UFC 205: Khabib vs Johnson - As a menace continues his resurgence, an eagle salivates over his next victim.

Freak show? Bullshit? Call it what you want, but Khabib Nurmagomedeov is not getting the title shot in which he felt he had rightfully earned a long time ago. Instead, he will face a revitalized man, fresh off a win at Fight Night Hidalgo, Michael Johnson aims to accomplish what no fighter has been able to do, and that’s defeat “The Eagle.”

When Khabib announced on his Twitter account he had received “a very generous birthday gift” from the UFC, things looked to be set in stone for a title fight at UFC 205 vs. Eddie Alvarez. Not so fast. As we know now, Alvarez will fight McGregor, Khabib will fight Johnson. Not the best birthday present after all.

Johnson recently put an end to Dustin Poirier’s four fight and win streak, and made a great comeback from his loss to Nate Diaz.
Credit: abcnews.com

We hear it all the time, classic striker vs grappler match-up. Johnson often credits himself as the ‘fastest’ in the lightweight division, whereas no such statement is needed from Khabib to advertise his grappling skills, as we all know they are beyond high level. It would be comical to say if Johnson can keep the fight standing, he can trouble Khabib with his sharp 1-2, and swift in-and-out movement. Because so far, no-one has been able to fend off the grittiness of Khabib.

However, it is worth noting that although his record stands at an impressive 23-0, other than his win over Rafael Dos Anjos, Khabib doesn’t hold a win over any high-level fighters in the UFC. For me, the likes of Pat Healy and Gleison Tibau just don’t fall into that upper echelon.

So it will be interesting to see Khabib face some serious competition in Johnson, and dealing with the rapid hand speed adjoined with the fast footwork will by no means be a ‘cruise control’ night for Khabib, like so many of his fights have been.

Khabib outclassed former champ Dos Anjos back when the pair fought in April 2014. 

Credit: fightsday.com

I see this fight panning out to be fight of the night.

That’s a bold statement to make on such a monumental, talent-packed card, but I believe many people will be surprised on how this fight turns out. Much similar to the way McGregor was pushed to the limit for the first-time, in his recent five-round thriller with Diaz, I see Khabib being troubled by Johnson’s athleticism, and the take-down not coming as easy as he may think.

That doesn’t mean that it won’t come, because it will. Khabib’s sambo skills are unlike any we have ever seen, so the fight is undoubtedly going to hit the canvas, and when it does Khabib will be in his element. However, all fights start standing up, so Johnson will have his fair share of success too.