UFC: Luke Rockhold Explains Why No One Has Been Able To Beat Khabib

In 28 professional MMA fights, no one has managed to find a way of beating UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. And it’s not surprising, according to his close friend and former training partner, Luke Rockhold.

Speaking to Submission Radio (as transcribed by BJPenn.com), Rockhold opened up on his own experience training with Khabib.

“The problem is, these guys at lightweight, they just don’t know what it’s like when Khabib gets a hold of them,” Rockhold explained. “And I’ve been with most top talents I’ve seen at lightweight and welterweight and I’ve grappled with them, and Khabib is more than anything that any lightweight has ever felt, and most of all welterweights. So, I don’t care who you are, how slippery you are, even if you’re Tony Ferguson and you’re slippery, you’re not gonna feel the same thing when Khabib gets a hold of you. It’s gonna slow you down.”

Rockhold believes that the only way to gain a victory over Khabib is to finish him early in the fight with something crazy.

“You’d have to get him with something wild, something early. Because the longer that thing went, the more times Khabib got a hold of him, it just, it wouldn’t go well for him.”

Khabib was scheduled to defend his title against Tony Ferguson last month at UFC 249. However, after finding himself stranded in Russia due to the travel restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus, the 31 year old was forced to withdraw.

Justin Gaethje was brought in as a replacement, to fight Ferguson for the UFC interim lightweight title. UFC 249 was eventually postponed and has been rescheduled for May 9th. Instead of waiting for Khabib, who is currently observing Ramadan, the UFC rebooked ‘El Cuccy’ vs ‘The Highlight’.

The winner will subsequently fight Khabib for the undisputed lightweight title later in the year.

Do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov will retire from the sport unbeaten?


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