UFC 223 | IAQUINTA VS KHABIB | SAT. APR. 7, 2018

thewheel2.0

Khabib was dominant but looses his aura of invincibility each time he fights (while also giving other fighters more tape to study). The disconnection between corner and fighter was troubling - I think I heard them say "stick to the father plan".

I thought he made a balls of his call-out. All he needed to say was "McGregor, we fight in cage where no security can save you." I almost admire him for wanting to achieve a career dream of beating GSP but he must hate money.

pastorbarrett

I think a lot fighters will feel emboldened after watching the main event last night. Of course, silly to disregard or undermine his grappling proficiency and dominant physical strength, but the chinks in the armour are more readily apparent than ever before.

Regardless of it being McGregor or not, I think Khabib will be exposed before long. Tony more than any other is probably the man - weather several takedown onslaughts and then go to work and capitalise in an exchange.

xtal191

Rose - Decision

Holloway needs to fight Ortega and still hope its Khabib vs Ferguson next.

I honestly don't think there's anyone at lightweight that would give Conor much trouble, think he'd finish both Khabib and Ferguson.

ricero

Rose - Submission

xtal191 wrote: »

Holloway needs to fight Ortega and still hope its Khabib vs Ferguson next.

I honestly don't think there's anyone at lightweight that would give Conor much trouble, think he'd finish both Khabib and Ferguson.

I think Ortega beats Holloway though

ardinn

ricero wrote: »

I think Ortega beats Holloway though

So do I - I'd love to see Ortega v Conor

Ffs there is so many decent fights that could happen and conor wont fight anyone

miocicmma

Joanna - TKO/KO

Khabib's first title defence rumoured to a rematch against a former opponent.

how.gareth

Why did he abandon the take downs? Trying to prove he has stand up or what? His jab done serious damage to als face but didn’t seem to actually bothering al too much imo

Lukker-

how.gareth wrote: »

Why did he abandon the take downs? Trying to prove he has stand up or what? His jab done serious damage to als face but didn’t seem to actually bothering al too much imo

Because they got stuffed. Shooting them is draining af, he was mainly going for singles. His best work were trips in the clinch when he got Al against the cage.

Al pressured him a bit and managed to reset every time he got pushed against the cage. Khabib also looked wrecked after the 2nd

pastorbarrett

ardinn wrote: »

So do I - I'd love to see Ortega v Conor

Ffs there is so many decent fights that could happen and conor wont fight anyone

Yeah, I'd love for Khabib's first defence to be against Nate. Can you imagine the buildup? I'd favour Nate for the same reasons I would Tony. Then a beautiful segue-way for fight 3...

bur

People don't seem to realise you can't physically grapple for a full 25 minutes, even as the aggressor, it's too exhausting.
And it doesn't matter because after two rounds of being rode and pulvarised, you are goosed. There would be nothing on Conor's punches after one round of grappling Khabib.

If Conor ever comes out of retirement, he has a very short window of opportunity in that fight.

Everyone has a plan until they get taken down.

bur

pastorbarrett wrote: »

Yeah, I'd love for Khabib's first defence to be against Nate. Can you imagine the buildup? I'd favour Nate for the same reasons I would Tony. Then a beautiful segue-way for fight 3...

Nate over Khabib? Have you watched any of Nate's fights before he fought Conor?

utyh2ikcq9z76b

bur wrote: »

Everyone has a plan until they get taken down.

Or knocked out

how.gareth

What’s the story with calling out gsp? 2 dudes smothering each other for 25 mins ain’t gonna be very exciting, 2 likeable fellas but wouldn’t be top of my Ppv shopping list tbh

MrStuffins

how.gareth wrote: »

What’s the story with calling out gsp? 2 dudes smothering each other for 25 mins ain’t gonna be very exciting, 2 likeable fellas but wouldn’t be top of my Ppv shopping list tbh

That fight will take place on the feet, almost guaranteed.

Which will be bad news for Khabib

bur

Heavenly Clean Driver wrote: »

Or knocked out

*slow clap*

pastorbarrett

bur wrote: »

Nate over Khabib? Have you watched any of Nate's fights before he fought Conor?

Sure, minimise damage off his back early on, maybe get a boxing opening later on, maybe cardio advantage. Perhaps an unlikely outcome but not implausible. What's certain is he can eat a lot of ground and pound like he did from Rory and Benson!

bur

No problem people thinking Khabib could lose to whoever but last night shouldn't change your opinion one way or another.

pastorbarrett

bur wrote: »

No problem people thinking Khabib could lose to whoever but last night shouldn't change your opinion one way or another.

Of course it should. It was 5 rounds of information to be processed. And he laid his stand-up credentials or lack thereof bare. People had their suspicions there anyway. Nobody is questioning his grappling dominance. Or indeed Iaquinta's skill-set/ late addition. But rightly they'll be looking elsewhere at his game with new info.

jigglypuffstuff

xtal191 wrote: »

Holloway needs to fight Ortega and still hope its Khabib vs Ferguson next.

I honestly don't think there's anyone at lightweight that would give Conor much trouble, think he'd finish both Khabib and Ferguson.

Did you miss UFC 196 and 202? When two lightweight fighters fought at welterweight

Barely survived 2nd fight and quickly strangled in the first

And that was by a mediocre lightweight....

.ak

Joanna - Submission

Really cool watching some of the technical stuff Khabib does on replay. His wrist control especially. Must feel like you're drowning against him.

