Everyone Knows Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Game Plan- Edson Barboza

’Edson Barboza is one of the most talented fighters not only at lightweight but in the UFC. He is a technically gifted striker who has been a part of some exciting fights at 155 pounds. Though the results have not always gone is way Barboza has always bounced back strong. 

The same was the case at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs Sandhagen. The Brazilian fighter was on a three-fight skid for the first time in his career. This included losses against Gaethje, Felder, and Dan Ige. The Brazilian fighter snapped his unfortunate run and secured a win by beating Makwan Amirkhani. 

Edson Barboza reveals why Khabib Nurmagomedov is the best of all time

In the post-fight press conference, Edson was asked what makes Khabib such a special fighter and one of the greatest lightweights of all time.

He replied, “I think he is mentally very strong. You know because everybody know his game. Everybody know his game plan. And he go there and do it. You know, I think thats make him different to other guys. Everyone know what he thinks about the fight. Everyone knows what he does in the fight…But nobody can stop him. I think he is definitely on of the best of all time in the lightweight.”

‘Junior’ was on a three-fight win streak when he was booked against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 219. ‘The Eagle’ dominated the fight right from the first bell. He used his grappling to get ‘Junior’ down; subsequently, he put a beating on him whilst he had him pinned to the ground. 

In the fight, Khabib landed a staggering 154 total strikes, most of which were on the ground. ‘The Eagle’ had a control time of over 10 minutes in the fight and thoroughly outclassed ‘Junior’ throughout. Hence, given that Edson has been in the ring, his assessment of the champ comes from experience. 

Do you agree with Edson? Is Khabib’s biggest asset his mental toughness?