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[Unknown Quantity]

So Khabib just posted on instagram a pic of him sitting on Dana White's car.

Then wrote: "Dana you're lucky you gave me my belt because if you didn't I would have smashed your car"

Dana responded "LMAO I'm telling your dad!!"

Humorous respectable banter.

 

[Clear]

I'm of the mindset that Conor should have retired. He was literally beaten in every aspect by a man far more talented.

Nah, Conor's still a really good fighter. Its not like he's been in tons of wars and is dinged up as a result, he just needs to pick opponents more suited to his skillset. Khabib is just a nightmare for anyone who's not an exceptional grappler; the best fight for him right now is Pettis or Ferguson, guys who really like to throw hands.

The question for me is how well he'd do against Kevin Lee, who's impressed the hell out of me of late and his arguably even more dominant manhandling of Edson Barboza than Khabib has me wondering if he's good enough to hold his own against Khabib on the mat. I'd imagine Conor would do very well on the feet against him, but as ever the question is for how long? If you can't out-grapple or at least nullify an opponent its a huge tax on cardio, and explosive punchers tend to lose their snap fast.

 

[highrider]

I like Khabib, he’s a great fighter. But to be honest, the vast majority of fight fans don’t want to pay to watch grapplers, and Khabib is not going to sell a fight. As far as a rematch, standing doesn’t matter or pecking order. Connor is Dana’s boy because they both understand that emotion and spectacle sell fights. Khabib isn’t an entertaining fighter, and and even less entertaining person.

The guys posting in this thread appreciate a fighter like Khabib, understand the skill of grappling to some extent, but the average fight fan is bored by ground game.

 

[pel1300]

Humorous respectable banter.

yeah, and Dana is super happy now that ppv numbers have come out...and the public reaction to what happened turned out to be nowhere near as negative as the MMA community feared.

Critics of the sport, who called it trash, barbaric, WWE-ish...now after looking into this actually like Khabib a lot, because they see his brief moment of rage was him hating that stuff too.

 

[MDSLKTR]

the average fight fan is bored by ground game.

Tell that to the audience that enjoyed the fight Saturday. As uncharismatic you people claim him to be, Khabib is a household name now. Deal with it.

 

[Ulysses 31]

I like this dude's take

 

[12Goblins]

So Khabib just posted on instagram a pic of him sitting on Dana White's car.

Then wrote: "Dana you're lucky you gave me my belt because if you didn't I would have smashed your car"

Dana responded "LMAO I'm telling your dad!!"

Where do people find these videos.. The fuck

 

[12Goblins]

Honestly I just hope they let Tony and Conor fight and let the winner fight Khabib. I don't think either of them have a chance vs Khabib but would make insane fight against each other, stylistically

 

[manfestival]

I like Khabib, he’s a great fighter. But to be honest, the vast majority of fight fans don’t want to pay to watch grapplers, and Khabib is not going to sell a fight. As far as a rematch, standing doesn’t matter or pecking order. Connor is Dana’s boy because they both understand that emotion and spectacle sell fights. Khabib isn’t an entertaining fighter, and and even less entertaining person.

The guys posting in this thread appreciate a fighter like Khabib, understand the skill of grappling to some extent, but the average fight fan is bored by ground game.

You do bring some solid points that I overall agree with. However the one thing I can't shake off is that GSP sold fights despite being just as "boring" as Khabib. As a fan of the sport I love when it goes to the ground as it can be just as entertaining as standing up for me. However, I hear all the groans in the bar and the boos in the crowd. It bothers me but I get it, the dullards just want to watch a boxing match... not mma.

 

[mckmas8808]

Guess they talked in the ring.

Conor is so wack for this. Dude is a poser.

 

[Unknown Quantity]

Nah, Conor's still a really good fighter. Its not like he's been in tons of wars and is dinged up as a result, he just needs to pick opponents more suited to his skillset. Khabib is just a nightmare for anyone who's not an exceptional grappler; the best fight for him right now is Pettis or Ferguson, guys who really like to throw hands.

