r/ufc • u/SpecialistLost6572 • 1d ago

Khabib's mindset on Conor fight 😼

No wonder Khabib is 29-0 đŸ’Ș

"I am preparing for war & he gives me this excuse that this is only just business."

When i catch his neck, choke him & he tapped.

I was like he brings thousands of people from Ireland here in different part of world & you tap in front of them & you talk about being a warrior." - Khabib

950 Upvotes

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427

u/bubbizz 1d ago

Khabib really broke Conor, he exposed him.. that was the moment Conor's fall began. :,(

114

u/Nknk- 1d ago

McGregor was broken before the fight.

There's a reason he turned up to the presser hammered and in ultra-aggro mode.

Anyone who's dealt with Dublin scummers like him can tell you that's how they operate when they're scared, especially if their mates can't help them (they nearly always attack in packs), you get the over the top aggression we saw from Conor. It's all a display to make you think they're some sort of wild man that it's just not worth your while to fight.

McGregor was trying, and failing, to get Khabib to feel like he'd bitten off more than he could chew and try and rattle him.

Ironically you could see it in his walkout how nervous McGregor was. Watch that one compared to like his Aldo one side by side.

58

u/Mad-Gavin 1d ago

I swear these elite Dagestani fighters have an aura about them that makes their opponents nervous and they try to overcompensate with their behavior in the lead-up to the fight as a coping mechanism.

First it was with Khabib vs Conor, we know the story there. But then it was Islam vs Charles, if you remember while they didn't exactly have beef with each other, Charles was uncharacteristically emotional in the lead-up to their fight, saying he would kill Islam (which he never did for any other opponent). Charles even admitted he didn't want to fight Islam in the first place. The result spoke for itself.

Now its Merab who tried to duck Umar and now that he can't, is also getting clearly (and uncharacteristically) emotional and overcompensating with his behavior.

27

u/Ill_Source_6908 1d ago

Yeah there was that weird Charles vid where he was going off in his car about Islam. Charles didn’t even react like that when Chandler and Justin kept calling him a quitter

8

u/Mad-Gavin 1d ago

I remember Charles shoving Justin's unconscious body off of him after he choked him out. But that was an action in the head of the moment and given the context pre-fight with the controversial weight-miss, stripped title and Justin calling him a quitter, I don't think anyone holds that against him.

Islam situation though? Yeah that was out of character for him.

20

u/calm_down_dearest 1d ago

It's the stoicism, you see the same behaviour with Alex Pereira's opponents. Something about that stony, lack of emotion seems to provoke an emotional response in an opponent.

4

u/Mad-Gavin 1d ago

I remember how hard the pre-fight stare-down went in the Islam vs Charles fight.

11

u/numbersev 1d ago

They're like the Afghanis. Mountainous warrior-types of people who fight throughout their entire lives.

6

u/iHack3x2 1d ago

Damn I wanted to say you're wrong, but then you listed the examples. I still think it's coincidence more than anything or being champ and somehow becoming an underdog. Like this guy is going to take it all and hardly anyone believes I have a chance. 

1

u/Nick_III 1d ago

I distinctly remember Conor looking around the arena during Herb's final warning after intros. I texted my buddy and told him Conor looked very uncertain in that moment because I had only ever seen him do that 1 other time and it was before the first Diaz fight.

88

u/_hydre_ 1d ago

Conor was losing it as he started to make money, you can easily see the change leading into the eddie fight vs the build up to the floyd fight

43

u/eexxiitt 1d ago

This is the right answer. Money changed him (like it does for most). He was done fighting for anything other than money in the mayweather build up.

7

u/flatwoundsounds 1d ago

Imagine the sticker shock of going from an MMA paycheck to a "FLOYD MAYWEATHER SUPER FIGHT" boxing purse. I'd be absolutely done fighting for anything less than that much forever.

14

u/CBIGMc 1d ago

I agree khabib broke Conor but there were cracks a long time before that. The fall began when he lost to Diaz, even when he got a win back he just wasn’t the same guy. Yes he became double champ after that but he’d lost a bit of himself and was just trying to front it out. eventually the mask slips though.

4

u/whutchamacallit 1d ago

100% Diaz cracked his aura and he was never the same.

2

u/ConCon787 1d ago

Not really anybody who knew ufc knew conor had almost no chance in this fight.

12

u/iroquoispliskinV 1d ago edited 1d ago

He wasn’t exposed, that’s not what it means. Conor was a great fighter in many many ways, but people knew his chances were on the feet. Khabib was just a dominant wrestling force, and even though Conor worked on that it wasn’t close to enough like for pretty much everyone else who faced Khabib.

