UFC 254 Khabib vs. Gaethje (event starts at 11 am ET)

[sooby]

I was really surprised at how quickly he signed up for a fight after his fathers passing. There was no way he and his family had even remotely began to heal from it considering how close they were and how important he was for the family/that community. Now I think they can fully mourn his passing and start moving on from it. I can see a scenario where his mother rescinds that promise she made him make in a year or two. GSP fight might still happen.

Yeah, might have just been his way to cope with it but now that he has let all his emotions loose in the cage and seemingly shake it off, the process I guess can begin. Possibly. It's hard to believe Khabib would just simply walk away from something he's worked for all his life to get but also hard to believe he would walk back on what he said in there. But for him family is everything and sometimes it is best to retire on top and as a GOAT at least in his division.

To be honest, there just isn’t anything left for him. Justin beat the brakes off of Tony and Khabib made light work of him. Dustin and Conor also got outclassed. It is not just him winning but how he won it. He made them vastly inferior and that is why he has nothing to prove.

Honestly I am sad he is leaving while in his prime. He could have done so much more but it is better to go out on top than overstay your welcome. I’ll miss seeing his fights, truly a masterpiece in wrestling every time.

Yeah, he's literally destroyed everybody he's fought against. There is no one in the division who stands a chance against him. Perhaps for the best he quit while being on top at least for him.

Lol at Gaethje digging at Poirier earlier in the week for kissing the ring. Gaethje did the same thing, got finished earlier. Poirier didnt bite back, knew Gaethje would feel what he felt. All makes Conor's effort look more respectable.

I think we all gave a lot of chit to Conor but for real he actually did a pretty good job initially defending the takedowns and minimizing the damage he took. Eventually as he does with every fight Khabib just wears you down physically and mentally. Any other fighter would struggle to take Conor down and he would force them to play his striking game.

To think that out of Dustin, Justin and Conor it was actually Conor that defended it the best lul. And Iaquinta actually survived without completely getting the breaks beaten out of him too badly. Barboza although it ended in a decision was hard to watch.

Not that it is relevant anymore but I don't think the way to beat Khabib is being scared of his takedowns and completely changing how you fight and gameplan around that. At some point you have to fight your own fight and try to impose your own strengths. No matter what Khabib always seems to drag his opponent into his world, might as well try to get yours off, easier said than done tho. His grappling is on another level and apparently his bear like strength is like fighting somebody at light heavyweight. A difficult puzzle to solve, can't really train for what is about to come and you don't really know what to expect until you feel it for yourself and by then, you've probably already lost.

[TrueTruth]

Khabib might come back for one more against GSP to finish the 30-0 (what his father wanted). One of the reasons for retirement is to get rid of the belt because Dana would not let GSP do a title fight. We’ll see what happens.

[Gringo12]

Im glad he can now go and properly mourn. He got 10 mil for this fight plus PPV too probably, can retire and provide for his family forever now. There's never been a more dominant force in a division like khabib. He is the #1 p4p fighter.

[bartosh]

So, who’s volunteering to call khabib’s mom to change her mind?

[wickedman]

Just read that the judges scored him losing round 1, hahahahahahahhahaha.

[Gringo12]

Just read that the judges scored him losing round 1, hahahahahahahhahaha.

Yeah that's bs, khabib landed just as good strikes plus a take down , mount and submission saved by the bell

[50centdad]

Khabib has a whole crew coming. But he'll fight in two years or so

[kusok]

He is not retiring.


Connor will say something about his mom or dad or his hat or anything, and they will fight again in like 3 months, you will see. People from that geographical region don’t know anything about relaxing or ignoring insults or smiling or enjoying life or any of that. It’s a different life there. Been there/done that. They see life as an ongoing competition for honor and respect, you say something to me, I must answer you, then you must answer me back or you are a pussy, this is how they see life. They legit go to a movie theater where these events are shown live and they all look the same (beard etc.) and they feel 100% that Khabib represents their country, they would have the biggest depression and personal tragedy if he‘d lost today.

[manjay]

To be honest, there just isn’t anything left for him. Justin beat the brakes off of Tony and Khabib made light work of him. Dustin and Conor also got outclassed. It is not just him winning but how he won it. He made them vastly inferior and that is why he has nothing to prove.

Honestly I am sad he is leaving while in his prime. He could have done so much more but it is better to go out on top than overstay your welcome. I’ll miss seeing his fights, truly a masterpiece in wrestling every time.

This, but I'm surprised he didn't stay on just picking up the pay cheques. Could've comfortably stayed on as champ for a few years, cleaning the division and moving up to WW for new challenges when he got bored. You also got the feeling with the few words he put out, his dad was a major reason why he stayed with the sport. When he won it was as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders

[iwant2beswole]

So, who’s volunteering to call khabib’s mom to change her mind?

this lmao, only way he will do it is if his mom gives him permission

don't see it happening

[Coach McGuirk]

He is not retiring.


