5 reasons why Conor McGregor will beat Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229

#3: Khabib has proven to be hittable before

Against Michael Johnson, Nurmagomedov proved to be hittable

Okay, so everyone knows that at 26-0 and with 10 UFC wins under his belt, Khabib has a gaudy undefeated record. But does that mean he’s completely unbeatable? Well, not really. Even in fights where he ended up winning handily, ‘The Eagle’ has shown some weaknesses. Namely, he has a penchant for wading forward while firing punches, and against quicker opponents, that’s gotten him hit before.

Even as far back as 2012, his straightforward, aggressive style almost cost him a fight with Gleison Tibau – who slipped Nurmagomedov’s punches for the most part and blocked a lot of takedowns – but the Brazilian simply couldn’t put together enough offense himself to justify a win. And against Michael Johnson in 2016, Khabib simply bulled forward and was tagged over and over in the first round before securing a takedown and eventually wearing Johnson out.

Khabib has always gotten away with his style due to two factors – opponents like Tibau and Rafael dos Anjos simply weren’t quick enough to counter him as he rushed forward, while Johnson, who did tag him, didn’t have the power to truly hurt the Dagestani.

McGregor on the other hand not only has the speed and timing to catch Nurmagomedov coming forward, but he’s also got the kind of fight-changing power that few other fighters possess, particularly at 155lbs. If Khabib comes into this fight with the same straightforward, aggressive style, then the likelihood is that he’ll walk into a huge counter from ‘The Notorious One’ – and pay the consequences.