Analysis highlights Khabib Nurmagomedov's underrated boxing and middle-distance skills

A detailed analysis examined Khabib Nurmagomedov's often-overlooked boxing ability and middle-distance striking. The post reviewed Khabib's last five fights, noting he won or matched opponents on the middle distance in four of them, including against elite strikers like Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje. Justin Gaethje specifically praised Khabib's jab, stating it was highly effective due to Khabib's level-change threats. The analysis calculated significant strikes and found Khabib dominated Edson Barboza (25-11) and Al Iaquinta (77-23) on the middle distance, performed evenly with McGregor (16-19) and Poirier (6-6), and outboxed Gaethje (14-12.25) despite taking a hard shot. The author argues that Khabib's boxing was crucial for maintaining pressure safely and setting up his wrestling, and speculates he would have dominated the welterweight division against fighters like Woodley, Covington, Edwards, Masvidal, and Thompson.