GDT: UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje

[N o o d l e s]

I love what Khabib has done in his career and there's no question that he's among the greats. But when you think about it, it's really hard to put him on the top of the food chain in the goat discussion because the others have done something that Khabib has not done, and that is remain on the top of their weight class and cleaning out their division for a very long time. It's one thing being in the spotlight for a year or two and a completely other thing being on top for 7+ years. That's what these other champions have done.

The argument of "Khabib never looked in danger" doesn't really mean much, sure, the odds are he would beat anyone today in the division but we know any fight is a fight and anything is possible. Keep in mind that times change, which means major obstacles always arise such as newer powerful opponents, injuries, wear and tear, mental health issues from being under the spotlight for so long, etc. These are all major issues that Khabib never faced much of. I'm not saying he hasn't dealt with some of it, but definitely not on the same level as someone like GSP or Jon Jones.

If this retirement is legit (I hope not), we may never know how he would deal with these obstacles.

Ok so this might just be a what if scenario but who is beating him in the lightweight division? He could have easily hung around and dominated the division for much longer

 

[m9]

Ok so this might just be a what if scenario but who is beating him in the lightweight division? He could have easily hung around and dominated the division for much longer

This is what people were saying about Jones a few years ago though and he's had his toughest fights since. Where Khabib is now is basically where Jones was after the first Cormier fight in terms of resume and future threats.

So to me it's strange that Jones is punished for winning another 5 or 6 fights against the elite of the division. This is why Khabib was at least a couple of big wins away from approaching Jones territory.

 

[SuperScript29]

Ok so this might just be a what if scenario but who is beating him in the lightweight division? He could have easily hung around and dominated the division for much longer

As of today? Khabib is the best no doubt, but who knows what the division would look like in the future. Heck by next year you could have another Khabib in the making given how fast this sport moves. The point is if he doesn't stick around and continue his dominance while in his peak, we're never going to know.

GSP, Jones, and Silva all hung around for a very long time and beat the best fighters in their divisions for many many years. GSP was smart enough to walk away before the major decline, Anderson stuck around and became human, while Jones' clock is ticking. Khabib imo left prematurely. Like I said, I hope he comes back but as of now, the three guys I mentioned are above him in the goat discussion.

 

[SuperScript29]

Not sure if it has been posted, but according to video evidence it seems like Khabib never made weight. Not that it matters, but who's conducted the weigh ins in fight island?

 

[CDJ]

Not sure if it has been posted, but according to video evidence it seems like Khabib never made weight. Not that it matters, but who's conducted the weigh ins in fight island?

It’s been talked about and that guy was doing that with pretty much every fighter. Pretty sure they weigh them in the back anyway tbh

 

[SuperScript29]

It’s been talked about and that guy was doing that with pretty much every fighter. Pretty sure they weigh them in the back anyway tbh

He's not, check out the video with Gaethje on the scale, that's the correct way to use it.

 

[CDJ]

He's not, check out the video with Gaethje on the scale, that's the correct way to use it.

yeah, again, they weigh them backstage. This is a ceremonial weigh in. Just confirmed that info with a little research

 

[SuperScript29]

yeah, again, they weigh them backstage. This is a ceremonial weigh in

Khabib needed to get naked and use a towel for a ceremonial weigh in? Come on dude lol.

 

[CDJ]

Khabib needed to get naked and use a towel for a ceremonial weigh in? Come on dude lol.

it’s literally what they do if you listen to the fighters, yes. He was also the very first person on the scale

From Deron Winn

“FYI the (UFC) makes you step on the scale in a back room before you go for the official weigh in,” Winn wrote. “You don’t get to step on the official scale unless you’re on weight and especially if you are the first one on the scale.”

 

[SuperScript29]

it’s literally what they do if you listen to the fighters, yes. He was also the very first person on the scale


“FYI the (UFC) makes you step on the scale in a back room before you go for the official weigh in,” Winn wrote. “You don’t get to step on the official scale unless you’re on weight and especially if you are the first one on the scale.”

I would imagine if the official weigh in is backstage and this is a "ceremonial" weigh in, the guy would not get naked to use a towel. Not buying it and would not be surprised if Khabib weighed in heavy but given the stakes and magnitude of this fight, he got a pass for it.

 

[CDJ]

I would imagine if the official weigh in is backstage and this is a "ceremonial" weigh in, the guy would not get naked to use a towel. Not buying it and would not be surprised if Khabib weighed in heavy but given the stakes and magnitude of this fight, he got a pass for it.

Think what you want, I’m just telling you what happens according to actual fighters

and again I don’t think he’s first on the scale if he’s over

 

[member 51464]

Think what you want, I’m just telling you what happens according to actual fighters

and again I don’t think he’s first on the scale if he’s over

I was under the impression the ceremonial weigh in with back stage official thing wasn't happening on fight island?

I also agree he wouldn't strip down for it if it was just ceremonial.

Additionally, if the cut was rough then getting the extra time to begin to rehydrate (versus waiting for the last possible minute to make weight) does still make sense as benefiting khabib. Not cutting the last half pound or whatever and also beginning the hydration process sooner is a big win.

It is what it is. I don't think he made weight, but Gaethje still fought him and the result is what folks will remember.

 

[SuperScript29]

Think what you want, I’m just telling you what happens according to actual fighters

and again I don’t think he’s first on the scale if he’s over

I don't know, it looks fishy to me and Khabib did look worried. I guess I'll have to watch the other fighters weigh in and see how the scale was used. I just saw that it was used correct with Gaethje but not Khabib.

