA will hurt Conor, and if he can't catch Khabib in the first round, he's going to gas out again and Khabib will maul him for 15-20 min.

Quote: Originally Posted by WarMMA

Imo, the opening round will tell a lot about how the fights going to go if nobody get's finished in it. There are important questions that I feel will be answered in that first round like "does Khabib have a good enough chin to take the left? Can he defend/avoid the left hand while on the feet?" and "can Conor stop Khabibs pressure heavy grappling style?". The exciting thing about it is those questions being answered could very well spell the end of the fight in that opening round.

Conor has been out a long time and he has known this fight was coming for those 2 years. He would have been stupid to not be training his wrestling the whole time, even during boxing training.

Then Khabib is already emotional. He wants to punish Conor. He is going to either try to strike with him or go too strong for the takedown and get caught.


I want to see what happens in the 1st round. See what has changed in Conor's game.

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[Dave_S]

Khabib isn't very good off his back, Conor should just take him down.

[WarMMA]

Quote: Originally Posted by p_rushing

Conor has been out a long time and he has known this fight was coming for those 2 years. He would have been stupid to not be training his wrestling the whole time, even during boxing training. Then Khabib is already emotional. He wants to punish Conor. He is going to either try to strike with him or go too strong for the takedown and get caught. I want to see what happens in the 1st round. See what has changed in Conor's game. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Conor's game really doesn't change much and it doesn't need to for this fight tbh. Just sprawl and brawl. If he does catch Khabib with a clean shot, the very important question about Khabib's chin will be answered. On the flip side, Khabib has to have watched enough footage and got enough advice from his team to know not to strike or go to hard for the td. Watched a vid the other day with him talking about how he plans to approach the fight and he says he's gonna pressure forward but he's not gonna rush. So I expect to see a pressuring, but also a little more patient Khabib which is smart against Conor. Conor's game is all smoke and mirrors. Almost everything he does is to try and set up a counter left opportunity. He's all about trying to bait you into doing stuff so he can counter. So if you're not thinking defensively when throwing strikes at him or coming forward, he can possibly catch you. If an average joe like me knows this, i'm sure Khabib's coaches have prepared him properly for Conors striking. But he can't stand too long. He has to grapple Conor imo.

[DJ]

Quote: Originally Posted by p_rushing

Conor has been out a long time and he has known this fight was coming for those 2 years. He would have been stupid to not be training his wrestling the whole time, even during boxing training. Then Khabib is already emotional. He wants to punish Conor. He is going to either try to strike with him or go too strong for the takedown and get caught. I want to see what happens in the 1st round. See what has changed in Conor's game. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Training and fighting are two different things (I know everyone here knows that). Conor could very well be fine, but man, being out of the Octagon for nearly 24 months brings me pause. He can be in good shape, but the gas tank could drain even faster as he reacts to being in his first fight in two years.

[WarMMA]

Quote: Originally Posted by DJ

Training and fighting are two different things (I know everyone here knows that). Conor could very well be fine, but man, being out of the Octagon for nearly 24 months brings me pause. He can be in good shape, but the gas tank could drain even faster as he reacts to being in his first fight in two years.

Very true. Adrenaline dump is indeed real. We'll see though. The first round will be very telling.

[p_rushing]

Quote: Originally Posted by DJ

Training and fighting are two different things (I know everyone here knows that). Conor could very well be fine, but man, being out of the Octagon for nearly 24 months brings me pause. He can be in good shape, but the gas tank could drain even faster as he reacts to being in his first fight in two years.

Quote: Originally Posted by WarMMA

Very true. Adrenaline dump is indeed real. We'll see though. The first round will be very telling.

He has never come into a fight not ready though. He also wasn't affected in his last fight. So I think he should be able to handle that.

Khabib is the one who may need to worry about that. This is the biggest fight of his career.


If you look at the pictures, Conor is thin, almost too thin. He looks like he has dropped mass to help deal with the cardio issues. I doubt that solves it completely, but it may make him faster.

Khabib looks bigger and has a tough cut. He gasses in his fights, but he usually is laying on people so it isn't as noticeable.


I wouldn't count Conor out because of all his experience, but who knows what happens. Was he training much before signing, is he in great shape, is he just doing it for the money, etc.

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[PeterFerguson2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dave_S

Khabib isn't very good off his back, Conor should just take him down.

It's not that simple I'd say. I do agree with you here though. Until Khabib manages to get in somehow, Conor is always going to be at an advantage, he can keep playing to his strengths. He can always keep him out through zoning. But I do assume that once Khabib gets in, it's going to be really hard for Conor, and I mean really hard for him to just put him away at that point. Some guy I know at a post in UKFF made a long *** post on it with a total build-up. You might like to read that. Khabib's legacy has been pretty neat so far. Conor's has been bloody but too dang impressive. There's also this post on the fight buildup and some of their career highlight you might to check out with promos and highlights for a quick recap (ignore the irrelevant stuff).


https://www.ivacy.com/blog/watch-mcg...b-live-stream/