17

u/Deleena24 1d ago

Khabib literally stood and traded with him on the feet for a while...

Prime Conor's striking was superb but he didn't have even that against Khabib

22

u/Spugheddy 1d ago

Didn't khabib hit him hard with an overhand left that started the takedown?

-8

u/iroquoispliskinV 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yes. What does that have to do with Conor being exposed?

Edit: can someone who is downvoting actually explain? A striker being hit does mean he got exposed.

-10

u/Sensitive_Lock2953 1d ago

lol nooo stop. When Khabib stood and traded he got countered. Everyone remembers Conor getting wrestlefucked because they watch the fight once and go off their memory. They forget when Conor countered Khabib back into his game plan which was wrestling. After Khabib landed the overhand he tried standing and trading and then got countered later on then he shot for a takedown. I’ve watched this fight many times. Khabib was not willingly standing with Conor.

7

u/hit_that_hole_hard 1d ago edited 1d ago

Who made the most memorable face punch of the fight?

Who’s face had one or more bruises?

How much time to the second was each round fought on the feet (as opposed to on the ground)?

What round and time of the round to the second did Conor throw these punches you claim “exposed” Khabib?

Bonus question: Do you believe your opinion is more valid than average because you “have watched” the fight “many times”?

5

u/Sensitive_Lock2953 1d ago

Reread what I said I in no point of my comment said “Conor exposed Khabib”. I just said Khabib wasn’t willingly staying on the feet with Conor. Ik you hate Conor but don’t let that hate make you say dumb shit. Khabib knew he had to take Conor down that’s not even a slight at Khabib I’m sure even Khabib would know that. Rewatch the fight yourself, it’s not my job to play by play for you, I rewatch fights for the love of mma not to win arguments on Reddit. Have a good one m8. Enjoy the rewatch

1

u/Icy-Wing-3092 14h ago

Did you make deepfakes of your favourite wrestlers?

0

u/hit_that_hole_hard 1d ago

Please, brother. I enjoy a legal approach to things. That’s why i ask about specific punches.

Also: I don’t inherently “hate” Conor; in fact, i paid good money to watch his fight with Mayweather at a public venue. I liked the lead-up to that fight. I turned against CM the second i could see his shit-talking against KN was vapid, transparent, immature, and petulant.

Now: It is undeniable that Khabib stayed and fought on the feet for much longer than expected. From the perspective of KN fans, it was too long and they were counting down the seconds imploring him to shoot. For CM fans the time spent on the feet wasn’t enough and would never be enough (i.e., use of term “wrestlefuck).

I say KN gave Conor his chance. KN stood and went toe to toe with CM for how many seconds total? 60? 80? 120? If CM needed more than that, this is what it is to be “exposed.”

1

u/Sensitive_Lock2953 1d ago

Again you’re getting hung up on the word exposed. If anything I’d say Khabib exposed Conor not the other way around. I don’t think at all in the fight Khabib was willingly standing, you forget Conor won a round against him in which he stuffed his takedowns and landed more sig strikes in that round. So while your theory is possible I still don’t believe KN was standing willingly I think he was just waiting for his shot to take CM down. Besides the round Conor won he wasn’t stuffing any of his takedowns.

10

u/TremblinAspen 1d ago

He was exposed.

4

u/zendorClegane 1d ago

"Exposing" something means that something was unknown before a certain event.

Everyone knew Connor wasn't a good wrestler. So I don't understand in what way he was exposed lol.

If anything he did better than expected vs Khabib because he actually won a round in contrast to Khabib's other opponents.

Tell me you weren't there without telling me you weren't there.

-6

u/TremblinAspen 1d ago

I know you don’t understand, you’re still holding on to a round he won on paper. Nate Diaz exposed Conor’s pitiful ground game. Khabib exposed Conor’s lack of will to continue in MMA. Khabib dug the grave and Dustin laid him to rest finally.

-5

u/Legitimate-Boot-7416 1d ago

I never seen a man at 23 years old tap as fast as Conor did vs Joe Duffy. That showed the level of heart/spirit hes got, he gave up literally within 2 seconds once it hit the floor.

11

u/banjofitzgerald 1d ago

I mean, once you know a RNC is under the chin and locked in, what’s the point?

I give him a little more credit for fighting a full fight against max with a torn acl. That takes some heart and grit imo.

0

u/Beer-Milkshakes 1d ago

The man can fight if he controls the pace. He fumbles pretty easily if you take that control away from him though.