The wait for Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov is almost over.
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor is a stylistically intriguing fight. One is arguably the best MMA grappler the sport has ever seen. The other has what Firas Zahabi famously called ‘the touch of death’ in his left hand. If either of those weapons are utilised fully, it would likely be a shutout win for whoever implemented their strengths better.
That’s exactly what famed MMA coach John Danaher reckons would happen, as he explained on the Joe Rogan MMA show.
“With regards Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, the feeling one gets is that if they did fight, it would be a complete shutout in one of two directions. It’s either like a man beating up a child on the ground or it’s just a flush knockout – a guy unable to cover distance properly and walking into a left hand just being catastrophically KO’d.”
“You feel like there’s potential for it to go in both directions and that’s a fight I don’t believe goes the distance. It’s one way or the other.”
You can see the spirit drain from their faces https://t.co/VIJxOzFYXT
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 11, 2018
Fighting off his back was long thought to be McGregor’s kryptonite before he viciously knocked out Chad Mendes. ‘Money’ held him down for a significant amount of time, but McGregor managed to stand back up and flattened him.
However, as Danaher explained, Nurmagomedov’s a different beast entirely. When he gets his adversary to the ground, they now all about it.
“One gets the feeling that whatever amount of control (Nate Diaz and Chad Mendes) were able to impose on him will be nothing compared to what Khabib can impose. Moreover, Khabib has a much more dangerous form of control. Khabib has a programme of hitting people on the ground which is substantially better than either of the two athletes you just mentioned. The big difference is when Khabib gets you on the ground, you’re not getting up.”
The consensus is if this fight actually happens, it won’t be closely-contested. That hasn’t affected interest levels though. Fans want to see elite-level fighters take each other on. Nurmagomedov and McGregor are two of the best the sport has ever seen. However, their styles couldn’t be more different.
As they say, styles make fights. This clash of styles would make one hell of a fight.
