by PorkChop » Nov 14, '16, 4:25 pm
Khabib is a unique lightweight and has some of the most effective sambo / wrestling in MMA, but there's certainly more exciting fighters to watch. He's being hyped up as McGregor's next opponent now, but he's not as deserving as Tony Ferguson is at lightweight. The only way I can see Khabib getting the shot is because of the intrigue of his and McGregor's contrasting styles, which admittedly would be interesting to see, but Khabib certainly doesn't deserve the lightweight title shot on merit.
Khabib's submission win over Michael Johnson on Saturday night was the only time Khabib had knocked out or submitted a top 10 ranked guy in the UFC, and it was against a guy with a whole bunch of submission losses (over half of Johnson's career losses come by submission). Khabib has finished 3 other opponents in the UFC, but none of them were ranked in the top 15 at the time he fought them. Aside from Saturday night, every time Khabib has fought someone inside the top 10 or 15, he's been unable to get a stoppage. He's only ever beaten one guy ranked inside the top 5 too, and that was nearly 3 years ago.
Could he cause McGregor problems? Absolutely. Khabib's control of his opponents, his positioning and his IQ on the mat is absolutely fantastic. McGregor's takedown defence has improved but Khabib would certainly stand a good chance at getting McGregor down and controlling him on the mat. Johnson cracked him though on Saturday night, and if Johnson can wobble Khabib then I'd certainly bet on McGregor to do the same.
If you want to watch a fight from a technical standpoint, Khabib is an interesting fighter to watch. But if you're looking for entertainment, I wouldn't rank Khabib in my top 40 most entertaining fighters.