The question for me is how well he'd do against Kevin Lee, who's impressed the hell out of me of late and his arguably even more dominant manhandling of Edson Barboza than Khabib has me wondering if he's good enough to hold his own against Khabib on the mat. I'd imagine Conor would do very well on the feet against him, but as ever the question is for how long? If you can't out-grapple or at least nullify an opponent its a huge tax on cardio, and explosive punchers tend to lose their snap fast.

Khabib v Lee would be very interesting, he'd have to climb the ranks for it to attract ppvs but think it could get insane.

Tony v khabib next in Moscow with Lee as backup is a ppv I'd pay for.

 

[Gander]

I can't forget how there was brief talk of McGregor vs. Woodley, he dodged a bullet there. That would have been a slaughter.

 

[EviLore]

That was a shitload of torque on his neck, no doubt, and the culmination of a lot of punishment and dominance, but I was surprised to see a tap there. Afterwards it's clear he was mentally defeated at that point, and totally understandable and all, intense fight, but, mm. Maybe I've been around too many Brazilians but you don't tap to neck cranks or RNCs that aren't under the chin and fading you to black in a fight with personal honor on the line. I mean, you can tap to whatever you need to, but pain isah jahst pain, pain isah nawh sahbmeeshon.

 

[Later Alligator]

Honestly I just hope they let Tony and Conor fight and let the winner fight Khabib. I don't think either of them have a chance vs Khabib but would make insane fight against each other, stylistically

Tony shouldn't need to win another for a shot at the real belt though. Poirier pulled out of the Diaz fight due to an "undisclosed injury" (USADA?) and Alvarez likely isn't re-signing with the UFC, who would be the only options in the top 5 that make sense

The question is, can they finally get Tony and Khabib in the cage on their 5th attempt? Has to be frustrating for the UFC

Then again, the belts are so watered down that they aren't really worth anything. I guess giving Tony a fight with Conor and a share of PPV points is worth more than actually being champ nowadays

 

[Unknown Quantity]

That was a shitload of torque on his neck, no doubt, and the culmination of a lot of punishment and dominance, but I was surprised to see a tap there. Afterwards it's clear he was mentally defeated at that point, and totally understandable and all, intense fight, but, mm. Maybe I've been around too many Brazilians but you don't tap to neck cranks or RNCs that aren't under the chin and fading you to black in a fight with personal honor on the line. I mean, you can tap to whatever you need to, but pain isah jahst pain, pain isah nawh sahbmeeshon.

I know that wrestling baby bears as a kid seems like a strange way to learn grappling, but on rewatches you see the pressure and holding from the bear and the need to keep adjusting and shifting to get the more dominant position.
Sambo is a combination of many MMA techniques including judo & wrestling, and the strength applied using them is what pushed Conor over (as predicted by Khabib, when tired he'll tap(as his team are a tap machine)).

 

[llien]

Sambo is a combination of many MMA techniques including judo & wrestling, and the strength applied using them is what pushed Conor over (as predicted by Khabib, when tired he'll tap(as his team are a tap machine)).

Commie here.

Martial arts, after authorities ran into issue with some exceptionally good criminal, has been banned for public in USSR (Ban was lifted only in late Gorbatchiov's times).

There were 2 kinds of "sambo". The first is "Sport Sambo". Something that was freely available to the public (the wrestling only) in USSR. It is defensive in nature. Curiously, it absorbed throws/moves from a number of styles, but mostly, from national wrestling styles of people of USSR (Armenian koch, Kazach kures, Georgian chidaoba (was probably the most influential) etc)

And then there was "Combat Sambo" that didn't have much in common with sport "sambo". Only KGB officer/special forces/etc had access to it. It allows punches, kicks, elbows, knees, headbutts and groin strikes.


In pictures, you will easily which pic stands for which:

Khabib Nurmagomedov is Avar (one of the folks living in Daghestan, South Russia), Russians would not call him Russian.

