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It's time to do some coaching from the couch!
If Whittaker is to win against Adesanya, what do you think he needs to do?
I'll give my opinion.
Whittaker came into the the first fight seemingly trying to take Israel's head off.
He was throwing lots of looping shots, hay-makers, and head-kicks.
I presume this was because of nerves and maybe a tactice to deal with the reach & height disadvantage.
I would like to see Rob be much more patient and utilize his jab much more to disrupt Israel's rhythm.
I also think he should almost entirely abandon head kicks. Israel is so much taller than Rob that unless they are basically trading in the pocket against the cage where Adesanya can't escape it will be way too difficult to land a headkick.
I do realize Kelvin landed one good head-kick that rocked Israel, but I attribute that one landing mostly to fatigue and prior damage.
I would also like to see Rob blitz into combinations of mostly straight shots and ending the combo with leg kicks. This tactic was used very successfully by Shogun against Machida. Seems like a good idea against someone who is so elusive and fleet of foot. Just use the hands to set up the kicks.
Attacking the body often would be wise as well. Adesanya is a difficult target to head hunt. Work the body and legs to mitigate the movement and conditioning, as well as scoring points. He could use teap kicks down the middle, a couple well placed round kicks, and some level change punches to the body.
Along with that, Rob needs to clinch more, press Israel against the cage at times to wear the clock down similar to TJ vs Sandhagen, dirty box against the cage, and look for well-timed duck unders and double legs set-up off of the jab ala Blachowiz, GSP, or Charles Oliveira.
Israel seems much more manageable on the ground when he is in open space, as well as much easier to get to the ground vs against the fence. Israel has great takedown defense with his back against the cage, but seemingly mediocre takedown defense in the open.
Im not really sure Rob has what it takes to finish Israel unless he can really fatigue him first or soften him up with GnP and Dirty Boxing. He should likely bank on winning a decision.
That's my completely amateur-ish take on the fight!
As you can probably surmise, I am heavily pulling for Bobby Knuckles.
TL;DR
What do you guys think?
If Whittaker is to win against Adesanya, what do you think he needs to do?
I'll give my opinion.
Whittaker came into the the first fight seemingly trying to take Israel's head off.
He was throwing lots of looping shots, hay-makers, and head-kicks.
I presume this was because of nerves and maybe a tactice to deal with the reach & height disadvantage.
I would like to see Rob be much more patient and utilize his jab much more to disrupt Israel's rhythm.
I also think he should almost entirely abandon head kicks. Israel is so much taller than Rob that unless they are basically trading in the pocket against the cage where Adesanya can't escape it will be way too difficult to land a headkick.
I do realize Kelvin landed one good head-kick that rocked Israel, but I attribute that one landing mostly to fatigue and prior damage.
I would also like to see Rob blitz into combinations of mostly straight shots and ending the combo with leg kicks. This tactic was used very successfully by Shogun against Machida. Seems like a good idea against someone who is so elusive and fleet of foot. Just use the hands to set up the kicks.
Attacking the body often would be wise as well. Adesanya is a difficult target to head hunt. Work the body and legs to mitigate the movement and conditioning, as well as scoring points. He could use teap kicks down the middle, a couple well placed round kicks, and some level change punches to the body.
Along with that, Rob needs to clinch more, press Israel against the cage at times to wear the clock down similar to TJ vs Sandhagen, dirty box against the cage, and look for well-timed duck unders and double legs set-up off of the jab ala Blachowiz, GSP, or Charles Oliveira.
Israel seems much more manageable on the ground when he is in open space, as well as much easier to get to the ground vs against the fence. Israel has great takedown defense with his back against the cage, but seemingly mediocre takedown defense in the open.
Im not really sure Rob has what it takes to finish Israel unless he can really fatigue him first or soften him up with GnP and Dirty Boxing. He should likely bank on winning a decision.
That's my completely amateur-ish take on the fight!
As you can probably surmise, I am heavily pulling for Bobby Knuckles.
TL;DR
- Be more patient
- Abandon most looping shots and headkicks
- Use the jab
- Work the body
- Blitz with the hands and finish with Low Kicks
- Press againt the fence to run the clock down
- Well-timed takedowns in the center of the octagon
What do you guys think?
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