5 Reasons Why Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor is one for the ages

Come October 6th, reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will defend his title for the very first time against none other than longtime rival and the man who previously held the very title Khabib now holds--"The Notorious" Conor McGregor.

While the term "money fight" gets thrown around quite often in the world of combat sports, Khabib vs. McGregor is perhaps one of the rare cases where the showdown truly is guaranteed to be a box-office success. The two combatants, who are yet to exchange leather with one another in a professional Mixed Martial Arts bout, have been feuding outside the Octagon for a long time now.

In fact, it wouldn't be hyperbole to state that this epic clash of contrasting styles represents not only a fan's dream matchup come to fruition, but also witnesses two real-life rivals settle their differences within the confines of one of the loneliest places in the world--the Mixed Martial Arts cage.

Today, we are going to be looking at the 5 primary reasons why Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor is going to be one for the ages...

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#5 Clash of styles

Khabib's style is one where he prefers taking every opponent to the ground and finishing them with ground-and-pound or a submission

One of the oldest, yet truest theories in the fight game, states that "styles make fights". In simple terms, when two given combatants do battle with one another, the sum of their individual combat-styles is what determines the outcome of the contest.

Conor McGregor is an excellent boxer with a good kicking game, coupled with decent grappling skills. On the other hand, Khabib Nurmagomedov is regarded by many as one of the greatest grapplers to have ever stepped foot inside the Octagon--possessing great wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) prowess...Well, given how both fighters in question possess drastically different overall MMA armory, the clash of styles in this contest will, beyond the shadow of a doubt, make for a highly-entertaining fight.

McGregor faced problems with the long and rangy Nate Diaz, whereas Khabib's toughest fight in the UFC surprisingly came against stocky BJJ specialist Gleison Tibau. Interestingly, McGregor has feasted on fighters such as Tibau; while Khabib has dominated almost every rangy striker with average takedown-defense akin to Diaz, in the UFC.

Although MMA math isn't always on point, the fact remains that McGregor and Khabib respectively seem to struggle against opponents whom the other would easily dispatch.

#4 Khabib's rudimentary striking

Khabib makes a few rookie mistakes in the striking sphere of MMA

Khabib Nurmagomedov isn't a bad striker, so to speak--however, the man does make some rather rookie mistakes against the killers he faces on a regular basis in the UFC. Firstly, "The Eagle" has time and again been accused of leaving his chin high up in the air during striking exchanges both inside and outside the pocket.

Now, although his rock solid chin may cover up this defensive lapse most of the time, Khabib has been rocked by a southpaw kickboxer in the past--case in point being his fight against Michael Johnson. Although Khabib would eventually go on to defeat Johnson by way of submission, the latter had him badly hurt in the early exchanges on the feet--tagging Khabib with several hard punches and putting him on the back-foot in the first round.

Furthermore, Khabib doesn't really possess much of a kicking game either, and is not particularly great at closing the distance with punches/elbows/kicks/knees without eating a few shots on the way in. Well, against someone like Conor McGregor who's made a career out of sniping people who rush into range, Khabib may have to be more wary about throwing telegraphed looping strikes while entering striking range--which in turn could lead to The Eagle either freezing up on the feet, or rushing in and getting slept by McGregor's missile of a left hand.

#3 Conor McGregor's takedown defense

Conor McGregor was submitted by Nate Diaz at UFC 196

Honestly speaking, Conor McGregor's TD (takedown defense) isn't bad! Not by a long shot! Nevertheless, while his TD has held up against most opponents, other than in his short-notice Interim UFC Featherweight title fight against Chad Mendes; McGregor is yet to face someone who's as much of a takedown threat as Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Bear in mind, folks--the general consensus among both fans and experts has been that should Khabib manage to take this bout to the mat, it's a given that McGregor is in a world of trouble. While that may not come to fruition on fight night, on paper at the very least, Khabib is light-years ahead of his Irish foe as regards the grappling realm of MMA.

McGregor's TD is a huge question mark heading into this bout, and should he fail to keep this fight on the feet, logic dictates that Khabib will absolutely maul him on the ground.

#2 Mind, body, spirit

Khabib has been praised by one and all for his incredible mental fortitude

Alright, this may seem a bit cheesy--however, the fight game and martial arts world has always propagated the belief that fighting isn't just about the physical aspect of one's life, but also the mental and spiritual spheres. Mind, body and spirit must work in conjunction so as to ensure that the martial artist enables himself to perform to the very best of his abilities.

Upon close examination of Conor McGregor's balance between the three aforementioned elements, it's fairly obvious that he's quite the gifted man in every department of the game. Granted that his past cardio issues may adversely affect his physical sphere to a certain extent, however, The Notorious One seems to have worked tremendously hard on the same and proven against Nate Diaz that he can indeed go 5 rounds if need be.

Besides, McGregor's mental fortitude is unquestionable, whereas his fighting spirit remains one of the greatest this sport has ever witnessed. On the other hand, Khabib Nurmagomedov is similarly gifted in both the mental and spiritual realms--perhaps possessing a slight advantage over McGregor in the physical sphere due to seemingly superior cardio.

#1 This isn't just business -- It's personal

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor shared a seemingly cordial relationship before the latter moved up from Featherweight to Khabib's weight-class of Lightweight

After being confronted and threatened by Khabib Nurmagomedov and the latter's goons on April 3rd, 2018, in a hotel lobby, Artem Lobov--one of Conor McGregor's closest friends--seemed visibly perturbed by the turn of events. Lobov had a fight booked at UFC 223, as did Khabib--however, only one of them would ultimately compete at the event.

A couple of days later, Conor McGregor, accompanied by an entourage of friends--about 20-30 people--flew from Ireland to the United States of America to confront Khabib and his goons. McGregor and his entourage caught up with Khabib in the parking lot of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, while the latter was leaving for his hotel in a UFC bus alongside several other UFC 223 fighters from the "red corner".

McGregor threw a dolly (a metal two-wheel cart used to carry heavy objects) right at the bus window--smashing the window, which in turn led to shards of glass allegedly piercing UFC fighters Michael Chiesa's forehead and Ray Borg's eyes. Additionally, UFC Women's Straw-weight Champion Rose Namajunas is said to be traumatized by the incident to this day. Besides, McGregor, Lobov and everyone involved in this altercation subsequently faced legal charges being levied against them.

Fortunately for MMA fans, McGregor's legal issues are now a thing of the past--however, his personal rivalry with Khabib has only grown after the aforementioned infamous "dolly-gate" incident.

There has been a ton of trash talk from both the McGregor and Khabib camps over the past couple of years, and it's indeed set in stone that when these two rivals finally go to war inside the Octagon at UFC 229 this October 6th, the personal grudges, professional rivalry, and bad blood as a whole shall hopefully reach a resolution of sorts.

This isn't just business...It's personal.