 

[ILLtown]

 

[KOMANI]

That was a shitload of torque on his neck, no doubt, and the culmination of a lot of punishment and dominance, but I was surprised to see a tap there. Afterwards it's clear he was mentally defeated at that point, and totally understandable and all, intense fight, but, mm. Maybe I've been around too many Brazilians but you don't tap to neck cranks or RNCs that aren't under the chin and fading you to black in a fight with personal honor on the line. I mean, you can tap to whatever you need to, but pain isah jahst pain, pain isah nawh sahbmeeshon.

But that seems to be his M.O since the Joe Duffy loss and again againt Nate Diaz. Firas Zahabi Has a great take on the choke, and I encourage a listen because I’m too dumb to articulate.

There now is a weak rumour that Conor injured his ribs before the fight, take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Unknown Quantity]

Exodus?

 

[off duty ninja]

This card broke some major PPV records!!

Dana White’s predictions and projections for UFC 229 as blowing away all numbers in company history look to be accurate as worldwide pay-per-view numbers are currently estimated within the industry as being just under 2.4 million.

The show featured the return of Conor McGregor, the biggest box office draw in company history. He was challenging Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title that McGregor had won from Eddie Alvarez two years earlier, and was stripped for not defending it.

What’s most notable from a business standpoint is that the figures break down at around 1.9 million on traditional pay-per-view and 470,000 to 480,000 via streaming pay-per-view.

With late buys, it is most likely the final number would slightly top 2.4 million.

Looks like NSAC is suspending both fighters temporarily until a hearing on 10/24 so they can figure this shit out. Probably the best solution until this is sorted.

 

[nani17]

Can someone find me a video of Conor saying something about his religion

 

[off duty ninja]

Can someone find me a video of Conor saying something about his religion

I think the closest you'd get would be him offering him whiskey and mocking the Muslim greeting during a press conference. I don't think he explicitly said anything about Islam as far as I know.

 

[nani17]

I think the closest you'd get would be him offering him whiskey and mocking the Muslim greeting during a press conference. I don't think he explicitly said anything about Islam as far as I know.

That's all I can find but people are acting like he said horrible things and my dumbass has been searching for that horrible thing

 

[off duty ninja]

That's all I can find but people are acting like he said horrible things and my dumbass has been searching for that horrible thing

To a Muslim I would imagine those are horrible things. They might get your hands or head chopped off in some parts of the world.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Can someone find me a video of Conor saying something about his religion

He made fun of him not drinking whiskey with them at the press conference. Obviously Khabib took it that way. Everything McGregor did was intentional and prepared to push buttons, he even dug up personal dirt about Khabib and his team.

 

[Kenpachii]

Put people in a cage that try to kill eachother.

Aspect classy outcome.

Lul

 

[Unknown Quantity]

The dude khabib jumped called him a"fucking Muslim rat" and apparently that's what got his blood boiling. Conor called his manager a terrorist rat, and bogus 9/11 story was sad, amongst other things.

 

[llien]

He wanted to say, we "Caucasians in Russia, stand for brothers". It's not a Russian thing.

 

[Snoopycat]

I guess this explains why Khabib called out Dana yesterday




It'd be funny as shit if he jumped before Connor

 

[Luffytubby]

I like Khabib, he’s a great fighter. But to be honest, the vast majority of fight fans don’t want to pay to watch grapplers, and Khabib is not going to sell a fight. As far as a rematch, standing doesn’t matter or pecking order. Connor is Dana’s boy because they both understand that emotion and spectacle sell fights. Khabib isn’t an entertaining fighter, and and even less entertaining person.

The guys posting in this thread appreciate a fighter like Khabib, understand the skill of grappling to some extent, but the average fight fan is bored by ground game.

Right, but that speaks more to the uneducated eye of the average fight fan. If boxing is an art, then grappling is quantum fucking physics.
It is hard to understand how exciting the grappling game is until you have experienced how it feels to be on the receiving end of a submission. From my experience, a lot of people walk around thinking about fighting as "Hollywood" fighting, when in reality, a lot of fights end up on the ground, in a ground and pound scramble.

