Khabib vs. gaethje

Nurmagomedov looked wiped out at the weigh in's...

 

He’s definitely better now, but his striking doesn’t have to be that great because the take down threat opens up opportunities.

 

Damn. He missed weight and they buried it like a failed Jon Jones USADA test. That's not a good look for the UFC.

 

Yea, sure looked like the arm on that scale was on its way up...

 

Welp. That’s why you don’t take my picks kids.

Safe to say Khabib is the all time goat.

 

His post fight Russian speech was if you have your parents make time to spend with them.

A lot of respect to JG to go comfort Him after waking up from a nap. I guess the ref saw the tapping and thought Justin should sleep on the fucking decision.

 

Anyone see any of the other finds, like the Miranda Maverick vs Liana Jojua fight? That elbow to the face was awesome. Miranda trains at the same Muay Thai place I go to. She's a badass.

 

So much for D1 wrestling...

Nurmagamedov completely disrespected Gaethje stand up/power. Just kept coming after him. Seemed like his strat was to tire him out and take him down.
Khabib ate a couple punches but it seemed he knew he could take him down anytime.
I'm upset Gaethje couldn't get off any kicks to slow Nurmagamedov down at all.

Watching The Eagle on the ground and in the clinch is like watching 2 men fighting 1. His legs are tripping, grabbing, holding like a second man while his arms are pummeling.
He's always climbing toward your head... wonder if trying to grab a heel or knee would work? Again, as soon as he got Gaethje against the cage and to the ground, there didn't seem to be any ability or effort for G to scramble and get back up.

I've seen Poirier and Barboza ? get a hold of Khabib's neck/head, but neither could close it out and they were both gassed from the effort and quickly lost.

Connor doesn't/didn't want a rematch... No way...

 

Totally bummed that was probably the last time we see him fight.

 

The two things that surprised me. First, Justin Gaethje can’t grapple. At all. Typical wrestler who doesn’t know what to do when a guy turns the corner on him. Obviously Khabib will force his will on anyone but Gaethje just didn’t understand the grappling exchanges. He looked like a white belt on the ground. It was shocking.

The second thing was how good Khabib’s footwork is. People refer to striking and grappling like there are only two planes, but there are so many skills within the skills. Obviously Khabib doesn’t have the same striking tools or athleticism as a stylebender or Max Holloway, but his movement and footwork are spectacular. He was always out of danger on the feet, cutting angles, leading the dance. That was beautiful to watch.