Five Days Out From His Fight With Conor McGregor, It Does NOT Look Like Khabib Nurmagomedov Has Been Taking It Easy In The Gym

Robbie Fox10/01/2018 2:30 PM

“I shit on bus.” -Khabib Nurmagomedov

Well gee willikers, Batman! It certainly looks to me like Khabib has really been puttin’ that work in at the gym, now, doesn’t it?

I wonder if the rumors are true, that Khabib’s sparring partners have been having trouble landing on him, being all we’ve heard out of AKA and Nurmagomedov’s camp is that he’s an unstoppable monster, and the closest thing anybody in mixed martial arts has ever seen to “invincible”?!

I suppose I should come clean right off the bat: my headline is a bit misleading, in that this photograph/interview with Khabib Nurmagomedov – challenger for Conor McGregor’s UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 229 – is not from today. It’s from Friday. So technically, this is like eight days out from the fight. And uhhh, yeah! Looks like he’s really getting his rounds in at the gym in preparation to face Conor McGregor, so that’s good! Definitely want to see these two mixed martial artists at their best come Saturday night, 100% healthy and peaked physically. So I’m ecstatic to see Khabib working hard!

ALRIGHT I’VE GOTTA JUST COME RIGHT OUT AND SAY IT!

Folks, you know me. You know I’m an unbiased journalist practically incapable of being corrupted by mixed martial artists into cheering for them, or ever negatively commenting on a fighter who doesn’t deserve said comments directed towards him, but I’ve got to skirt the line right now as an honest and genuine human being.

Khabib Nurmagomedov looks like shit!

I don’t think those rumors about him being this “flash of lightning” with his takedown shots – being “too fast to land on” – were true at all! I think, based on these images, Khabib Nurmagomedov has been getting lit the fuck up in the gym! And you know what? I think his sloppy footwork, especially when pressuring, likely played a factor in that as well! You just hate to see that.

Now, on a real level – no, Khabib’s banged up face doesn’t tell us much. As Luke Thomas pointed out, these marks/bruises can all pretty much take place over a light session, or even just a grappling session…

…OR they could mean he’s getting lit up.

I tend to agree with Nate Diaz in these situations, and not look too much into it, because yeah, fighters are gonna look like they got into a fight after they fight. Big deal. Even Conor has black eyes and cuts and bruises from sparring from time to time. But I don’t wanna hear any of this “invincible” bullshit ever again after Saturday night. Ever fighter has their flaws!

Every fighter but Conor Anthony Mother Fucking McGregor.

Khabib can, and will, be hit. He will be hit very hard, and he will not be prepared for the power that McGregor packs at all. Nobody ever is. Believe me. Being struck by the fist of McGregor is like being shot in the face with a twelve-gauge shotgun from point-blank range. There are scientific studies to prove this, as well. Exact same force. This isn’t the first time I’ve said it here, but when he rested his left hand on my shoulder in thanking me for going to war for him, it felt like an anvil was placed on my entire left side. I believe his left hand is actually the sole reason his weight cut is so strenuous, because it must be 25-30lbs (rough estimate).