Khabib is the most interesting dude to enter the scene for a very long time, and I think it's worth banking on him. The guy is mad skilled. There are other ways to sell fights and increase interest besides the whole Connor angle which got old a long fucking time ago.

 

[DeepEnigma]

To a Muslim I would imagine those are horrible things. They might get your hands or head chopped off in some parts of the world.

So what does that say about those people who would do that then?

 

[off duty ninja]

So what does that say about those people who would do that then?

The entire premise of Sharia law is inhumane and antithetical to modern standards of living.

 

[highrider]

Right, but that speaks more to the uneducated eye of the average fight fan. If boxing is an art, then grappling is quantum fucking physics.
It is hard to understand how exciting the grappling game is until you have experienced how it feels to be on the receiving end of a submission. From my experience, a lot of people walk around thinking about fighting as "Hollywood" fighting, when in reality, a lot of fights end up on the ground, in a ground and pound scramble.

Khabib is the most interesting dude to enter the scene for a very long time, and I think it's worth banking on him. The guy is mad skilled. There are other ways to sell fights and increase interest besides the whole Connor angle which got old a long fucking time ago.

The whole Connor angle is what sold this fight. I think Khabib is a great fighter, but the vast majority of fight fans want to see hands thrown. I respect grappling and wrestling tremendously, but it’s kind of like asking an American football fan to really appreciate the unsung offensive lineman. It’s just not as entertaining or visually interesting as the skill positions, despite being a skill unto itself. And that’s cool if you’re a trained or experienced fighter and all, but this isn’t a street fight. It’s a business.

 

[KOMANI]

The whole Connor angle is what sold this fight. I think Khabib is a great fighter, but the vast majority of fight fans want to see hands thrown. I respect grappling and wrestling tremendously, but it’s kind of like asking an American football fan to really appreciate the unsung offensive lineman. It’s just not as entertaining or visually interesting as the skill positions, despite being a skill unto itself. And that’s cool if you’re a trained or experienced fighter and all, but this isn’t a street fight. It’s a business.

I think that the average fan is smarting up (i believe that’s the wrestling term). You can hear the crowds wooooing during guard passing, submission attempts, and takedowns for awhile now.

 

[Luffytubby]

The whole Connor angle is what sold this fight. I think Khabib is a great fighter, but the vast majority of fight fans want to see hands thrown. I respect grappling and wrestling tremendously, but it’s kind of like asking an American football fan to really appreciate the unsung offensive lineman. It’s just not as entertaining or visually interesting as the skill positions, despite being a skill unto itself. And that’s cool if you’re a trained or experienced fighter and all, but this isn’t a street fight. It’s a business.

I don't know anything about American Football to understand the example, but grappling is "visually exciting" once you know what is going on. Being intimate with the sport of MMA is appreciating the overall aspects of combining striking, grappling and takedowns into one art. If someone likes striking and nothing else, Glory kr K1 is right next door. I question the intelligence of people who call themselves "fight fans" and who fucking boo at grappling. Like, wrong sport man.

Secondly, there is plenty of striking. Fights starts standing, so there is every opportunity and bias towards having great highlights. And you see that, even from grappling specialists, and in scrambles.

 

[manfestival]

The whole Connor angle is what sold this fight. I think Khabib is a great fighter, but the vast majority of fight fans want to see hands thrown. I respect grappling and wrestling tremendously, but it’s kind of like asking an American football fan to really appreciate the unsung offensive lineman. It’s just not as entertaining or visually interesting as the skill positions, despite being a skill unto itself. And that’s cool if you’re a trained or experienced fighter and all, but this isn’t a street fight. It’s a business.

I think you discredit the average MMA fan. You might be more talking about the random people that show up to big enough cards but I have been to many events and placed where people enjoy the grappling. Actual fans and people that expect boxing only in MMA are 2 different types. Funny enough I can tell who does muay thai, BJJ, wrestling, and nothing just from crowd reactions.

