Efter att Khabib Nurmagomedov plockade isär Edson Barboza bit för bit i helgens UFC 219, spekuleras det vilt i att Nurmagomedov är det självklara motståndet för Conor McGregor, om denne återvänder till buren under året.
Den före detta UFC-fightern, som nu tävlar för Bellator MMA, Chael Sonnen tror att Khabib är fullt kapabel till att besegra Conor McGregor om han lyckas få ner Conor på golvet, men säger samtidigt att McGregor utgör ett reellt hot i stående kamp:
When I’m watching Khabib, I’m thinking about Conor. What would Conor do with him? Conor’s going to have big problems. If Khabib gets on top of him, he’s going to beat the hell out of him like he does everybody else. Make no mistake. However, Khabib shows his chin, and Khabib keeps his hands down. He’s done this with all of his previous opponents, and he deals with it. He’s been hit a few times, and he’s paid for it, but he deals with those shots and walks right through ’em. He did it with Barboza [at UFC 219]. He didn’t take those big shots, but he was open for them. And when you’ve got a precision striker like Conor McGregor that can control that distance and step in at any time with a big left hand, I think it’s room for alarm. Is that enough? Is that enough to hang your hat on if you’re a fan of the Irishman? I’m not certain about that. I’m not certain that Khabib wouldn’t come through that. I’m not certain that Khabib couldn’t take a few of those shots. But I thought that Eddie could too, and I thought that Aldo could to, and I thought Mendes could too, so you make your own decision there. Very interesting fight, and should that happen, I think it’s more clear than ever, based on what we saw tonight, it’s important for Conor to keep it standing, it’s important for Khabib to get it down. I do think Conor could whip his ass on his feet. But I know Khabib could whip Conor’s ass if he got him down.
Många väntar fortfarande på besked från Conor McGregor och hans team. Om näste motståndare blir Khabib eller Tony Ferguson får tiden utvisa.
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