Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev (Observations)

[Arm Barbarian]

The biggest factor to me will be whether Ank can utilize his wrestling enough to stifle Alex's offense.

Whether he can smother him enough to keep it ugly.

If he does the wet blanket thing with success, he has a good chance.

If Alex is able to shuck him off and his TDD is on point, I see him chewing up Ankalaev with leg attacks and likely finding his chin before the final round.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

You may have anger issues or just be terminally weird. Either way, this type of behavior with strangers on the internet is not healthy for you.

I definitely have anger issues, but you are the one who's terminally weird.
(The very fact you identify with the awkward-idiot, Nick Diaz, proves this.)

Wake up genius

The entire fighting universe recognizes the fact Alex Pereira = Big for The Weight.

The fact you can't clearly see this indicates you're blind too.

 

[HHJ]

Alex is usually bigger than his opponents.

 

[Kwic]

The outcome I won't survive if Analaev stops Poatan via strikes. I may cry a little if he knocks him out.
I hope Alex knocks him out silly and I don't dislike Ankalaev. He started talking shit because he needed to. Love Alex, though.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

The outcome I won't survive if Analaev stops Poatan via strikes. I may cry a little if he knocks him out.
I hope Alex knocks him out silly and I don't dislike Ankalaev. He started talking shit because he needed to. Love Alex, though.

Anything's possible, but that outcome sure isn't probable.

Ank was getting murdered by Jan on the feet, and had to resort to grappling. He sure isn't going to murder Alex on the feet.

However, anyone can get caught, but the most likely individual to get caught is going to be Ankalaev — harder, and better-timed, than anything he's ever faced before.

Alex has faced better strikers than Ankalaev, while Ankalaev has never faced anyone remotely in Alex Pereira's league as a striker.

 

[jeff7b9]

STFU, you are the one who has never competed in shit.

Get your shovel ready to eat your words, and get out from behind your computer.

Jan is a fat, pudgy guy with a high body-fat count.

Nont uhhh

 

[AL-Tappo McSnappo]

So I just finished re-watching Ankalaev vs. Rakic, and then I re-watched the Jan Błachowicz x Magomed Ankalaev fight.

After that, I re-watched Alex Pereira fight Jan Błachowicz ... in what was arguably Alex' worst performance @ LHW.

The first thing that jumped out is Ankalaev looked smaller than Jan Błachowicz, while Pereira made Błachowicz look like a bloated midget.

• Alex Pereira is going to dwarf Magomed Ankalaev in the cage.

Forget the tale of the tape, Alex will TOWER over Magomed.

To Ankalaev's credit, he appears sturdy, fluid with his punches, lets his hands go with impunity, and seems very relaxed in the cage. At least against Rakic.

However ... while against Rakic, Ankalaev was definitely the aggressor — because Rakic offered NO THREAT and was always moving, backing-up, yielding — this was because (while bigger than Ankalaev), Rakic had no power to hold Ankalaev back.

By contrast, against Błachowicz, Ankalaev was much more cautious ... it was actually Jan Błachowicz who was the aggressor, with Magomed backing up, countering "with speed," but was constantly "holding back," not putting much power or staying in the pocket.
Ankalaev was much more cautious with Błachowicz' power. Błachowicz was also much more effective than Rakic in smashing Ankalaev's calves.

Yet, when facing Alex Pereira, it was Błachowicz, who was always yielding, moving backward. It was Błachowicz, who was getting his legs smashed-in.

He couldn't deal with Alex on the feet.

I like Alex like everyone else, but i guarantee you Ank will win

85% of the Błachowicz fight was Alex Pereira "hunting" Jan Błachowicz ... yet 85% of the Ankalaev fight, it was Jan "hunting" Magomed.

Obviously, anything can happen in a fight.

But it was clear to me that Magomed Ankalaev looked small compared to Jan Błachowicz ... and was continuously cautious of Jan's power ... while Jan Błachowicz is the one who looked small against Alex Pereira ... and was continuously cautious of Alex' power.

MMA Math? Maybe.

But I think Magomed is going to appear dwarfed by Alex, when they actually get in the cage together, and if he was cautious about Jan's leg kicks and power, he's going to find himself in a world of pain from Alex' leg kicks and power.

Thoughts?

 

[hector domino]

So I just finished re-watching Ankalaev vs. Rakic, and then I re-watched the Jan Błachowicz x Magomed Ankalaev fight.

After that, I re-watched Alex Pereira fight Jan Błachowicz ... in what was arguably Alex' worst performance @ LHW.

The first thing that jumped out is Ankalaev looked smaller than Jan Błachowicz, while Pereira made Błachowicz look like a bloated midget.

• Alex Pereira is going to dwarf Magomed Ankalaev in the cage.

Forget the tale of the tape, Alex will TOWER over Magomed.

