Connor vs Khabib the update after

[OPSPunk]

It will be very interesting to see what happens after this fight.

If Connor wins - it will be the worst for this game. They will make his takedown defense unstoppable in game and it will justify this unrealistic imbalance between grappling and stand-up

If Khabib wins they will have to lower Connor TD.

I have analyzed the crap out of these two guys and it comes down to overall strategy and how Khabib reacts in three moments.

1. It will be when Connor throws that kick to the body early to establish range. Will Khabib put him on his *** then or at least keep coming forward. If he allows Connor to establish range with the kick it is game over

2. When Khabib enters boxing range. Many opponents have made the mistake of striking right away and they get countered. If he presses forward without striking. Connor is in a world of trouble.

3. Connor I think will eventually hit Khabib with a lead uppercut. I have seen him do 2 things in that situation. Freeze...in which case that will be game over for Khabib. I have also seen him level change and bully threw it which will be game over for Connor.

How Connor will react is most predictable. He will wilt under pressure and fade if things aren't going his way, especially late. He is a snake charmer who uses his kicks to set range and then he boxes primarily as a counter puncher. He is really yet to evolve since his debut.

Its all about how Khabib will react and he has grown. This is going to sound crazy but I think Khabib should have trained minimal boxing. Boxing instincts will make him retreat more than he should. He should be doing primarily wrestling. Those instincts will make him bite down and bring that relentless pressure. I would love to see him run at Connor...but unlike Aldo..dont throw a punch...pressure him to the cage.

[RomeroXVII]

Quote: Originally Posted by OPSPunk

It will be very interesting to see what happens after this fight. If Connor wins - it will be the worst for this game. They will make his takedown defense unstoppable in game and it will justify this unrealistic imbalance between grappling and stand-up If Khabib wins they will have to lower Connor TD. I have analyzed the crap out of these two guys and it comes down to overall strategy and how Khabib reacts in three moments. 1. It will be when Connor throws that kick to the body early to establish range. Will Khabib put him on his *** then or at least keep coming forward. If he allows Connor to establish range with the kick it is game over 2. When Khabib enters boxing range. Many opponents have made the mistake of striking right away and they get countered. If he presses forward without striking. Connor is in a world of trouble. 3. Connor I think will eventually hit Khabib with a lead uppercut. I have seen him do 2 things in that situation. Freeze...in which case that will be game over for Khabib. I have also seen him level change and bully threw it which will be game over for Connor. How Connor will react is most predictable. He will wilt under pressure and fade if things aren't going his way, especially late. He is a snake charmer who uses his kicks to set range and then he boxes primarily as a counter puncher. He is really yet to evolve since his debut. Its all about how Khabib will react and he has grown. This is going to sound crazy but I think Khabib should have trained minimal boxing. Boxing instincts will make him retreat more than he should. He should be doing primarily wrestling. Those instincts will make him bite down and bring that relentless pressure. I would love to see him run at Connor...but unlike Aldo..dont throw a punch...pressure him to the cage.

Lol. If Conor knocks him out early there would be no reason to buff his TD defense unless he stuffs NUMEROUS TDs before that. Only negative thing would be power buff +1 or a -1 Chin for Khabib.


If Khabib takes him down repeatedly while breaking past Conor's defense then Conor should definitely have his TD defense dropped by -2.

Nothing is going to change much if they win the way they're expected. Conor is expected to KO Khabib. Khabib is expected to grapple and destroy Conor.

Also, I don't know what you're rambling on about Khabib having boxing instinct my friend. He pressures and uses unorthodox ways to get his Clinch entry.

Conor is going to be focused on Khabibs body for sure if he can't knock him out. Can't get wrestled to the floor if you knock the wind out of him. I don't think Khabib plans to give him space to do so.

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by OPSPunk

It will be very interesting to see what happens after this fight. If Connor wins - it will be the worst for this game. They will make his takedown defense unstoppable in game and it will justify this unrealistic imbalance between grappling and stand-up If Khabib wins they will have to lower Connor TD. I have analyzed the crap out of these two guys and it comes down to overall strategy and how Khabib reacts in three moments. 1. It will be when Connor throws that kick to the body early to establish range. Will Khabib put him on his *** then or at least keep coming forward. If he allows Connor to establish range with the kick it is game over 2. When Khabib enters boxing range. Many opponents have made the mistake of striking right away and they get countered. If he presses forward without striking. Connor is in a world of trouble. 3. Connor I think will eventually hit Khabib with a lead uppercut. I have seen him do 2 things in that situation. Freeze...in which case that will be game over for Khabib. I have also seen him level change and bully threw it which will be game over for Connor. How Connor will react is most predictable. He will wilt under pressure and fade if things aren't going his way, especially late. He is a snake charmer who uses his kicks to set range and then he boxes primarily as a counter puncher. He is really yet to evolve since his debut. Its all about how Khabib will react and he has grown. This is going to sound crazy but I think Khabib should have trained minimal boxing. Boxing instincts will make him retreat more than he should. He should be doing primarily wrestling. Those instincts will make him bite down and bring that relentless pressure. I would love to see him run at Connor...but unlike Aldo..dont throw a punch...pressure him to the cage.

