One sided mismatch if you ask me. Yes, barboza is offensively talented but he lacks the defense, stamina, mental toughness and his most glaring weakness is his glass jaw. Barboza could possibly land on anybody but the guy has to many flaws for me to bet on him. If i had to bet i say khabib gets him down and makes him his *****. If im barboza i get on my bike and stop n pop and back on my bike. If im khabib you mix it up and work in for the takedown. Interesting style match eitherway. Great offensive striker with strong TDD vs strong wrestler/grappler with a lil above average striking. Khabib is wild with his punching tech but he has a good idea of range. I go with khabib and i think the line should be atleast -200 to -250
Khabib is going to get badly found out with his horrible striking some time soon imo. For such a highly regarded fighter he has pathetic striking imo. It really is terrible. Michael Johnson had him badly stunned/hurt in their first rd before getting dominated on the ground. I like the matchup and it will either be a repeat of the Johnson fight or Barboza wins by highlight real finish in the first.
Ehhh... It's hardly horrible by MMA standards. As for Johnson stunning him.... Who hasn't he stunned? One of the hardest hitting and most dangerous guys at LW. Making weight is a far bigger issue than holes in his striking game I'd say.
I saw a washed up Jamie Varner push an aggressive wrestling pace on Barboza and make him wilt. I see no reason why Khabib wouldn't do the same.
Castillo who wasn't that good took him to hell and back, Johnson beat him, so did Ferguson... Doesn't take a genius to realize that he struggles with these power wrestlers who can bang a bit. Melendez in his prime would have beaten the hell out of him.
This this in the process of getting done, it is not on sherdog's fight finder as of yet. Khabib's biggest issue is his weight with making 155. Rogaine even said the last time he made weight against Johnson his liver shut down during the process. Assuming Khabib is healthy he takes Barbosa down via the clinch and goes to work. Fight gets worse the longer it goes for Barbosa and Khabib opens at -450 or more. Anyone who finds his striking anything less than serviceable has no clue what they are watching.
Just made official for Dec, 30 in Las Vegas. Does Khabib make it to the cage before something gets in his way? Injury Organ failure Misses weight Ramadan Skin infection from wrestling a bear What will it be this time???