To Ankalaev's credit, he appears sturdy, fluid with his punches, lets his hands go with impunity, and seems very relaxed in the cage. At least against Rakic.

However ... while against Rakic, Ankalaev was definitely the aggressor — because Rakic offered NO THREAT and was always moving, backing-up, yielding — this was because (while bigger than Ankalaev), Rakic had no power to hold Ankalaev back.

By contrast, against Błachowicz, Ankalaev was much more cautious ... it was actually Jan Błachowicz who was the aggressor, with Magomed backing up, countering "with speed," but was constantly "holding back," not putting much power or staying in the pocket.
Ankalaev was much more cautious with Błachowicz' power. Błachowicz was also much more effective than Rakic in smashing Ankalaev's calves.

Yet, when facing Alex Pereira, it was Błachowicz, who was always yielding, moving backward. It was Błachowicz, who was getting his legs smashed-in.

He couldn't deal with Alex on the feet.

85% of the Błachowicz fight was Alex Pereira "hunting" Jan Błachowicz ... yet 85% of the Ankalaev fight, it was Jan "hunting" Magomed.

Obviously, anything can happen in a fight.

But it was clear to me that Magomed Ankalaev looked small compared to Jan Błachowicz ... and was continuously cautious of Jan's power ... while Jan Błachowicz is the one who looked small against Alex Pereira ... and was continuously cautious of Alex' power.

MMA Math? Maybe.

But I think Magomed is going to appear dwarfed by Alex, when they actually get in the cage together, and if he was cautious about Jan's leg kicks and power, he's going to find himself in a world of pain from Alex' leg kicks and power.

Thoughts?

I also have an observation that If a guy with middling wrestling like Jan could takedown and control Alex while JAN HIMSELF got taken down and controlled by Magomed once he started to wrestle it a no contest. So I think Alex would be in even greater trouble because of his lack of wrestling. imo Ank is not as helpless on the feet(though still in grave danger) as Alex is on the ground(taken down and held down an entire round by fricking adesanya of all people) It goes like.
Striking: Alex:10/10 Ankalaev7/10
Wrestling Alex 3/10 Ankalaev 8/10

According to my calculations 13 vs 15 = a hard fought fight but Ank winning on decision with his wrestling. Ofcourse if he is smart enough to start wrestling before losing 3 rounds or before KO

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

I also have an observation that If a guy with middling wrestling like Jan could takedown and control Alex while JAN HIMSELF got taken down and controlled by Magomed once he started to wrestle it a no contest. So I think Alex would be in even greater trouble because of his lack of wrestling. imo Ank is not as helpless on the feet(though still in grave danger) as Alex is on the ground(taken down and held down an entire round by fricking adesanya of all people) It goes like.
Striking: Alex:10/10 Ankalaev7/10
Wrestling Alex 3/10 Ankalaev 8/10

According to my calculations 13 vs 15 = a hard fought fight but Ank winning on decision with his wrestling. Ofcourse if he is smart enough to start wrestling before losing 3 rounds or before KO

Excellent post.

I was going to jump in with the that same aspect of MMA-Math, which is Jan was able to immediately takedown and control Poatan/get his back and Ank is a far superior wrestler/grappler to Jan and was able to take him down and control him after getting his legs kicked to pieces for half the fight. Now to be fair Jan was tired by the point the wrestling/grappling got initiated, but we can't excuse Poatan's technical flaws as "a bad performance" or some other flawed logic. He got taken down multiple times by Bruno Silva, he took himself down against Izzy and couldn't get up (and Izzy is a skinny MW that has never shown good offensive grappling otherwise outside of sub-hunting Gastelum after rocking him) - ultimately he's not some next-level wrestler/grappler even with improvements. Seems like the biggest steps up he made were improving his patience and sub-defense in scrambling and against Jiri in the first fight (another poor wrestler/grappler that relies on athleticism) he was able to get-up after a couple minutes while minimizing damage from GnP.

There are multiple questions to answer in this fight besides the wreslting/grappling - Poatan doesn't do great against southpaws, he was getting lit up by Roundtree early and often with blitzing straight lefts from a guy much shorter with less reach that telegraphs his set-ups far more. If Ank actually threatens level-changes does it cause Poatan to be reactive and stifle his aggression? Will Ank just concede letting Poatan pressure him and chop his calves to pieces? Or with the experience from the Jan fight will he look to counter aggression with his own aggression and collapse the pocket?

Ank's never been KO'd, only subbed last-second by a Hail Mary triangle, only really been clipped up hard with punches once or twice (Santos flash knockdown, think Krylov might've tagged him up in some wild brawling exchanges while mixing in wrestling/grappling attacks early).

