Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor: What Will Go Down:

The most intriguing clash in UFC antiquity. 

We are less than 24 hours away from arguably the most important, biggest and intense meeting of opponents in mixed-martial arts history, as both wrestling phenom Khabib Nurmagomedov and former UFC two division champion Conor McGregor throw down in the main event of UFC 229 in 'Sin City'. It's been one of the most personal and envious filled build ups we've ever witnessed in the sports young history with political views, terrorism atrocities and war brought to the fore front ahead of Saturday's five round Lightweight title clash.

 Undefeated Sambo specialist Khabib Nurmagomedov holds an incredible 26-0 professional record, with the Dagestan native promoted as the organisation's most formidable mauler, many even point out how 'The Eagle' is yet to lose a round in any of his previous ten Octagon walks. A traditional sambo grappler, Khabib incorporates naturals trips and Judo throws in his arsenal but it's his adaptability to pressure his opponent when he eventually get's them off their feet, and he will, that is by far his most devastating attribute. Khabib in my opinion has the most smothering and simply aggressive top game we've ever seen inside the Octagon, feeling like a wet blanket when he assumes half guard or his staple position of mounted crucifix, an area where Conor must avoid at all costs this weekend.


Khabib has systematically dismantled the likes of Edson Barboza and Michael Johnson most notably in his promotion run, forcing the stoppage against the latter while laying some unreal ground and pound on the Brazilian over three long rounds. Khabib in my opinion will land most certainly one takedown on Conor this weekend, if he enters cautiously and manages to lay hands on McGregor in the clinch, preferably against the fence, but it's what Conor does from the bottom with a guy like Nurmagomedov on top that will alter the swing of this contest greatly. Simply put, Conor McGregor is by no means a submission offensive grappler so don't expect an unusual guard or a hell fire of triangles or guillotines to be fired up by the Dubliner, but he has a good understanding of sweeps and has an even better understanding of scrambles that may allow him back to his feet. McGregor will have depended even more so on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Bellator MMA prospect Dillion Danis than in any other of his fights since the American linked up at SBG, and it's those sweeps and scrambles which will have been polished by rolling with someone like Danis.

 There is ceratinly two X factors when looking at Khabib's wrestling for this fight in particular. Khabib has never faced a legitimate one punch knockout artist like Conor before, who is dynamic off his front front or off his back foot; case in point José Aldo. Edson Barboza was a tough test in terms of striking ability for Khabib, but the Muay Thai striker needs so much more space to land one of his patented switch or wheel kicks than McGregor, who is a traditional counter striker who incorporates kicks, but nowhere near as debilitating as Barboza's. Khabib managed to takedown latest opponent Al Iaquinta on multiple occasions, a national state wrestler but nowhere near as explosive or striking efficient as 'The Notorious' one.

 If we looks at Khabib's standup game as a whole, we see some very interesting facets which can be exposed by someone as technically proficient as Conor. Take the Iaquinta fight for instance, Khabib carries his chin a little too high at times and lacks any real high caliber footwork of a gifted striker, obvious given his wrestling prowess but his head movement and footwork in particular give me real concern for how long this bout lasts. Khabib has a tendency to exit exchanges with his head on the center line and chin in a compromising position. This is something a longer and creative McGregor can exploit as he seeks his most realistic path to success, the knockout.


With those factors above taken into account, lets look at how each man can leave Las Vegas with the coveted Lightweight gold. Khabib must exact his relentless forward pressure which forces Conor to fight off the fence and subsequently lose striking distance which prevents him from loading his fight ending counter left hand. To halt this forward assault, McGregor should look to implement a teep kick to the solar plexus which ultimately stopped both Chad Mendes and Eddie Alvarez in their tracks. If Khabib can force McGregor to fight from the fence, Conor may have a similar situation to his first clash with Nate Diaz, in that he begins to tire and a question of his mental toughness comes into play. Conor's ability to counter strike and create fight stopping angles lead me to believe that the Dubliner's best chance of success come within the opening seven minutes of this pairing. As pointed out previously, McGregor's fluency when moving backwards and maintaining distance control is second to none in the 155lbs division in my opinion and for this reason, I believe he lands clean on Khabib with his impeccable timing and accuracy and it ultimately returns to whether or not Nurmagomedov can eat the shots and continue plodding forward, I personally can't see it.

 Conor McGregor via knockout.

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