If Putin is supporting Khabib, the obvious question is whether or not he fought clean, or free from any state interference. Did the Russian Federation view Khabib's fight with Conor as a political opportunity, and if so, could they have interfered by providing him with any substances that could've enhanced his performance? Is it possible he would have access to something exotic and currently undetectable? Could Conor have been intefered with in some way?
Is it possible for Khabib to have worked around the testing system the way the Russians did during the Olympics?
If he comes back clean, does it PROVE he was clean?
I ask not because I'm a Conor fan, but because Khabib's team has recently been caught doping. Also, you have to wonder because of how big a deal Putin is making out of the win, if there was any colusion from the Russian state.
Personally, I thought Khabib fought a smart fight and used exactly the strategy needed for him to beat Conor. Conor hit him with good shots but he walked through them. On the surface, it looks like a solid victory and without evidence I take nothing away from the guy.
However, any connection to the Kremlin and teammates who have popped recently makes me wonder. You could argue that with all of Russia's recent political turmoil that they likely recognized the political value in Khabib's victory before it happened. If that's the case, which it is, how likely is it that Russia acted to ensure Khabib won? What are they capable of?
The stakes were high in this fight, how certain are we that the fight we saw was independent of interference or manipulation?
Do any of the fighters' samples get stored for future testing once technology is improved (like with the Olympics)? Can those stored samples be tampered with?
I understand some people will think this is a conspiracy, or that I'm a Conor fanboy, or that I'm just making excuses for Conor, but I'm actually OK with Conor losing in a fair fight. I don't mind a Dagestani being champion if he's legit. I've wondered over the years about Khabib because of the bone structure of his forehead, his ridiculous strength and endurance relative to his weight class, his overreaction to Jon Jones' USADA flag and suspension, his comparative silence whenever his team has popped, and now I wonder because of Putin's sudden political interjection and interest in Khabib's performance as a propaganda tool. With Eastern European fighters, the question isn't whether they're cheaters, but if any of them have ever fought at a championship level while NOT cheating. Sure, it's a stereotype, but it's not like I"m grasping at straws here.
Am I the only person on here who is questioning this whole thing? Right now Russia is involved in literally every sneaky fucking Russian thing they could get their hands in. And his team is definitely suspect.
Okay, I'm done ranting.