Having said that, over the 5 round, he was less than impressive. He should've made a show of Al, but you could see he struggled, he wasn't happy with himself. I don't know, for me ... defend that shoot, and what else has he got? Feels a bit one dimensional, albeit that one dimension is ****ing outrageous.

What about Rose tho? What a terminator. You can only appreciate her abilities on slo-mo replays. Her precision and timing is insane, she gets so much power behind that shot without moving forward too much at all. Very impressive. I'm actually a Joanna fan but Rose is a bad match up for her, she exposes Joanna's over-reliance on blind violent aggression, and really made her suffer for it. Joanna did well to bring it back to her level tho, round 3 and 4 were very impressive from her and she showed her pedigree there.

kwestfan08

Rose - Decision

I think the beating Al took in the first two rounds would drain Conor. He hasn't the wrestling to stop the takedowns and when he is down he's not getting up. Add to that his suspect cardio he could be a mark for the sub.

P4P Conor might be the best fighter in the world.....for the first eight minutes. If you can weather the storm, as Diaz and Mayweather did, he starts to fade and that's maybe when Khabib starts to turn it on. Conor has to KO him within about 90 secs IMO, which he is more than capable of doing, otherwise it could be a long night.

mailburner

Rose - Submission

Axwell wrote: »

You would have to think Holloway, McGregor or Feguson would beat Khabib with that performance

Having backed Tony and max I'm gutted

mailburner

Rose - Submission

ChrisM wrote: »

I think Nurmagedov looks beatable and invincible all at the same time. He has the sloppiest stand-up in the UFC, but he usually keeps it relatively tight until he has mauled his opponent first.
Lee and Ferguson would take rounds and land at will but is that enough?
I think Max would have folded after a few rounds. Al is a much bigger guy and more durable.

I doubt max would have folded especially late on

Tony for me will be Khabibs worst match up
Tony will beat Khabib if they ever meet imo

Mellor

how.gareth wrote: »

Why did he abandon the take downs? Trying to prove he has stand up or what? His jab done serious damage to als face but didn’t seem to actually bothering al too much imo

Khabibs dad gave an interview (in Russian) a while back. I only seen it today, but BJJ Scout actually flagged it a while back.
He claimed Michael Johnson was dangerous for only 6 minutes, but Tony was dangerous for longer, maybe 10 minutes. He was spinning a story that after that Khabib would stand and trade to put on a show. Taking a risk to put on a show for the fans.

Now, I don't buy that story. But it's clear thats the angle they's take if they got to rds 4 and 5. The inference that was that Khabib hasn't got the cardio for 25 mins of control. And I'd well believe it. They sort of control is exhausting.

I've a feeling the championship plan, is to dominate them for half the fight, then trust they are too wrecked to do anything for the latter.

Inviere

Joanna - Submission

Mellor wrote: »

The inference that was that Khabib hasn't got the cardio for 25 mins of control. And I'd well believe it.

We watched Khabib absolutely maul Barboza on the ground for 25 mins though, so I'm not sure I'd agree.

I felt it was a strange fight against Al. Khabib absolutely did show vulnerabilities during the fight, but, I don't think he'd be fighting like that against someone who he believed was more dangerous. His chin is there for the taking, but I don't think McGregor would be the man to take it...I don't see McGregor having the gas tank to survive a middling Khabib, such as we've just seen. I think Tony or Max might have a chance though.

martyos121

Iaquinta - TKO/KO

Inviere wrote: »

We watched Khabib absolutely maul Barboza on the ground for 25 mins though, so I'm not sure I'd agree.

I felt it was a strange fight against Al. Khabib absolutely did show vulnerabilities during the fight, but, I don't think he'd be fighting like that against someone who he believed was more dangerous. His chin is there for the taking, but I don't think McGregor would be the man to take it...I don't see McGregor having the gas tank to survive a middling Khabib, such as we've just seen. I think Tony or Max might have a chance though.

15 minutes, not 25. Huge, huge difference.

Ultimate Seduction

Rose - Submission

Can't understand all the criticism of Khabib really. He absolutely dominated the fight on the floor and on the feet. How many times did he land the straight left? He has never lost a single round in the UFC, that's unbelievable!

12gauge dave

Rose - Submission

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Can't understand all the criticism of Khabib really. He absolutely dominated the fight on the floor and on the feet. How many times did he land the straight left? He has never lost a single round in the UFC, that's unbelievable!

Some sense been spoken. Al laquinta barely touched khabib and al is very heavy handed with big ko power. Khabib stand up impressed me if anything.

RebelSoul

Rose - Decision

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Can't understand all the criticism of Khabib really. He absolutely dominated the fight on the floor and on the feet. How many times did he land the straight left? He has never lost a single round in the UFC, that's unbelievable!

I think the criticism comes from how highly Khabib is regarded and the fact that Al Iaquinta is not a top ten guy. If it wasn't for the events that unfolded Raging Al would be a long way from a title shot. He did well to go the 5 rounds but he offered nothing.
People probably feel Khabib should have found a way to finish the fight.

snotboogie

12gauge dave wrote: »

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Can't understand all the criticism of Khabib really. He absolutely dominated the fight on the floor and on the feet. How many times did he land the straight left? He has never lost a single round in the UFC, that's unbelievable!

Some sense been spoken. Al laquinta barely touched khabib and al is very heavy handed with big ko power. Khabib stand up impressed me if anything.

It looked to me like Al spent the whole fight guarding takedowns and was quite happy getting jabbed in the nose as opposed to ground and pounded.