Connor will say something about his mom or dad or his hat or anything, and they will fight again in like 3 months, you will see. People from that geographical region don’t know anything about relaxing or ignoring insults or smiling or enjoying life or any of that. It’s a different life there. Been there/done that. They see life as an ongoing competition for honor and respect, you say something to me, I must answer you, then you must answer me back or you are a pussy, this is how they see life. They legit go to a movie theater where these events are shown live and they all look the same (beard etc.) and they feel 100% that Khabib represents their country, they would have the biggest depression and personal tragedy if he‘d lost today.

I would hope Conor wouldn’t insult his father who just passed away. Khabib might literally murder him in the cage.

[kusok]

I would hope Conor wouldn’t insult his father who just passed away. Khabib might literally murder him in the cage.

But MMA is like that, Connor doesn’t care, he has no moral compass, he will go there, and then Khabib can easily do the Jose Aldo and bullrush Connor without thinking. Anything is possible.

[OttomanEmpire]

I would hope Conor wouldn’t insult his father who just passed away. Khabib might literally murder him in the cage.

Connor wouldn't stoop that low, I don't think anybody would.

[KingSWRV]

this lmao, only way he will do it is if his mom gives him permission

don't see it happening

Well Dana better go on a pilgrimage to go convince her

[Gringo12]

I wonder if we will see dagestani training camps like we do with thai muay thai camps . People always go o Thailand to train muay thai, now everyone will go to dagestan for grappling camp

[TrueTruth]

This, but I'm surprised he didn't stay on just picking up the pay cheques. Could've comfortably stayed on as champ for a few years, cleaning the division and moving up to WW for new challenges when he got bored. You also got the feeling with the few words he put out, his dad was a major reason why he stayed with the sport. When he won it was as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders

I don’t think Khabib enjoys fighting anymore, he definitely hates the weight cuts and had to use the towel this time, he loves his burgers and coca cola with ice. The “undefeated” legacy also puts a lot of pressure on him so he can’t just jump the weight categories with an open mind for paychecks. Even when his dad was alive he sounded like he’s ready to finish on the top and quit at 30-0.

[Carbonfibre]

He is not retiring.


Connor will say something about his mom or dad or his hat or anything, and they will fight again in like 3 months, you will see. People from that geographical region don’t know anything about relaxing or ignoring insults or smiling or enjoying life or any of that. It’s a different life there. Been there/done that. They see life as an ongoing competition for honor and respect, you say something to me, I must answer you, then you must answer me back or you are a pussy, this is how they see life. They legit go to a movie theater where these events are shown live and they all look the same (beard etc.) and they feel 100% that Khabib represents their country, they would have the biggest depression and personal tragedy if he‘d lost today.

Conor will never go that low. He told Khabib after he got chocked it was all business.


Khabib net worth is $100 million.


He will never have to fight again.


Arab sheikh will pay Khabib suitcases of money to have mma camps in *****.



What seems clear is Khabib will be coach with javier to help his teammates.


They will try and make Islam new lightweight champ.


Plus Chimaev etc.

[Gringo12]

Conor will never go that low. He told Khabib after he got chocked it was all business.


Khabib net worth is $100 million.


He will never have to fight again.


Arab sheikh will pay Khabib suitcases of money to have mma camps in *****.



What seems clear is Khabib will be coach with javier to help his teammates.


They will try and make Islam new lightweight champ.


Plus Chimaev etc.

What? No way his worth 100 mil

[Mr.PissShivers]

I guess Khabib got the mumps last month as well...What a savage.

[Edged123]

What? No way his worth 100 mil

Might be over 100 mil tbh

[DassItMan]

Yea I agree I don’t think Khabib actually enjoys fighting that much.

He never seemed like the standard Dagestani. He’s completely in a class of his own imo, not just with his fighting but who he is as a person as well.

Pretty sure he said earlier he doesn’t like hurting people but Mcgregor fight was the only fight where he got genuine pleasure beating on someone.

I think at some point it’s just not worth it anymore. With each win the pressure just mounts even more on this guy.

Doesn’t help that outside of the cage he’s fragile af. His career has been great but could’ve been so much better without the injuries. Ofc he’s an animal and in a fight he’s not going to pussy out because of an injury but he does get injured a lot. At 32 and 29-0 it’s just not worth it anymore.

I would like to see GSP vs Khabib but alas.

[Mogambo]

Man GSP sounds like he is game for the fight.

[BobLoblawBrah]

He is not retiring.


