Who would win in a struggle between light-weight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov and reigning UFC 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev?
That was the subject of dialog between former two-division titleholder Georges St-Pierre and head coach Firas Zahabi.
“Well, it’s hard to say,” St-Pierre stated when requested who would come out on prime between the 2 Dagestani icons. “Khabib might need a extra strong sport by way of positioning, ground-and-pound, and takedowns. I say that, however I don’t know both of those guys personally. I’ve by no means skilled with them. I’m simply basing this on my evaluation of their types once I watch them struggle.
“On the other side, I think Makhachev has a better submission game. I think he’s more aggressive and more opportunistic when it comes to submissions.”
Statistically, Makhachev and Nurmagomedov are pretty even relating to submission finishes. In 29 profession fights, ‘The Eagle’ pressured 11 of his opponents to faucet out, together with Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje.
On the flip aspect, Makhachev has 12 submission victories to his credit score throughout 26 complete wins.
khabib could have had the ability, however is makhachev the higher striker?
So in the case of making their opponents faucet, snap, or nap, it’s neck-and-neck. However what about putting?
“Yeah, but in the striking department, Khabib might have more power,” GSP continued. “He appears to land photographs with extra energy, however Makhachev is longer and perhaps extra fluid. Possibly extra fluid—maybe, sure.
Whereas the consensus appears to contemplate Makhachev the higher striker, he solely has 5 knockouts on his resume whereas Nurmagomedov KO’d eight of his opponents, although solely two of these finishes got here contained in the Octagon.
In the long run, ‘Rush’ thinks it’s just too near name between two of the best fighters to ever step onto MMA’s largest stage.
“But the thing is, we cannot compare those two fights, I believe, because we never fight the same fighters twice,” St-Pierre stated. “We might fight the same name twice, but it’s not the same fighter they used to be. They’ve improved a lot since their last fights, I believe. There are so many X-factors, so we can’t really compare.”
