Kelvin Gastelum is on Team Khabib for UFC 229
The Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov bout is what we like to call a 'pick 'em' fight. The betting odds reflect the idea that it could go either way.
There is, however, an important distinction to make. Just because this fight is close on paper doesn't mean it is likely to be close inside the Octagon. In fact, a lot of well-respected members of the MMA cognoscenti are predicting the exact opposite.
John Danaher and Firas Zahabi have both publicly stated they believe that the bout will be a shut-out, one way or the other.
Although he didn't explicitly say it, one gets the feeling UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum doesn't foresee the fight being all that competitive either. Unlike Danaher and Zahabi, who have remained on the fence up until the time of writing, Gastelum is picking the Dagestani to beat the Irishman. He offered his prediction to
TMZ.
"Every time someone talks to me about Khabib they tell me how strong he is and how he feels like a heavyweight once he gets ahold of you. And then once he's on top of you, how he feels like a heavyweight."
"So I feel like, once he grabs ahold of Conor, he's never felt that kind of pressure. I think Khabib will get it done. I'm Team Khabib, baby. Khabib time!"
It may not be a popular theory in this part of the world, but it's as valid as any. Nurmagomedov could well be the best grappler MMA has ever seen. If McGregor can't find a way to negate this aspect of the fight, it could be a very long an torturous night for him in October.
