Do you still think Israel Adesanya is too small for LHW?

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Sherdog in 2019 thought Israel was too small for Jones.

But all that changed after the Costa fight in 2020.
Now people think Jones vs Adesanya would be the greatest matchup of the millennium.

And then when that's over, Adesanya vs Ngannou in 2022?

Sherdog gonna be like........

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I think most people still think he's too small. For Jones. Against other LHWs, he's big enough.
 
Yes, does that make a difference? I don't really think so, his style is not dependent on size and after all i doubt jan is that much heavier than paulo costa. That said jan is also a lot better than paulo costa...
 
And about jon it depends really, can he go against jon wrestling ? If he can than i think he wins the fight but yeah if jones actually comes to fight mma ( use his wrestling ) than size can make a big difference
 
And about jon it depends really, can he go against jon wrestling ? If he can than i think he wins the fight but yeah if jones actually comes to fight mma ( use his wrestling ) than size can make a big difference
If the fight ever happened which would be great to see.
Jones will likely press him against the fence and do what he does. Tie up the hands work punches, knees, foot stomps, enter & exit with elbows. Rinse and repeat while threatening the takedown multiple times. If he gets the TD’s early it’s obviously a wrap quick but it’s more likely he wears Izzy down in the clinch against the fence. Izzy has a punchers chance obviously (and a damn good one considering his standup) but Jones is too crafty and fights too HighQ to fall in any striking traps at this point. Plus he has a legendary chin. Jones has a multitude of dimensions to his game but imo his clinch work is by far his best he makes everyone look a step behind in that aspect and always has, it’s one part that hasn’t changed with age.
 
If the fight ever happened which would be great to see.
Jones will likely press him against the fence and do what he does. Tie up the hands work punches, knees, foot stomps, enter & exit with elbows. Rinse and repeat while threatening the takedown multiple times. If he gets the TD’s early it’s obviously a wrap quick but it’s more likely he wears Izzy down in the clinch against the fence. Izzy has a punchers chance obviously (and a damn good one considering his standup) but Jones is too crafty and fights too HighQ to fall in any striking traps at this point. Plus he has a legendary chin. Jones has a multitude of dimensions to his game but imo his clinch work is by far his best he makes everyone look a step behind in that aspect and always has, it’s one part that hasn’t changed with age.
I agree and thats why i would put jon as a favorite, but to answer ts question i would sugest another question, would izzy benefit of gaining weight even? We know he wants a stand up fight against jon jones and his takedown defence is almost entirely dependent on movement, so in my opinion him gaining weight would actually be bad for him because he would become slower.

In other words, is he small for lhw? Yes he's small even for mw. Would he benefit from gaining weight? No
 
He fought at HW in Kickboxing before, so I don't think he's too small for lhw.
not anyone noteworthy, and I'm sure Jon could give Rico a run for his money just because he's slightly lacking the power department but I can't see Israel being as offensive or even possessing the ability to impose his will on Rico or a proven HW kickboxer. israel did get screwed in his lone ko loss by the ref
 
But kickboxing is standup-only...

Weight matters a lot more when the two guys are allowed to get hold of one another

That's why he shouldn't go to Heavyweight like in Kickboxing. At lhw I think he still has enough size to keep his good TD defense though. And he'd still be able to hurt people from the outside with his elite striking. Who in the LHW top 10 would get a hold of Izzy if Romero couldn't? Glover is too slow imo.

not anyone noteworthy, and I'm sure Jon could give Rico a run for his money just because he's slightly lacking the power department but I can't see Israel being as offensive or even possessing the ability to impose his will on Rico or a proven HW kickboxer. israel did get screwed in his lone ko loss by the ref
If you're talking about Rico Verhoeven then Jon and Izzy would be sent to the Shadow realms in a Kickboxing match. I'd give Izzy more time than Jones though. He's just more experienced and had plenty legit KO victories and shows that he is able to drop 220+ lbs dudes (like Costa). Jones apart from the headkick to DC is more of a accumulative damage striker.
 
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He's got the frame to put on more pounds. He could learn from the Reem and go on a horse meat diet for the 'natural' gainz
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This came to mind right away:
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Christian Bale^ is the weight control GOAT in any profession, and it's not even close.
 
Not too small for 205, but against someone like Jones that size difference will matter, as he is a master of leverage.
 
That's why he shouldn't go to Heavyweight like in Kickboxing. At lhw I think he still has enough size to keep his good TD defense though. And he'd still be able to hurt people from the outside with his elite striking. Who in the LHW top 10 would get a hold of Izzy if Romero couldn't? Glover is too slow imo.


If you're talking about Rico Verhoeven then Jon and Izzy would be sent to the Shadow realms in a Kickboxing match. I'd give Izzy more time than Jones though. He's just more experienced and had plenty legit KO victories and shows that he is able to drop 220+ lbs dudes (like Costa). Jones apart from the headkick to DC is more of a accumulative damage striker.
Romero can't move in on people taller than him that can throw straight punches because he has a neck injury that makes him unable to move his neck and thus he can't use any head movement. That's why he counterpunches even though he's 5'8" and the most explosive guy in the division's history (built for aggressive inside striking like Mike Tyson or Joe Frazier). He'd have been champ if not for the neck injury. But because of his atypical physical limitations, Romero is a bad example.

So, Jones and DC could definitely wrestle fuck him. Jones because he's 6'4" 84.5" and doesn't have to move in. DC because he's physically capable of evading strikes to get inside.
 
My question is, and the reason i need to see it, if jones decides to take him down, can he prevent it? Izzy is insanely faat. Faster than rob fucking whittaker, explosivd too, but if jones decides yo take you down, he generally gets the take down. Can he prevent the ragdolling? Can he get up from underneath jones? I don't think he can explode or outscramble jones, break his grips etc. It's like if max fought tony. The minute tony decides to grapple, it becomes very tricky imo.
 
If the fight ever happened which would be great to see.
Jones will likely press him against the fence and do what he does. Tie up the hands work punches, knees, foot stomps, enter & exit with elbows. Rinse and repeat while threatening the takedown multiple times. If he gets the TD’s early it’s obviously a wrap quick but it’s more likely he wears Izzy down in the clinch against the fence. Izzy has a punchers chance obviously (and a damn good one considering his standup) but Jones is too crafty and fights too HighQ to fall in any striking traps at this point. Plus he has a legendary chin. Jones has a multitude of dimensions to his game but imo his clinch work is by far his best he makes everyone look a step behind in that aspect and always has, it’s one part that hasn’t changed with age.
I don't think current Jon can take Izzy down.
Current Jon stuggles and tries to force takedowns.
 
Current 205 is a striker heavy division. The weight advantages won't really matter. Izzy is so much better than guys like Jan and Reyes.
 
Current 205 is a striker heavy division. The weight advantages won't really matter. Izzy is so much better than guys like Jan and Reyes.

Very true. Look at the current top 10 of UFC light heavyweights. There is NO ONE who would be able to impose their size advantage on Izzy via wrestling. His speed and movement are too good for the entire division at this point.
 
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