I hear the argument all the time that he was not as accomplished as guys like Jones, and that may be true, but was anyone actually as good a fighter as Khabib?
No.
The answer is no.
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Jones would beat the shit out of Khabib if that matters at all.
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Khabib fought in a division devoid of strong wrestlers. Not saying he couldnt have potentially beaten them if they were there but he never proved it. Jones was clearly more well-rounded and proved it over a much longer time period. Mighty Mouse, Aldo, etc. Even Silva proved he could handle every style, even though we saw him get taken down in fights he always found a way to win
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A 6 foot plus LHW Khabib would steal Jones’ lunch money though.
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Well that doesn’t exist.
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Jones is well rounded but he’s nowhere near the specialist. His striking and ground game were effective but neither elite level on their own.
Jones is also a cheat and Gus, Reyes and Santos put it on him.
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Khabib’s peak was insane but it wasn’t sustainable. That relentless grappling takes it toll on your body, most wrestlers transition to a more stand up oriented style in their 30’s. I think that’s the main reason he retired when he did.
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Odd post, considering its better to be well rounded than a specialist.We saw what happened to Khabib when he fought a guy he couldnt take down. What does he do to Jones? Is he outpointing him on the feet? No.
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Khabib was 23 nowhere near prime when he fought Tibau and we saw what happened. He still controlled Tibau all night and had him pressed against the cage and Tibau had the best tdd in MMA history. Tibau didn’t do anything.
Could you imagine if Jones & Khabib got matched up in UFC 1? God that would’ve been a massacre. Might’ve never gotten UFC 2 after that.
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Wrong, Jones has better TDD than Tibau. What do you think Khabib is doing to win that fight? Hes got a clear disadvantage and no apparent advantage. You really think hes holding Jones against the cage for 5 rounds? Even in some miracle scenario where he could do that hed still have to deal with Jones’ clinch and his nasty elbows.
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lmao Gus a non wrestler took Jones down. Fuck out of here.
Jones couldn’t take down Dominic Reyes.
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If going 0 for 12 on takedowns and then getting taken down yourself is “controlling” someone then sure Khabib “controlled” Tibau lol
And it’s funny that you point to the fights Jon had where he arguably may have lost… you mean Title Defenses #12 and #13….
What did Khabib’s Title Defense #12 and #13 look like?… oh yeah he would have to have not retired early and then would have to have Defended 10 more times. Those are the fights where it is easier to look like you are declining or less motivated where people are fighting you in the biggest fight of their life but for you it’s just another fight. And we will never know how Khabib would have performed in that situation or if he was having to go up in weight.
He was a great fighter but he left those questions unanswered. Jon Jones and GSP and Anderson did not.
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He had Tibau pressed against the cage all night.
Bloodied his eye up with the best punch of the fight. Tibau didn’t even scratch him.
Jon has had 3 fights where he actually got beaten up.
Don’t remember this ever happening to Khabib.
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Jon has over twice as many UFC fights as Khabib. Let Khabib take a dozen more & see.
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And Gabriel Gonzaga, a non-striker, KO’d Mirko Crocop with a high kick.
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And nobody so much as scratched Khabib, the best fighter MMA has ever seen.
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Conor won a round against him though.
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