It's finally Khabib's time and he might be blowing it
I've been a fan of Khabib for a few years now and it seemed evident he was destined for title aspirations. A few injuries and a couple years later he's finally arrived at a legitimate, title shot opportunity as per general consensus. Just so happens the biggest spotlight and controversial star in MMA history is directly in front of him and I think he's already starting to feel the glare.
While in general I liked his post-fight rant about 'Irish chicken' in the sense that at least it was something. But at the same time, it felt angry, there was an underlying tension that was more than just vying for a title shot. Apart of me kind of wonders, is Khabib really ready for the whole circus that comes with fighting McGregor? He and Ali Abdel Aziz claim he can be a bigger star than McGregor because Russia has so many more millions of people, well... excuse me but where the fuck are they? He's fought in the UFC 8 times over the last 4 years, where's the numbers? And not one main in event in that time, something interesting to note.
He's threatening to retire but he's not a draw to begin with... funny that McGregor "retired" earlier this year to take a stand, now all of a sudden it looks like there's copy-cats. Maybe Khabib doesn't realize who's playbook he took that out of? Only when McGregor did it, it was mainstream news, when Khabib did it, even hardcore mma fans just kind of shrugged! Listen I love Khabib, I just wonder if he's really ready for this, if he can play the game at this level
Ability and skill-wise I think he has the tools to really test McGregor on the ground, but he also is very rudimentary on the feet and he tends to rush straight forward. I think it would be a great match up, and the next logical match up at 155, putting things back in order would be nice, but already it seems like mentally Khabib and the people in his ear (Ali Abel-Aziz, Javier Mendez) are falling into the same mental traps as McGregor's previous opponents sans Nate Diaz (they're sounding real Mark Henry-ish right now)
More than anything Khabib's just doing a poor job of getting fans behind him (maybe it's working for Russians?), it's like he's choosing to make it like no one wants to see him fight McGregor, to me he's just coming off as bitter and focused on McGregor's spotlight, rather than ready and in control like this is his moment, this is his time (remember Nate Diaz said something along those lines in his post-fight rant?)
Until someone comes along with that mentality (Max Holloway 2017?) I just don't see anyone getting through the gauntlet of media obligations and circus antics to keep their chi/aura centered on themselves and their destiny rather than trying to steal or tarnish the light that McGregor has earned for himself. It takes a toll and we've seen at least 2 great fighters not look like themselves at all by the time fight night came. Is Khabib next? Or is he just stumbling out of the gate? Or am I misreading the situation, thoughts?