UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier (9/7/2019) - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Yas Island, The Arena)

[Jiji]

It's not as if Khabib has great or even good defence. He's certainly gotten better over the years but he's hittable. You could see it after Poirier rocked Khabib, and Poirier even admitted it himself, he was still really tentative to throw with his power and use combinations because of the threat of the takedown. He threw wildly and loopy but in a way where it looked like he was throwing off his back foot a lot so as to be better prepped for the sprawl or clinch. I won't discount Tony Ferguson but the two types of fighters I'd like to see Khabib fight in the near future are a great, strong wrestler like Kevin Lee but he's at WW now and somebody lethal off their back with submissions. For now though, hopefully it's Ferguson and if Khabib survives that GSP if brother can make 155.

Gaethje just ripped Conor on twitter for demanding his title shot. If the former can pick up a W this weekend, I would love to see that fight and then the winner can start talking about title contention. That or the third fight with Diaz for Conor. 

[Elsalvajeloco]

If this was early in Gaethje's run, he would be one of those guys in the "I bet X can expose Conor" camp with Mendes, Eddie Alvarez, Aldo, and Khabib. Now...if McGregor just put Gaethje's lights out inside a round, I wouldn't be surprised at all. Against high level competition, we know where Gaethje's ceiling is now. If you're not elite at lightweight, Gaethje is your goddamn worst nightmare. If you're elite, you should be able to beat him. You might take some punishment in the meantime, but hey, you should still beat him. He is MMA Ike Quartey.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Elsalvajeloco

[Jiji]

I was way down on Gaethje before his UFC debut thinking he'd have a tough time beating top 25+ lightweights in the UFC because of his lack of defence and mobility/zombie fight style not being something that leads to long careers. That certainly proved to be a shit take but I agree wholeheartedly with you on the above. He's a perfect gatekeeper for the most prestigious title in MMA and there's nothing wrong with that. Shit, he picks up two big wins and he'll get a title shot very likely. But yeah, serious limitations that his heart, chin, and sneaky good tactics (even if they're not always the smartest) can't hide against greats. 

Jesus, I keep sleeping on Gregor Gillespie. Now I'd love to see him fight Khabib. For some reason I thought Gillespie was in featherweight because he's always looked so small to me in the octagon but he's only an inch shorter than Khabib and has a one inch reach advantage. Gimme that shit right there. Gillespie hasn't fought since January and doesn't have a fight lined up. Why are they taking their time with this guy? He called out Pettis and while that would be a good name for him to topple, Pettis is 4-7 in his last 11 fights so I doubt the UFC is jumping at the opportunity to put him in there with a killer like Gillespie who isn't a draw.

Looking at the UFC's lightweight rankings, I don't see anybody that could be exceptionally dangerous of their backs except for Pettis and Oliveira and both guys would wilt under the pressure. 

Edited September 9, 2019 by Oyaji

[Elsalvajeloco]

1 hour ago, Oyaji said:

I was way down on Gaethje before his UFC debut thinking he'd have a tough time beating top 25+ lightweights in the UFC because of his lack of defence and mobility/zombie fight style not being something that leads to long careers. That certainly proved to be a shit take but I agree wholeheartedly with you on the above. He's a perfect gatekeeper for the most prestigious title in MMA and there's nothing wrong with that. Shit, he picks up two big wins and he'll get a title shot very likely. But yeah, serious limitations that his heart, chin, and sneaky good tactics (even if they're not always the smartest) can't hide against greats. 

I think he did the best thing for his career and shed the label of fighting down to the level of his opposition. He was struggling against guys from MMA past like Luiz Buscape and going tit-for-tat with Luis Palomino. He's one of the few guys who I would say his career benefited from leaving for the UFC even he never wears gold. He's a much better fighter than what he showed in WSOF.

1 hour ago, Oyaji said:

Jesus, I keep sleeping on Gregor Gillespie. Now I'd love to see him fight Khabib. For some reason I thought Gillespie was in featherweight because he's always looked so small to me in the octagon but he's only an inch shorter than Khabib and has a one inch reach advantage. Gimme that shit right there. Gillespie hasn't fought since January and doesn't have a fight lined up. Why are they taking their time with this guy? He called out Pettis and while that would be a good name for him to topple, Pettis is 4-7 in his last 11 fights so I doubt the UFC is jumping at the opportunity to put him in there with a killer like Gillespie who isn't a draw.

Looking at the UFC's lightweight rankings, I don't see anybody that could be exceptionally dangerous of their backs except for Pettis and Oliveira and both guys would wilt under the pressure. 

If you seen Gregor's recent fights, you would understand why no one wants to see this dude. I mean if you remember, Drakkar Klose called him out after he squeaked by Christos Giagos on the DC/Stipe II card back in August and Gillespie is basically a rich man's Christos Giagos.I don't think that's a great idea. Why? IMO Gillespie is becoming what Khabib eventually became. I think the problem with Kevin Lee and Rustam Khabilov is they started off really strong, but people eventually figured them out and how to adjust to them. They peaked a little too soon. Gregor Gillespie started off solid (he didn't look special in that Glaico Franca fight), but he looks like a straight up monster now. Pichel is a pretty underrated fighter despite being plagued by injuries and Medeiros is a perpetual tough out, and Gillespie made them into mince meat easily.

[AA484]

They are gonna keep matching Gillespie up with guys until he loses so they aren't forced into inserting a "non-name" fighter against Khabib.  Hopefully he keeps winning until they have no choice but to give him a shot but since it's the UFC, they will name Conor as number one successor after he beats a fighter who isn't even in the division in question.