Why Urijah Faber is picking Conor McGregor to beat Khabib Nurmagomedov
Uirjah Faber: “I’m going to lean towards Conor McGregor just because I’m assuming like blackjack he’s got a face card under the deck.”
Chad Mendes is perhaps the only elite wrestler Conor McGregor has yet to face in his career thus far, ahead of his fight Saturday against grappling juggernaut Khabib Nurmagomedov. Mendes fought McGregor on just two weeks’ notice yet still gave McGregor fits with his takedowns, ground control, and mat striking before eventually fading and succumbing to the Irishman’s stand-up striking.
Team Alpha Male founder Urijah Faber believes that his stablemate Mendes is a better overall grappler than Nurmagomedov, but is still picking McGregor to topple the undefeated wrestler out of Dagestan this weekend.
I would say Chad’s the more dangerous grappler because of his athleticism, pure athleticism, and [explosiveness], the retired former world champ tells Submission Radio.
If you ever touch Chad… [it ’s] like touching a stone wall. I’ve only taken Chad down in practice over the years I think once or twice. he’s another level of wrestling and Khabib is probably in the same boat so if it’s the same Conor that went against Chad Mendes, because Chad, if it weren’t for fatigue and a two week and him being hunting and drinking beers on the river it would have been a different story….
With that said, Faber imagines that McGregor has been able to make improvements sufficient enough to now handle the likes of Nurmagomedov’s wrestling.
I think if Conor hasn’t made those improvements and really dedicated time and energy to fill those gaps then I think he’s going to be in trouble, explained Faber. But I would assume Conor’s been doing that. He’s got great coaches, he’s got the ability to hire folks and has the time leisure to put in the work, so if he’s made improvements and Chad’s fight was [years ago], you can make some massive improvements in [that span]. I know if you look at my career every three and a half years I was a completely different fighter and my stand up had evolved and this had evolved and this had evolved and my Jiu-Jitsu had evolved so I’m going to lean towards Conor just because I’m assuming like blackjack he’s got a face card under the deck.
About the author:
Elias Cepeda is a host of Sports Illustrated’s Extra Rounds Podcast, a staff writer at FloCombat, and has a regular column for The UG Blog.
