Conor McGregor's looming fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, months after he vandalized the Russian’s bus on a night of madness, is certain to be a show-stopper.
When armed with the kind of power McGregor boasts, anything is possible. Nonetheless, the fight will most likely just be a waiting game for the time when Khabib can take him down. If he does, it’s hard to see McGregor escaping the superior wrestling skills that Khabib possesses.
Khabib via Submission with only short odds against
The general feeling is that Conor McGregor will probably not be able to keep Khabib at a distance for the whole fight, and that’s where the unbeaten (26-0) master of submissions, Khabib, holds the overwhelming advantage. His take-down offense is very strong, and his wrestling on the ground is considered by many to be without equal in the Octagon. It goes without saying that McGregor’s takedown defense will have to be stronger than ever before in order to avoid getting into a ground battle.
If he does get dragged to the ground, is it all over? Most, with the exception of McGregor’s most ardent acolytes, would certainly say so. Khabib is one of the best in the MMA industry, let alone the better man in the fight. For all his qualities, avoiding a takedown from a fighter of Khabib’s quality is (quite notoriously) not McGregor’s strong point. McGregor winning by submission would rightfully be very long odds with the bookmakers.
Key to victory
Given how McGregor has been absent from the Octagon for a long time, most neutrals expect a victory for Khabib over “The Notorious” one. Nonetheless, those seeking McGregor vs Khabib best free bets on the fight are spoiled for choice, given how difficult to call this fight it. That difficulty is further reflected with two different bookmakers pricing a different fighter as an 8/13 favorite.
With natural striker McGregor getting a taste of pure boxing in his last fight, the Dubliner might wish that he could box in this one too, but his opponent is too smart to allow such an eventuality.
Khabib determined to “change” McGregor’s face.
The key to victory for McGregor will be to land those heavy strikes on Khabib early, and aim to knock him down with that famous left hook. You certainly wouldn’t put that past the Irishman, and a win isn’t out of the question, hence his status as only a marginal outsider. If he can avoid the takedown, or escape if he can’t, then he could prove a lot of people wrong by winning the contest.
Those, however, are very big ifs. Armed with a strong chin, Khabib has shown his ability in the past to take a shot, and it’ll take more than a couple of punches to take him down. He’ll be relentless and keep coming forward until he can eventually take McGregor down, and grapple with him on the floor. Thus, for anyone planning to back Khabib to make McGregor tap out, the smart money is on him doing so in a later round.
