Saturday night was supposed to be an epic night. A matchup that was years overdue, was finally happening between two of the UFC’s greatest fighters.
Now to be fair I do believe that it was an epic night, but for the wrong reasons.
We all know what happened after the main event, so I won’t bore you with the play-by-play. Khabib did exactly what I thought he would do. He completely dominated McGregor from start to finish. The only moment of this fight that surprised me was when Khabib dropped McGregor with a right hook. I didn’t see that coming, and neither did McGregor apparently.
Khabib left zero doubt that he is the champion of the lightweight division and that McGregor was no different than all the other opponents he had faced in the past. However, the events after the fight are what may have hurt Khabib’s legacy. Hoping the cage and attacking a member of McGregor’s team was not the move I would have suggested for Khabib after silencing all the naysayers.
That being said, I can’t completely fault Khabib for his actions. Despite the fact that it isn’t the route that I would have taken, it was kinda nice to see someone “not squash the beef.” Too many fighters have talked trash about their opponent, to the point where they cross the line. Then the fight ends and then suddenly the two fighters are hugging and spooning each other. It’s not that I want them to hate each other, but it has gotten to the point where the trash talking has become completely fake and forced.
Poking fun at someone’s religion, family or country just to sell tickets and pay-per-views is unacceptable in my opinion, and it’s completely unnecessary. So I can’t say that I completely support what Khabib did; but only because it took away from his special moment in the octagon. I could care a less if McGregor got sucker punched a few times. Call me a hater all you want, but someone who talks as much shit as he does should get smacked a few times.
I don’t believe that someone should be allowed to trash someone’s country, belittle their beliefs and make fun of someone’s family, and then after the fight, everything goes back to normal and you hug it out. Have we forgotten what happened in New York? McGregor could have seriously hurt someone. Yes, he’s had to deal with lawsuits since then, but has the UFC organization fined him yet for that stunt?
Two wrongs don’t make a right, so again I have to say that I wish Khabib had not done what he did. However, if it was going to happen to a fighter I’m glad it was him. And at the end of the day Khabib may end up seeing some fines, but thinking long-term, they are just going to use this to promote the next fight between the two.