 

[highrider]

Repect your opinions guys but have to agree to disagree. Yeah, I am talking about big cards, Madison Square, Vegas. I’m sure wrestling is appreciated more in smaller venues with more knowledgeable fans, but you are never getting a big PPV smash featuring grapping. Ask any college wrestler how many fans are showing up.

 

[manfestival]

Repect your opinions guys but have to agree to disagree. Yeah, I am talking about big cards, Madison Square, Vegas. I’m sure wrestling is appreciated more in smaller venues with more knowledgeable fans, but you are never getting a big PPV smash featuring grapping. Ask any college wrestler how many fans are showing up.

What you are talking about is fair-weather fans. Nobody cares about what they actually think. They just want their money. I am a Buccaneers fan. The city of Tampa is literally just fair weather fans and then the core that actually support and keep the organization going. You are giving misplaced credit bro

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

Grapling as in one guy just lying on top for the whole match and just kind of smothering with his weight is a boring fight (Silva vs Cormier).

Khabib definitely doesnt fall under that category and dont get how you dont see the difference. Khabib yes, drops you a lot but he beats the living shit out of you while on top. He never uses top position to rest,he is relentless, keeps going on and on. And lets not forget he almost knocked out Conor with his right.

So because Conor has strength in stand up, the fight should be there? If Conor is an MMA fighter you better learn to defend from wrestlers and bjjs. His face was not lit up because of submissions, it was from punch after punch after punch.

 

[Luffytubby]

Repect your opinions guys but have to agree to disagree. Yeah, I am talking about big cards, Madison Square, Vegas. I’m sure wrestling is appreciated more in smaller venues with more knowledgeable fans, but you are never getting a big PPV smash featuring grapping. Ask any college wrestler how many fans are showing up.

But that's wrestling. This is MMA. Nobody here is saying that MMA should be all grappling, but when half the sport is literally about taking someone down and/or submitting them, it makes no sense not appreciate it. People who have a problem with grappling should really watch Glory instead.

Grapling as in one guy just lying on top for the whole match and just kind of smothering with his weight is a boring fight (Silva vs Cormier).

Khabib definitely doesnt fall under that category and dont get how you dont see the difference. Khabib yes, drops you a lot but he beats the living shit out of you while on top. He never uses top position to rest,he is relentless, keeps going on and on. And lets not forget he almost knocked out Conor with his right.

So because Conor has strength in stand up, the fight should be there? If Conor is an MMA fighter you better learn to defend from wrestlers and bjjs. His face was not lit up because of submissions, it was from punch after punch after punch.

That's not boring because they are grappling. That's boring because they gassed out. It's about as boring as watching two guys dancing around the ring hitting the air.

 

[highrider]

So, agree to disagree apparently not acceptable

Whatever type of fan it is that you perceive is more of a fan of striking, the reality is people prefer stand up almost across the board in my experience. The most exciting part of the fight was when Khabib landed a hard punch, or the brief ground and pound bits.

This reminds me of boxing purists going on about Mayweather and his ultimate ability to avoid punches as if that was more exciting to watch than fighters that were swinging and throwing caution to the wind.

Never have I heard a fight announcer excitedly yell, oohh he’s really been leaning in to him now, another few rounds of this chess match of position and we are looking at a late round submission!!

 

[Unknown Quantity]

So, agree to disagree apparently not acceptable

Whatever type of fan it is that you perceive is more of a fan of striking, the reality is people prefer stand up almost across the board in my experience. The most exciting part of the fight was when Khabib landed a hard punch, or the brief ground and pound bits.

This reminds me of boxing purists going on about Mayweather and his ultimate ability to avoid punches as if that was more exciting to watch than fighters that were swinging and throwing caution to the wind.

Never have I heard a fight announcer excitedly yell, oohh he’s really been leaning in to him now, another few rounds of this chess match of position and we are looking at a late round submission!!

