When you have a legend, pioneer and world champion supporting you what could go wrong right?
It looks like Saul ‘Canelo’ must’ve rattled the former unified WBA and IBF light-welterweight champion’s brains because Amir Khan has been talking some real crazy stuff. Maybe that knockout merged his brains to his skull because it doesn’t seem like he’s using most of it.
First he pulls off a McGregor by jumping two weight classes to fight a natural Middleweight and champ of his division who has lost only ‘once’ to the likes of the greatest defensive boxer to have set foot in the ring, Floyd Mayweather. And now, ‘King’ Khan wants to pull a Mayweather by challenging the Notorious One, Conor McGregor in a fight – but wait – he has to do something even crazier, he wants to challenge the Irishman in an MMA fight. Either Khan is too desperate to go down in history as a great, bold and brave fighter, wants to stay relevant, needs the cash, or lastly, just down right foolish! Either way – all the above mentioned serves as enough fodder and motivation for dumb decision making.
But when you have the one of the pioneers of MMA, living legend and fighting icon, Royce Gracie blowing that hot wind in your rear end, you’re BOUND to do something stupid, or brave.
“I’m glad that Amir Khan is making a transition and if he learns some grappling, he’s got very good hands and power, he can do it. Anybody can do MMA, you just got to train for it.”
I don’t believe in good students or bad students. I believe in good teachers and bad teachers. So if there is a good teacher out there that can teach him, he’s a professional athlete, he could pick it up very fast. So if he puts his mind into it, he can do it. It’s hard to give a time, but it’s doable.”
The BJJ maestro undoubtedly makes sense. One cannot deny that the young Brit is a phenomenal boxer, but MMA is more than just boxing – it’s a different beast altogether. Also part owner of India’s premiere MMA organization ‘SFL’, he might have the discipline, the fight IQ, and the physical prowess but he does NOT have the chin for SURE and MMA is a sport that’ll test your chin in various areas, repeatedly – the ground, the clinch, the cage; you must worry about knees, elbows, suffocation, and submissions. It’s just not as simple as boxing.
Boxing may be the sweet science, a beautiful science, but MMA is an art – an ever expanding one that has no true form. It requires technique, repetition, time and patience. Amir Khan does have one thing going for him though speed, accuracy and knock out power – how it translates to MMA would be interesting to see; hoping if Khan can manage to stuff a double leg takedown straight into side-control that is.
Either way we wish him luck – the man is a competitor with ambition, guts and a whole lotta’ crazy going on in that head. With the right kind of trainers and instructions anything is possible. One thing is for sure though, he is in NO position to challenge McGregor – 3rd tier fighters for a start? Maybe a fight against CM Punk? Sure.
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