Conor has an 89 in TDD at LW. If you've paid any attention to the updates, the team rarely buffs a top level fighter to "unstoppable" levels based on one fight. If he's able to stop Khabib's takedowns (which barely anyone has been able to do), he likely will deserve a buff in TDD but it wont be crazy. If he cant stop Khabib, he wont get a big nerf either.

[WarMMA]

Eh Khabib will follow wrestling insticts more than boxing i'm sure. Running at him at the start of the fight would probably actually be a smart idea tbh though. Can get the pressure going early and get Conors back closer to the cage where Khabib wants him. Just run straight up to him and and stop at range with your guard up, cuz anyone who's watched Conor enough knows all he's really waiting to do is counter you with something. Majority of his game is based around baiting and countering the opponent, so no silly mistakes or over extending or thats gonna be it for khabib. I don't think Khabib has a glass jaw like Conor is claiming, but I also don't think he can take a clean left hand shot from Conor either. Diaz might be the only guy that can do that. But you're right Conor hasn't really seemed to change that much since he started, but what he does has been working so well for him.

[Good Grappler]

I feel the fight comes down to one question: Can Khabib “pressure” Conor?

Khabib’s style of grappling REQUIRES that he’s able to pressure his opponent backwards. His shoot takedowns aren’t as good as many people think, Iaquinta stuffed several of his shots, Johnson stuffed a couple. His takedowns come primarily from the clinch or against the cage where he can impose his will. Wether it be by throwing haymakers, or just crowding their space, he wants to push their back to the cage, grab them, and maul them.

The problem is, in order to pressure someone... they have to respect you. They have to consider you enough of a threat to consider backing up in the first place.

And Conor wouldn’t respect Khabib.

That’s what makes Khabib vs Conor so fascinating... Conor would not respect Khabib on the feet enough to take a step back. Conor could just claim the center of the octagon, and DARE Khabib to close the distance. If Khabib tries to advance, Conor could simply hold his ground and exchange.

Way I see it, if Conor IS able to counter Khabib’s forward advances, he could shut down Khabib’s pressure. Conor would effectively be drawing an invisible line on the ground, which Khabib would be unable to safely cross.

And we could very well end up looking at a fight where Khabib is stuck on the outside, forced to shoot telegraphed takedowns from kicking range. And I don’t think Khabib’s gonna get McGregor down by shooting from the outside.

Basically Khabib needs to pressure Conor and close the distance to get him down, and that’s a very dangerous game to play against Conor. There’s a lot of other variables to consider as well, though. Can Khabib’s chin hold up? Can Khabib land strikes on Conor? Can Khabib push the pace and, even if he loses the early rounds, break Conor in later rounds? Who knows.

What I do know is both of these men like to claim the center of the octagon IMMEDIATELY. Literally, they jog to the center of the octagon as soon as the bell rings. This is gonna be a hell of a fight.

[tomitomitomi]

Quote: Originally Posted by Good Grappler

If Conor wins, he’s the best pound for pound fighter of all time, and deserves to have great TDD and get stat boosts. As far as the fight, I’m pretty back and forth on it.

Not really lol. The guy hasn't had a single title defense.

[Good Grappler]

Quote: Originally Posted by tomitomitomi

Not really lol. The guy hasn't had a single title defense.

Doesn’t matter. Bisping had a title defense too, but it was a narrow win over Dan Henderson.

What matters is who you beat, and if Conor beats Khabib he’s definitely the best MMA competitor ever. Especially if it’s dominant. He will have dominated 4 UFC champions. Aldo took 13 seconds, Holloway was a mismatch, Alvarez was helpless. If he just shrugs off Khabib, it’s pretty undeniable.

Edit: I’m not picking Conor to win

[tomitomitomi]

Quote: Originally Posted by Good Grappler

Doesn’t matter. Bisping had a title defense too, but it was a narrow win over Dan Henderson.

... And nobody has Bisping in the GOAT conversation.

Quote:

What matters is who you beat

And Conor has long ways to go because he doesn't defend. Here's just a few guys Conor could have fought in the past or are possible fights now. All of them would be good top 5 wins to improve his resume.

RDA
Kevin Lee
Ferguson
Barboza
Gaethje
Ortega
Edgar
Lamas
Swanson
Cerrone
Khabib
LW Poirier
Champ Holloway

Friendly reminder that Conor is 2-1 at lightweight.

Quote:

Especially if it’s dominant. He will have dominated 4 UFC champions.

4 isn't that many really (eg. Fedor and Couture have beaten more champs), especially when you are including Holloway who was still a puppy at the time. Guys like Anderson, GSP and Mighty Mouse have less "champions" they dominated because they actually stayed around and defended their belts for years.

Quote:

Aldo took 13 seconds, Holloway was a mismatch, Alvarez was helpless. If he just shrugs off Khabib, it’s pretty undeniable.

Cain took 64 seconds, Werdum was a mismatch, Mir was helpless. For all we know Conor can beat Khabib then get trashed by Ferguson. Would he still be GOAT?