Adesanya/Whittaker 2 reminds me of Silva/Franklin 2

[13Seconds]

Lots of similarities between the two rematches.

Both Whittaker and Franklin was middleweight champions who got wrecked in their title defenses by assassin like strikers, Silva and Adesanya.
Both Franklin and Whittaker worked their way back into title contention with two back to back wins vs top 5 guys.

Whittaker/Adesanya 2 hasn't happened yet, it's not confirmed but it's likely to happen next if Adesanya decides to stay in MW. I remember giving Franklin a better chance at beating Silva then i give Whittaker at beating Adesanya. What do you think?

 

[BigTruck]

That's actually pretty damn spot on.

 

[Cuttyrock]

I agree

 

[Just Creed]

I doubt Adesanya goes to 205. He has it too well at 185

 

[Croton]

The skill gap between Izzy an Robert is smaller than Silva vs Franklin.
Also Robert has the power to KO Izzy, which I never felt rich had coming into the rematch.
However I do feel Izzy stops him fairly easy again.

 

[bubbleboyjones]

I remember giving Franklin a better chance at beating Silva then i give Whittaker at beating Adesanya. What do you think?

Really? Why? He got steamrolled round 1 in one of the biggest one sided destructions in a championship fights to date. It's one of the most memorable fight endings in history with the thai clinch.

So lets go back to Oct 2007 when the rematch happened. What would lead you to believe Franklin had any chance going into that fight thats more than Whittaker?

I don't think Whittaker wins against Izzy in a rematch but Franklin was tailored made for Silva. Izzy and Whittaker are much closer,.

 

[13Seconds]

Really? Why? He got steamrolled round 1 in one of the biggest one sided destructions in a championship fights to date. It's one of the most memorable fight endings in history with the thai clinch.

So lets go back to Oct 2007 when the rematch happened. What would lead you to believe Franklin had any chance going into that fight thats more than Whittaker?

I don't think Whittaker wins against Izzy in a rematch but Franklin was tailored made for Silva. Izzy and Whittaker are much closer,.

At the time i felt like Rich was much more well rounded than Silva. AS had a very questionable ground game back then.
Rich had proven to be very crafty on the ground and had some strong takedowns when he committed to them, as we saw in the Loiseau fight.

I thought AS was gonna smoke him again for sure, but Rich wasn't known as just a striker. Whittaker is a striker facing a better striker in Adesanya.

 

[Snake Master]

Whittaker has said he doesn’t want that fight.

 

[MescalineDreams]

Lots of similarities between the two rematches.

Both Whittaker and Franklin was middleweight champions who got wrecked in their title defenses by assassin like strikers, Silva and Adesanya.
Both Franklin and Whittaker worked their way back into title contention with two back to back wins vs top 5 guys.

Whittaker/Adesanya 2 hasn't happened yet, it's not confirmed but it's likely to happen next if Adesanya decides to stay in MW. I remember giving Franklin a better chance at beating Silva then i give Whittaker at beating Adesanya. What do you think?

Solid comparison.. lol

 

[austinblair]

Agree.

I honestly think Robert rather wait on someone else to beat Izzy then he fight that person. Think he knows Adesanya is a tough match for him any night of the week.

 

[13Seconds]

Whittaker has said he doesn’t want that fight.

The smartest thing he can do is to not rush things. Franklin knows this. Going 0-2 against the current champ equals gatekeeper status for the rest of your career. Or atleast until someone dethrones Izzy. Whittaker is too big for WW and too small for LHW so MW is his only home.

He never said he doesn't want the fight.

 

[Blayt7hh]

Not to mention, both were pretty clearly the second best and would rule the division if not for Silva/Izzy.

 

[Bearknuckle]

1 punch can change everything. Never count out anyone.

 

[Snake Master]

The smartest thing he can do is to not rush things. Franklin knows this. Going 0-2 against the current champ equals gatekeeper status for the rest of your career. Or atleast until someone dethrones Izzy. Whittaker is too big for WW and too small for LHW so MW is his only home.

He never said he doesn't want the fight.

I could see him doing well at LHW, fight glover then smith and boom title shot. He said he’s not “stoked” for the fight,

 

[asdf122345]

yep. Whittaker is rich franklin. Izzy is the new anderson silva.

 

[bubbleboyjones]

Rich had proven to be very crafty on the ground and had some strong takedowns when he committed to them, as we saw in the Loiseau fight.

Ehh...Rich didn't have a single takedown until he wore down Loiseau on the feet. Im thinking around 9 mins into the fight at least when he was taking him down. I didn't see any D1 Franklin there. It was Franklin taking down a guy who was beat to shit at that point. I never saw Rich strong in this department at all. Sure Anderson had some ground questions but Rich wasn't going to be able to exploit them based on what he showed prior.

 

[Blanqa Blanqua]

Sad but true.

 

[MuaythaiGangstalicious]

Really? Why? He got steamrolled round 1 in one of the biggest one sided destructions in a championship fights to date. It's one of the most memorable fight endings in history with the thai clinch.

So lets go back to Oct 2007 when the rematch happened. What would lead you to believe Franklin had any chance going into that fight thats more than Whittaker?

I don't think Whittaker wins against Izzy in a rematch but Franklin was tailored made for Silva. Izzy and Whittaker are much closer,.

For realz.... I remember seeing Rich face and overall demeanor while getting kneed to oblivion... he looked like he never , ever trained muay thai or clinch work.
Such a mismatch.

 

[brown suga show]

solid comparison tbh

I don't think this fight happens though cus both izzy and rob have said they're okay with it not being their next fight (izzy saying he doesn't want the fight at all lmao)

Plus Jan says he'd be down to fight Adesanya in March and Eugene said before that the fight they're working on is Blachowitz early 2021.

Its probably what should happen but lets be real we all wanna see izzy at 205 lmao

 

[GoshiShun17]

Ehh...Rich didn't have a single takedown until he wore down Loiseau on the feet. Im thinking around 9 mins into the fight at least when he was taking him down. I didn't see any D1 Franklin there. It was Franklin taking down a guy who was beat to shit at that point. I never saw Rich strong in this department at all. Sure Anderson had some ground questions but Rich wasn't going to be able to exploit them based on what he showed prior.

Although you're correct, it seems that anytime there is a fighter who is a great striker, people expect everyone to be able to take them down and win.

Even now with Adesanya. People kept questioning why Whittaker and Costa didn't go for takedowns as if Adesanya hadn't already proven to be difficult to get to the ground let alone held there in all but one round of his fights. Not to mention that Rob and Paulo are primarily well rounded strikers, similar to Rich Franklin.