Fighters Pick Gaethje over Khabib

[Taytro]

UFC fighters predict Khabib-Gaethje main event

I find it super interesting that of the fighters polled, 13 fighters think Justin wins and only 7 picked Khabib. Considering Khabib is the favourite, seeing the fighters opinions makes me wonder what they know.

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[Sheppy]

Yeah, i can't agree with that.

 

[CDJ]

Basically the North American boys picked Gaethje and the Europeans pulled picked Khabib


I will say though Curtis Blaydes is usually pretty good at making picks. You can’t trust him here because Gaethje is his teammate but generally speaking he usually does pretty well. He posts them on insta before most cards

 

[I am not exposed]

It really depends on how good Justin's takedown defense is. It's not really a side of him we have seen too much of. I know he has a wrestling background, but how good is that wrestling? Woodley was regarded as a fighter with good wrestling and takedown defense, and he was made to look like an amateur by Usman and Covington.

I'm rooting for Khabib!

 

[I am not exposed]

Basically the North American boys picked Gaethje and the Europeans pulled picked Khabib


I will say though Curtis Blaydes is usually pretty good at making picks. You can’t trust him here because Gaethje is his teammate but generally speaking he usually does pretty well. He posts them on insta before most cards

I clicked the link. Which Europeans picked Khabib? Most seemed to be from South America. Unless you think South America is part of Europe...

 

[CDJ]

I clicked the link. Which Europeans picked Khabib? Most seemed to be from South America. Unless you think South America is part of Europe...

I knew I should have just said foreigner

also I thought Christos Giagos was from Greece for some reason lol. He’s just a SoCal bro, go figure


They should poll the Amish beard Mose Schrute fighters

 

[I am not exposed]

I knew I should have just said foreigner

also I thought Christos Giagos was from Greece for some reason lol. He’s just a SoCal bro, go figure


They should poll the Amish beard Mose Schrute fighters

Basically the North American boys picked Gaethje and the Europeans pulled picked Khabib


I will say though Curtis Blaydes is usually pretty good at making picks. You can’t trust him here because Gaethje is his teammate but generally speaking he usually does pretty well. He posts them on insta before most cards

Did he pick himself before the Ngannu fights!

 

[CDJ]

Did he pick himself before the Ngannu fights!

he might have out loud but I don’t think he did on the inside

 

[pistolpete11]

Anybody who picks this fight with any certainty is a fool.

I tend to think Khabib is going to win, because I think he has faced fighters closer to Gaethje than vice versa and he has obviously passed with flying colors. But if you tell me Gaethje is going to win, I'm not going to argue with you. Gaethje is a unique challenge with his level and combination of striking, wrestling pedigree, and cardio. How his defensive wrestling holds up against Khabib is the million dollar question and nobody really knows until we see it.

 

[Moncherry]

This means nothing. There are people who pick against Khabib in every fight. I'm pretty sure a lot of them picked McGregor and Poirier to win as well, and would have picked Ferguson if they actually ever made it to the cage.

An undefeated fighter like Khabib who usually dominates his opponents would normally be viewed as the clear favourite in every fight, I suspect that if he was an American with a collegiate wrestling background, a lot of the people who consistently pick against him would view him as unstoppable. Not that he isn't respected or lauded as the elite fighter he is, I just see a bit too much of the "this is the one he finally loses" narrative every time he has a fight.

For me, Khabib has attained a level where I expect him to win no matter who he's fighting in the Lightweight division. Not to say that he's unbeatable, or that Gaethje doesn't have a good chance to dethrone him.

 

[member 51464]

I mostly want Gaethje to win just because I think Khabib was too inactive for too long of stretches for me to hold him in the high esteem he holds himself in.

I know it is dumb, and he has beat everyone, and dominated everyone. But I just don't see him as the indisputed GOAT and want him to lose his goose egg so fewer others do as well.

 

[m9]

Gaethje is the toughest style matchup in the division for Khabib. He's incredibly fun to watch and has a legit chance to win.

But yeah, I'm not picking against Khabib.

 

[CDJ]

I mostly want Gaethje to win just because I think Khabib was too inactive for too long of stretches for me to hold him in the high esteem he holds himself in.

I know it is dumb, and he has beat everyone, and dominated everyone. But I just don't see him as the indisputed GOAT and want him to lose his goose egg so fewer others do as well.

if he gets to 30-0 I still don’t think he’s the undisputed GOAT. You can still make arguments for others. Jones has had a far more impressive run in terms of level of competition and longevity. GSP too.

Now me personally? I’d say Khabib is the GOAT if he gets there. But it’s going to be very debatable and I definitely acknowledge that


I f***ing love Justin Gaethje and think he’s the best thing to ever happen to MMA so I definitely wouldn’t be mad if he pulls it off

 

[h2]

I think Khabib stays undefeated, but Gaethje has the best chance to win out of all of Khabib's opponent's thus far. I'm curious to see if Gaethje will be able to utilize his leg kicks and take away Khabib's mobility. If Khabib receives a few kicks to his legs and they become compromised (trademark Gathje move), then I think things get really interesting.

 

[Epictetus]

Looking forward to seeing this Gaethje can wrestle with Khabib myth be put to bed.

I think some of those fighters voted for who they want to see win versus who they think will win.

 

[pistolpete11]

Looking forward to seeing this Gaethje can wrestle with Khabib myth be put to bed.

I think some of those fighters voted for who they want to see win versus who they think will win.

