(Hypothetical) Tony vs Khabib

LALifer49 · Post #1 » by **LALifer49** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:36 am

I marked hypothetical since it hasn't been made official yet, but it sure as Hell better be, and soon! This is the fight that needs to happen! Khabib undefeated, Tony on an 11 fight 8 finish win streak, imo the best lightweight fight ever. Intriguing match up too, Tony will get taken down but actually has a ground game to threaten Khabib and do damage from the bottom, and has even better cardio than Khabib, Khabib showed better striking than ever in his last fight and has some vicious ground and pound, who do you guys like in this matchup?

(Full disclosure Tony is my favorite fighter in the UFC, hope he can pull it off)

Post #2 » by **Headliner** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 1:07 pm

Tony’s leg is gonna be called into question
That injury is incredibly serious and he came back 3 months sooner than the recommended time and winced when Pettit kicked it.
I’d think khabib would have a huge take down advantage if Tony’s knee gives away, and I give him the advantage in the fight overall, but Tony is a warrior and his cardio advantage is huge
I’d love to see what happens in the later rounds when khabib tries to preserve his tank and take a round off

LALifer49 · Post #3 » by **LALifer49** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:33 pm

Headliner wrote:Tony’s leg is gonna be called into question
That injury is incredibly serious and he came back 3 months sooner than the recommended time and winced when Pettit kicked it.
I’d think khabib would have a huge take down advantage if Tony’s knee gives away, and I give him the advantage in the fight overall, but Tony is a warrior and his cardio advantage is huge
I’d love to see what happens in the later rounds when khabib tries to preserve his tank and take a round off

The knee injury is a consideration, but making it through this last fight was the worst of it, by the time they fought Tony would have had a decent amount of recovery time, and the guy is a freak in that not only did he heal several months early, he fought in a UFC fight, so the recovery is certainly ahead of schedule. But yeah it could be a concern. That said, you dont take rounds off against Ferguson, no such thing.

To me I think Khabib is gonna have to do some significant ground and pound damage in the 1st 2 rounds to get the win (assuming he didn't finish the fight in that time frame).

Post #4 » by **Duke4life831** » Sat Oct 20, 2018 6:59 pm

I don't think this one is as close as everyone thinks it will be. I think Tony excels in brawls. He has a lot of gaps in his game that he makes up with heart and crazy toughness. I think Khabib takes him down and just mawls him.

My ideal fights are actually
Tony vs Holloway
Khabib Ortega

I honestly wouldn't know how to predict a Tony vs Holloway fight. And I would love to see the best top game go against the best bottom game with Khabib and Ortega.

LALifer49 · Post #5 » by **LALifer49** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 3:25 pm

Duke4life831 wrote:I don't think this one is as close as everyone thinks it will be. I think Tony excels in brawls. He has a lot of gaps in his game that he makes up with heart and crazy toughness. I think Khabib takes him down and just mawls him.

My ideal fights are actually
Tony vs Holloway
Khabib Ortega

I honestly wouldn't know how to predict a Tony vs Holloway fight. And I would love to see the best top game go against the best bottom game with Khabib and Ortega.

I agree that I would LOVE to see both those matchups, each very fascinating. However, Tony deserves this fight, so if the UFC has any integrity (don't hold your breath) this is going to be the next lightweight title fight. I mean someone on an 11 fight win streak not getting the shot would be sad. I think Khabib is favored but Tony has a definite path to victory. He doesn't just excel in brawls, he imposes them on people, and he is more tactical than given credit for in these situations. I don't trust Khabib's cardio especially not against Tony, if he didn't do some debilitating damage to Tony in 1st 2 rounds I think things would get very interesting.

Mehar · Post #6 » by **Mehar** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 7:23 pm

I think Khabib takes him down, mauls him, and beats him up to get a UD. I see nobody beating Khabib at LW right now. Hoping the fifth time is the charm.

qm22 · Post #7 » by **qm22** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 7:28 pm

I think Khabib gets round 1, and Ferguson gets the majority of rounds 2-5. Pretty confident Ferguson has the better Cardio than Khabib (or Al Iaquinta, for comparison's sake). Khabib is going to be tired for sure and probably bloodied for the first time.

Whoever wins is probably the GOAT 155er. Most worried about the NSAC interfering and the UFC not accommodating this fight when the time comes.

qm22 · Post #8 » by **qm22** » Sun Oct 21, 2018 7:34 pm

Duke4life831 wrote:I don't think this one is as close as everyone thinks it will be. I think Tony excels in brawls. He has a lot of gaps in his game that he makes up with heart and crazy toughness. I think Khabib takes him down and just mawls him.

My ideal fights are actually
Tony vs Holloway
Khabib Ortega

I honestly wouldn't know how to predict a Tony vs Holloway fight. And I would love to see the best top game go against the best bottom game with Khabib and Ortega.

I don't think Tony excels in brawls because he only excels in brawls or that's his advantage, he makes the fights go that way because he enjoys it and wants to get fight of the night.

He has crazy toughness, so he is probably in a better position, than, compared to Al. The damage Khabib does isn't more than Ferguson typically receives and he isn't going to have the disadvantage of gassing out like Khabib's other opponents. Throughout the fight I don't think there is ever going to be one-sidedness.