Connor will say something about his mom or dad or his hat or anything, and they will fight again in like 3 months, you will see. People from that geographical region don’t know anything about relaxing or ignoring insults or smiling or enjoying life or any of that. It’s a different life there. Been there/done that. They see life as an ongoing competition for honor and respect, you say something to me, I must answer you, then you must answer me back or you are a pussy, this is how they see life. They legit go to a movie theater where these events are shown live and they all look the same (beard etc.) and they feel 100% that Khabib represents their country, they would have the biggest depression and personal tragedy if he‘d lost today.

This is checkers logic. The most harmful thing Khabib can inflict on conor is an eternity of regret and no chance at redeeming himself. That's sweeter than another punch to the face.

Yea I agree I don’t think Khabib actually enjoys fighting that much.

He never seemed like the standard Dagestani. He’s completely in a class of his own imo, not just with his fighting but who he is as a person as well.

Pretty sure he said earlier he doesn’t like hurting people but Mcgregor fight was the only fight where he got genuine pleasure beating on someone.

I think at some point it’s just not worth it anymore. With each win the pressure just mounts even more on this guy.

Doesn’t help that outside of the cage he’s fragile af. His career has been great but could’ve been so much better without the injuries. Ofc he’s an animal and in a fight he’s not going to pussy out because of an injury but he does get injured a lot. At 32 and 29-0 it’s just not worth it anymore.

Agree. Respect Khabib but he was not very active and not always available, had issues with weigh ins, stayed at 155 forever. Some might say he cherry picked his way to 29-0.

[MEDITATE]

Right in the feels brahs

[Schnitzl]

Alright, I don't know if I was too sleepy but the way Khabib just marched forward was something I have never seen in an MMA fight before. He was like a man on a mission. Gaethje was the embodiment of a scared little lamb running away from the big bad wolf.

It was absolutely nuts to watch. Like Terminator 2 where t-1000 came out of the flames and nothing could stop him. It didn't even look like an MMA match where guys are testing each other out, studying the range, fainting etc. This was just a brutal walkdown and absolute domination by the goat.

It felt like he wanted to get rid of all the pent up emotions as quickly as possible, return to his mother never to fight again. Or he signed the contract when he was still shocked that his father was gone so just wanted to get over with it.

Again, strangest fight I've seen.

[MuslimBrahSwag]

Conor was allowed to cheat 30 times in his fight against Khabib.




You didn't see how he was standing during the interview? His leg was gone. He could barely support himself. And that was just the beginning of the 2nd round.

it looks like he broke his foot before the fight. no way a couple leg kicks from pro MMA fighters are gonna take you out the fight. Maybe 3 leg kicks from a hardened MT fighter but most MMA fighters gaychee included dont kick hard enough to do that kinda damage

[mk2kh]

dana said 3 weeks before

He even got mumps during camp but still GOAT

[kusok]

it looks like he broke his foot before the fight. no way a couple leg kicks from pro MMA fighters are gonna take you out the fight. Maybe 3 leg kicks from a hardened MT fighter but most MMA fighters gaychee included dont kick hard enough to do that kinda damage

MMA fighter or MT fighter all kick the same, it hurts like hell if it connects even one time. Sometimes that’s all it takes. There is nothing in the technique or anything else about low kicks that makes Ernesto Hoost kick harder than Justin. The difference would be more about timing and stance between the two sports, not the power of the actual kick and how much pain it causes to you or to your opponent if you block it with your own shin (especially if you block in a specific way to cause more pain to the opponent that’s kicking you)

[kusok]

Alright, I don't know if I was too sleepy but the way Khabib just marched forward was something I have never seen in an MMA fight before. He was like a man on a mission. Gaethje was the embodiment of a scared little lamb running away from the big bad wolf.

It was absolutely nuts to watch. Like Terminator 2 where t-1000 came out of the flames and nothing could stop him. It didn't even look like an MMA match where guys are testing each other out, studying the range, fainting etc. This was just a brutal walkdown and absolute domination by the goat.

It felt like he wanted to get rid of all the pent up emotions as quickly as possible, return to his mother never to fight again. Or he signed the contract when he was still shocked that his father was gone so just wanted to get over with it.

Again, strangest fight I've seen.

The endless pressure thing is a popular strategy, and it’s Khabib’s game, you don’t let the opponent breathe, you’re always in his face and in firing range, it’s very hard to do because you also can gas and get hit, but extremely high caliber and durable fighter like Khabib can do this to other top fighters. To me it looked like a gameplan or Khabib might have noticed that it’s working, and so he went with it on the spot.

[elterrible987]

He can still go on hes only 32 but idk a ton of fighters have promised to retire. Bernard hopkins promised his dying mom he would retire by 40 and then did some mental gymnastics initially to justify why he wasnt breaking his word, then fought on for like 7 more years.

Really all his mom has to do is change her mind or maybe she dont even care either way and he just told her that he was quitting because his dads death is still new and he hasnt processed it all yet. If he is still retired in 2 years then its really over and coming back after that long he would not be the same.