I guess it depends on what you mean by "wrestle with Khabib", but it's entirely possible that Gaethje can wrestle with Khabib enough to keep it standing enough to win the fight. I mean, Khabib struggled at times taking down and keeping down Ragin' Al. No offense to Al, he did take the fight on 2 days notice after all, but he does not have the same wrestling pedigree, size, or natural athleticism as Gaethje. He also doesn't have the striking of Gaethje, so Gaethje would be able to do more if he is able to keep it standing.

As I said above, I'd pick Khabib if I had to pick, but Gaethje is the toughest test of his career to this point and unless he sticks around for way longer than he has said he will or he moves up weigh, probably the toughest test of his career period.

 

[GreytWun]

Hopefully he beats Khabib. Not a fan of his style at all nor do I want to see him fight GSP next.

 

[jcs0218]

I think Gaethje is too big of a risk-taker to beat Khabib.

He can be overly aggressive. That is why almost all of his fights end in a knockout. Not many decisions (or even submissions, especially for a guy with a wrestling background).

This aggressive style isn't the best strategy against a fighter like Khabib. Khabib is patient and will wait for a fighter to make a mistake, and then take the fighter down into an area up against the cage.

 

[jcs0218]

Hopefully he beats Khabib. Not a fan of his style at all nor do I want to see him fight GSP next.

Khabib would get a massive payday against St. Pierre, which is why he would do it.

But from a legacy standpoint, it might be overly risky for Khabib to do it.

They are in completely different weight classes. Khabib usually fights at 155 and GSP was fighting at 185 near the end.

Would they fight at 170? It would seem that this usually benefits the fighter coming down in weight rather than the fighter moving up in weight.

The payday though would be huge. I could see Dana throwing a ton of money at both of them to do it.

 

[I am not exposed]

I think Gaethje is too big of a risk-taker to beat Khabib.

He can be overly aggressive. That is why almost all of his fights end in a knockout. Not many decisions (or even submissions, especially for a guy with a wrestling background).

This aggressive style isn't the best strategy against a fighter like Khabib. Khabib is patient and will wait for a fighter to make a mistake, and then take the fighter down into an area up against the cage.

He was. But he's evolved quite a bit. His performance against Ferguson was very measured. He's developed and matured quite considerably as a fighter.

 

[CDJ]

Khabib would get a massive payday against St. Pierre, which is why he would do it.

But from a legacy standpoint, it might be overly risky for Khabib to do it.

They are in completely different weight classes. Khabib usually fights at 155 and GSP was fighting at 185 near the end.

Would they fight at 170? It would seem that this usually benefits the fighter coming down in weight rather than the fighter moving up in weight.

The payday though would be huge. I could see Dana throwing a ton of money at both of them to do it.

I honestly think he’d be doing it entirely for legacy. He lives a very modest lifestyle and already has tons of money. He’s got no interest in a Conor rematch when it would it would be the biggest draw in ufc history.

sure with GSP he would make a ton of money- but I think he wants it because his father and him have always considered GSP to be the man and to be the man you gotta BEAT the man Woooooooooooo

I think the fight would happen at 155 for the lightweight belt, I think GSP has trialed the weight cut and knows he can make it. If not I’d say a 165 catch weight would make sense but it probably would just happen at 170


Maybe Dana’s “special” thing for Khabib was the creation of a 165 lb belt and the opportunity to be a double champ against GSP to kick off the division (and then you follow it up with a 4 man tourney for the belt after Khabib-GSP). I’m probably just fanboying out

 

[Chaels Arms]

There's a cool video from UFC 209 of Khabib meeting GSP and saying his father's dream fight was him vs. GSP. The big issue is going to be the weight although from what I see of GSP on his social media he already looks much slimmer than he did when he retired and looks absolutely shredded. He could make 170 but he's not going below that so Khabib would have to come up.

Also, Khabib looks like Bane walking around Fight Island with his mask.

 

[BGDDYKWL]

GSP is considerably bigger than Khabib. I thought I saw a mention somewhere of GSP saying the weight should be fair, meaning one both have never fought at, so assuming that, 165 would seem to be perfect.

I fully respect Khabib not wanting to fight Conor or Poirier again. And I know some still want the Tony fight, but after Gaethje dismantled him, if Khabib soundly beats Gaethje I really think that fight has lost most of its luster.

Given what we know about Khabib, I think one final superfight with GSP makes a lot of sense. That or just walking away 30-0.

 

[m9]

GSP will be 40 by the time the fight happens and will have fought once in over 7 years. I don't really have much interest in the fight, not entirely sure what the appeal is.

 

[pistolpete11]

I don't think GSP is as much of a legacy builder for Khabib as people make it seem, especially at 155. As @m9 mentioned, GSP would be 40 years old, basically retired for 8 years, and fighting at a weight well below his natural weight. If Khabib beat him, people would use all these excuses to discount it.

It would be a massive legacy builder for GSP if he won and he may take it for that reason. But he'd only do it if he thinks he can make the weight and beat Khabib. No offense to my man Mike Bisping, but I think going down in weight to fight Khabib is a much bigger challenge and he'd be 4 years older.

@CDJ, the inaugural 165 belt would be awesome, but Dana already said his surprise is not GSP. He has routinely shot down the 165 division, too, so I doubt that is it either. I think the surprise is going to be kind of lame. I've pretty much convinced myself that it is going to be an event in Dagestan or something like that.

....the surprise is also only going to be special if he beats Gaethje. So let's see if that happens first.