 

[CDJ]

Is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s speedy scale at UFC 254 the latest UFC weigh-in controversy?


“It should be noted that Nurmagomedov was not the only fighter to have his weight measured with such speed.”


Y’all are entitled to your opinions, I personally think it’s a bunch of irrelevant nonsense

 

[SuperScript29]

it’s literally what they do if you listen to the fighters, yes. He was also the very first person on the scale

From Deron Winn

“FYI the (UFC) makes you step on the scale in a back room before you go for the official weigh in,” Winn wrote. “You don’t get to step on the official scale unless you’re on weight and especially if you are the first one on the scale.”

Are you sure about that? I mean here's a fighter stepping on the official scale and weighing 5 pounds over:

 

[Avs_19]

yeah, again, they weigh them backstage. This is a ceremonial weigh in. Just confirmed that info with a little research

That wasn't a ceremonial weigh in. That was the actual weigh in like they'd have if it was being run by an athletic commission. The ceremonial weigh ins are the ones where they just bring the fighters up to face off in front of the fans later in the day after they've already weighed in and they haven't done that since the pandemic started.

I don't know if Khabib made it or not and I don't really care because he was probably close enough. The reason they use these scales instead of digital ones to begin with is so they can just say "close enough" and keep it moving. The one time they switched to digital is was a disaster and they quickly changed back to this less accurate one.

 

[bov]

Winn is an AKA teammate of Khabib. We have seen numerous fighters before request the towel at the official weigh ins too, plus plenty have come in over when they hit the scale. His assertion carries little to no weight. It's common knowledge that fighters weigh in backstage. If they were the "ceremonial" weigh ins, they would call it that. Plus if that were the case, why would the scale guy even bother doing Gathje and others thoroughly as he did?

I'm not trying to target Khabib at all, but the person operating the scales did something very bad. If you can't understand why that's a problem I don't know what to say. Don't really care whether or not he truly made weight, but I found that weigh-in glaringly suspect and I watch them all pretty much. At worst, it's a careless mistake that has the potential to taint the legitimacy of a great fight.

 

[CDJ]

like I said I’m going off of what an actual fighter for the promotion said and I’m going off of the fact that the scale guy did the same thing with others

Winn said they weigh in backstage. If that’s a lie it’s a lie. Idk what to tell you


I will say this though- this is why we have commissions in the US and promoters don’t run things

 

[bov]

like I said I’m going off of what an actual fighter for the promotion said and I’m going off of the fact that the scale guy did the same thing with others

Winn said they weigh in backstage. If that’s a lie it’s a lie. Idk what to tell you

Literally nobody is disputing that fighters weigh in backstage.

 

[CDJ]

Literally nobody is disputing that fighters weigh in backstage.

ok well the promotion knows their weight going out to the stage then and the scale guy did this for other fighters too, so it’s either a UFC cover up that will never be proven or a nonissue. And since they did this fast scale nonsense for other fighters I tend to lean towards the latter

 

[Avs_19]

like I said I’m going off of what an actual fighter for the promotion said and I’m going off of the fact that the scale guy did the same thing with others

Winn said they weigh in backstage. If that’s a lie it’s a lie. Idk what to tell you


I will say this though- this is why we have commissions in the US and promoters don’t run things

Fighters weigh in backstage to check their weight but it's not the official weigh in. Winn saying you don't get to step on the official scale unless you're on weight also makes no sense. We know that's not the case.

 

[bov]

ok well the promotion knows their weight going out to the stage then and the scale guy did this for other fighters too, so it’s either a UFC cover up that will never be proven or a nonissue. And since they did this fast scale nonsense for other fighters I tend to lean towards the latter

I mean if there was any cover up going on, you definitely would NOT only do this for Khabib. This way, it gets lost in the shuffle... Then you factor in Khabib's broken foot (tough for a big guy to cut weight with that) his clear size advantage over Gaethje during Thursday faceoffs (looked almost twice as thick) and the fact that he weighed in first...Curious to hear your thoughts on how the UFC always specifies whether the weigh ins are official vs ceremonial in the past.

For the record, this taints nothing about Khabib for me. Just an unnaceptable level of carelessness (or worse) by someone who was supposed to be "officially" weighing people in. Of course nothing will come of this, but I guarantee you won't be seeing too many more slip through the cracks like that.

 

[CDJ]

I mean if there was any cover up going on, you definitely would NOT only do this for Khabib. This way, it gets lost in the shuffle... Then you factor in Khabib's broken foot (tough for a big guy to cut weight with that) his clear size advantage over Gaethje during Thursday faceoffs (looked almost twice as thick) and the fact that he weighed in first...Curious to hear your thoughts on how the UFC always specifies whether the weigh ins are official vs ceremonial in the past.

For the record, this taints nothing about Khabib for me. Just an unnaceptable level of carelessness (or worse) by someone who was supposed to be "officially" weighing people in. Of course nothing will come of this, but I guarantee you won't be seeing too many more slip through the cracks like that.

The broken foot is a very interesting point

Agree on the carelessness (Or worse), it’s clearly opened up a whole can of worms that I’m sure they’d rather avoid


You can see why they are really into fight island and having full control over pretty much everything, that’s for sure.

 

[m9]

They weigh-in backstage basically to confirm that their personal/gym scale was correct so they're on-weight when they go up for the real thing.

 

[CDJ]

Dan Hardy more or less told us to look for this finish in his preview. That guys a brilliant analyst