I came into mma as a fan of striking sports as well, bbj was boring as f to me until I looked into self defense for me and staff at my pub (Wood Green, London 2013) we went through krav maga training as it was best for the quick muscle memory work needed for the situations we were put in.

Khabib is a different beast, if he goes to bellator (50cent offered 2mil signing bonus) he'll dominate 155, 170 and 185 vs Mousasi will be a mega fight of the most lethal mother duckers on the planet. If he takes the team (brotherhood) with him then Dana loses the job and is a silent partner. So.....

 

[Luffytubby]

So, agree to disagree apparently not acceptable

Whatever type of fan it is that you perceive is more of a fan of striking, the reality is people prefer stand up almost across the board in my experience. The most exciting part of the fight was when Khabib landed a hard punch, or the brief ground and pound bits.

This reminds me of boxing purists going on about Mayweather and his ultimate ability to avoid punches as if that was more exciting to watch than fighters that were swinging and throwing caution to the wind.

Never have I heard a fight announcer excitedly yell, oohh he’s really been leaning in to him now, another few rounds of this chess match of position and we are looking at a late round submission!!

All I am saying is that even if it is the case that there is a preference for one, I don't think that it has to be that way. And I think that MMA is young and evolving. Have you by any chance seen this channel; https://www.youtube.com/user/BJJSCOUT ?

BJJ Scout has these awesome videos that taught me so much about the technical aspects of the sport from a takedown/grappling/submission/control/escape/sweep perspective. And knowing this made me appreciate it all the more. And I think it's a shame that a lot of people don't get to have that experience. Khabib is charasmatic, different and he is exciting for who he is. Why not root for guys like him to spread awareness for the technical aspects of the sport?

One of the things that is so exciting about MMA and grappling is that this is a sport that evolve with a new "meta" constantly. The game is constantly changing, and hungry wolfs are already trying to counter Khabibs style, and that will be incredible exciting. There is always a dynamic cat and mouse relationship with strikers and grapplers that seems to be changing. This drama and upset is part of what also makes the sport so incredible.

 

[highrider]

Tell that to the audience that enjoyed the fight Saturday. As uncharismatic you people claim him to be, Khabib is a household name now. Deal with it.

Lol, maybe deal with it is something you should tell yourself. Khabib selling big tickets before Connor? Exactly.

Edit: I’m also not you people bro. I’m me.

 

[highrider]

All I am saying is that even if it is the case that there is a preference for one, I don't think that it has to be that way. And I think that MMA is young and evolving. Have you by any chance seen this channel; https://www.youtube.com/user/BJJSCOUT ?

BJJ Scout has these awesome videos that taught me so much about the technical aspects of the sport from a takedown/grappling/submission/control/escape/sweep perspective. And knowing this made me appreciate it all the more. And I think it's a shame that a lot of people don't get to have that experience. Khabib is charasmatic, different and he is exciting for who he is. Why not root for guys like him to spread awareness for the technical aspects of the sport?

One of the things that is so exciting about MMA and grappling is that this is a sport that evolve with a new "meta" constantly. The game is constantly changing, and hungry wolfs are already trying to counter Khabibs style, and that will be incredible exciting. There is always a dynamic cat and mouse relationship with strikers and grapplers that seems to be changing. This drama and upset is part of what also makes the sport so incredible.

I can absolutely appreciate your perspective, and I can’t speak for the future. However it doesn’t change what typical combat sports fans want to see right now. The Ferguson fight was a far better fight than Connor/Khabib in terms of what fans want. Blood, hard kicks and shots to the head. Doesn’t mean there isn’t a good number of people that like grappling, they just aren’t going to sell big fights.

Edit: just wanted to add, in my personal opinion I like Khabib. I think he’s exciting in his own way and I’m sure he will grow as big ticket guy, but right at this moment a lot of people just expect more in stand up, as opposed to more of a mauler. And fairly, less educated fight fans have always kind of been hard on grapplers going back to early Gracie in his ghi choking out strikers and crushing dreams lol.