Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje 24th October

[KingKhanWC]

UFC 254 is a week away now!

Many believe this will be the Eagle's most difficult challenge to date. Gaethje comes off an impressive win over Tony Ferguson.

Khabib's father passed away since his last fight against Porier. Khabib's training camp was not in San Jose this time. He spent 6 weeks in Dagestan , moving to Dubai and will move to Abu Dhabi from tommorow.

Mods Please add poll.

Will the Eagle remain undefeated and become the undisputed lightweight champion again or will we see an upset with Gaethje shocking the world?

For me, its simple, Justin needs to knock out Khabib in the first round , othewise he will be mauled like the rest.

 

[Tubs]

Gaethje has great takedown defence, and brutal leg kicks. Khabib's chin is far too good to get KO'd in the first I think. If Justin can keep chopping away at the legs, then he may be in with a chance. However, everyone knows Khabib is looking to get you against the cage then take you down. They all train for it. But they never manage to stop it. I don't see anyone beating Khabib to be honest.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Gaethje has great takedown defence, and brutal leg kicks. Khabib's chin is far too good to get KO'd in the first I think. If Justin can keep chopping away at the legs, then he may be in with a chance. However, everyone knows Khabib is looking to get you against the cage then take you down. They all train for it. But they never manage to stop it. I don't see anyone beating Khabib to be honest.

Barboza tried to chop Khabib's leg but once he was taken down it was a beating of a lifetime.


If Gaethje somehow manages to win, it will be an epic upset.

Khabib is a maestro. A living legend.

 

[Tubs]

Barboza tried to chop Khabib's leg but once he was taken down it was a beating of a lifetime.


If Gaethje somehow manages to win, it will be an epic upset.

Khabib is a maestro. A living legend.

Good point, I saw this made somewhere before. Another guy rebutted by saying that Barboza was using mainly inside leg kicks, whereas Gaethje generally lands outside low kicks (borderline calf kicks) and is known for them being powerful. Also, Gaethje is an accomplished wrestler (though he doesn't use it much) with great take-down defence which Barboza doesn't have.

I definitely agree that Khabib is very likely to win. He has decent striking (doubt he will need to use it), but he is very, very tough (those Caucus guys sure are something) so I think he will be able to take the leg kicks, at least long enough to get a takedown. Words can't do justice to his wrestling skill, so I won't even try.

Can't wait.

 

[Bilal_103]

Khabib will maul justin. everyone is saying Gaethje has a good chance but I dont see it. Khabib will takedown justin and after that it's like the same old story.

 

[Theo_14]

Mentally this will be Khabib’s biggest challenge. Having lost his father and then having to train without the presence of his father must have been extremely difficult.

With Covid-19 Pandemic, we’ve seen a lot of crazy results ie Liverpool conceding 7 goals against Villa; there have been a lot of distractions and gap in momentum.

Having said that, I fully expect Khabib to win this comfortably.

 

[Giannis]

Khabib is half the man without his father, I hope he pulls through and wins this. I honestly thought Ferguson was the one guy that could end Khabib's strike, so logically Gaethje is the favorite.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Good point, I saw this made somewhere before. Another guy rebutted by saying that Barboza was using mainly inside leg kicks, whereas Gaethje generally lands outside low kicks (borderline calf kicks) and is known for them being powerful. Also, Gaethje is an accomplished wrestler (though he doesn't use it much) with great take-down defence which Barboza doesn't have.

I definitely agree that Khabib is very likely to win. He has decent striking (doubt he will need to use it), but he is very, very tough (those Caucus guys sure are something) so I think he will be able to take the leg kicks, at least long enough to get a takedown. Words can't do justice to his wrestling skill, so I won't even try.

Can't wait.

Pretty much agree with all of this. Gaethje is much stronger physically than Barboza, and hits hard from just about every angle using kicks and punches from both sides. Also has a granite jaw which means he can usually come out on top when it comes to going toe to toe.

That said, no to date has been able to stop Khabib from taking them down. And Khabib can actually punch pretty hard himself although you don't see it much. It's hard to look past him winning again, but I would certainly not write off Gaethje's chances. If he can stop the takedowns, he can stop anyone as we saw with his dismantling of Ferguson.

 

[KingKhanWC]

 

[KingKhanWC]

Khabib makes weight, just about.

Both guys looks in great shape. From the face off, the Eagle is ice cool, Justin looks very nervous and rightly so.

 

[Firebat]

UFC 254: Why is Khabib Nurmagomedov so hard to beat?

Justin Gaethje will become the latest man to try to beat Khabib Nurmagomedov when he faces the undefeated Russian at UFC 254 on Saturday.

Nurmagomedov, 32, has amassed a 28-0 record in mixed martial arts, becoming one of the UFC's most feared ground-and-pound fighters.

American Gaethje, 31, stands in the way of the UFC lightweight champion becoming arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time.

Why have so many tried and failed to get the better of Nurmagomedov, and what makes him so menacing? BBC commentator and former UFC fighter Dan Hardy explains.

What makes Nurmagomedov so dominant?

Nurmagomedov was a two-time sambo world champion before focusing on MMA, and uses his grappling skills to smother his opponents, getting them on the ground before beating them into submission.

"He's adapted his wrestling style to suit MMA," says Briton Hardy. "He uses the fence a lot, forcing people into positions where they struggle to defend.

"He gets hold of their legs, rips them out from underneath them and puts them on the canvas. Then as soon as they hit the floor he wraps their legs up with his legs and starts controlling their wrists while at the same time hitting them as much as possible.

"It's a cycle he puts people in, and you have a choice of covering from the punches or getting back to your feet. And he's happy to let you try to get up, so he can start breaking you down again.

"Most times - out of frustration or desperation - people start to turn and put their hands palm down on the floor, and that's when he jumps on their back and sinks a choke in, as we saw against Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor."

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/sport/mixed-martial-arts/54641452

 

[Firebat]

UFC 254: Khabib Nurmagomedov close to 'GOAT' status with win - Dana White

Khabib Nurmagomedov will be close to becoming the greatest MMA fighter of all time if he wins at UFC 254, says UFC president Dana White.

The undefeated lightweight champion faces American interim champion Justin Gaethje in a unification bout on Abu Dhabi's Yas Island on Saturday.

Russian Nurmagomedov, 32, has a 28-0 record, while Gaethje, 31, is 22-2.

"Khabib's a big superstar. But if he beats Justin, he's on his way to GOAT status," said White.

"He's looking down the barrel of not only being the greatest to ever do it in this division but being the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world."

Nurmagomedov has hinted at retiring if he reaches a 30-0 record and, asked at the pre-fight press conference about achieving the same status as boxing greats Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, he said: "I don't know if I can ever become close to these people.

"I didn't have this goal; I just want to win every fight. We'll see in the future because I'm not finished yet. When I retire, I want to retire [as the] undisputed, undefeated UFC lightweight champion."

This fight will be Nurmagomedov's first without his father and coach Abdulmanap in his corner after he died in July, aged 57, following complications caused by coronavirus.

"The most important thing for me is to stay close with your family and friends, because today you're champion, tomorrow everything can change," said Nurmagomedov.

"I'm so proud of these things because I think I was a good kid for my parents."

Asked about an animation paying tribute to his father and charting his journey from wrestling bears as a child, Nurmagomedov said: "A lot of people have sent me the video. It's a great video - I really like it."

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/sport/mixed-martial-arts/54641450