Too many people just assume "Poatan is a better striker so if Ank strikes he's fucked" but if Ank actually uses a mixed approach by showing wrestling set-ups, feinting, clinch-fighting, it could do a lot to shut-down Poatan's aggression and ability to just decimate him with kicks without repercussion.

There is a reason the betting lines are coin-flip when most fans nut-hug Poatan and hate Ank, it's because betting sharps realize how many problems Ank poses if he actually implements the correct game-plan and in probably his only chance to win the title if he doesn't it would be an obscene mistake.

It doesn't mean he can't get knocked out or his legs chewed up, but if he actually does come correct to this fight it could shut-down a lot of Poatan's game and make this a hell of a fight.

 

[World eater]

I also have an observation that If a guy with middling wrestling like Jan could takedown and control Alex while JAN HIMSELF got taken down and controlled by Magomed once he started to wrestle it a no contest. So I think Alex would be in even greater trouble because of his lack of wrestling. imo Ank is not as helpless on the feet(though still in grave danger) as Alex is on the ground(taken down and held down an entire round by fricking adesanya of all people) It goes like.
Striking: Alex:10/10 Ankalaev7/10
Wrestling Alex 3/10 Ankalaev 8/10

According to my calculations 13 vs 15 = a hard fought fight but Ank winning on decision with his wrestling. Ofcourse if he is smart enough to start wrestling before losing 3 rounds or before KO

If Ank can grapple a guy as big and strong as Alex for 5 rounds, I will be truly impressed.

 

[hector domino]

If Ank can grapple a guy as big and strong as Alex for 5 rounds, I will be truly impressed.

its less size and more skill. Ankalaev would be out of it if he had to wrestle someone smaller but more skilled like Khamzat but with Alex's non existent wrestling he would just float around effortlessly while Alex would be fighting life and death for a chance at an escape likely with poor leverage and is likely to gas out. On another note I believe Khamzat is a worse matchup for ALex as he likely subs him in the first(or get KOd if he cant finish in first round blitz) while Ank has not much for submissions

 

[moreorless87]

The biggest factor to me will be whether Ank can utilize his wrestling enough to stifle Alex's offense.

Whether he can smother him enough to keep it ugly.

If he does the wet blanket thing with success, he has a good chance.

If Alex is able to shuck him off and his TDD is on point, I see him chewing up Ankalaev with leg attacks and likely finding his chin before the final round.

I feel like a big factor with that as well is can he either finish Alexs on the ground or can be control him for much of the fight?

Theres a big difference between going really strong for the takedown in Rd 1 and getting a good deal of control and being able to keep up that pace. I would argue Jan vs Alexs basically gassed himself out pushing hard for the takedown in RD 1, he won the round but it cost him the fight.

Ank's nature to me doesnt seem to be along those lines, he does naturally seem to be a careful fighter who'll be aware of the potential for gassing out so I do kind of suspect it will be more him enguaging Alex standing thinking he can time the odd takedown and suppress Alexs offence by the threat of it. Trouble is though Ank isnt really that dramatic a wrestler, he's no GSP were he's going to blast for a double leg the moment Alex looks to throw a lowkick.

I have a feeling this may go a lot like his fight with Jan but against Alex he'll get his legs beaten up worse and then he'll potentially be finished late.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

Excellent post.

I was going to jump in with the that same aspect of MMA-Math, which is Jan was able to immediately takedown and control Poatan/get his back and Ank is a far superior wrestler/grappler to Jan and was able to take him down and control him after getting his legs kicked to pieces for half the fight. Now to be fair Jan was tired by the point the wrestling/grappling got initiated, but we can't excuse Poatan's technical flaws as "a bad performance" or some other flawed logic. He got taken down multiple times by Bruno Silva, he took himself down against Izzy and couldn't get up (and Izzy is a skinny MW that has never shown good offensive grappling otherwise outside of sub-hunting Gastelum after rocking him) - ultimately he's not some next-level wrestler/grappler even with improvements. Seems like the biggest steps up he made were improving his patience and sub-defense in scrambling and against Jiri in the first fight (another poor wrestler/grappler that relies on athleticism) he was able to get-up after a couple minutes while minimizing damage from GnP.

There are multiple questions to answer in this fight besides the wreslting/grappling - Poatan doesn't do great against southpaws, he was getting lit up by Roundtree early and often with blitzing straight lefts from a guy much shorter with less reach that telegraphs his set-ups far more. If Ank actually threatens level-changes does it cause Poatan to be reactive and stifle his aggression? Will Ank just concede letting Poatan pressure him and chop his calves to pieces? Or with the experience from the Jan fight will he look to counter aggression with his own aggression and collapse the pocket?

Ank's never been KO'd, only subbed last-second by a Hail Mary triangle, only really been clipped up hard with punches once or twice (Santos flash knockdown, think Krylov might've tagged him up in some wild brawling exchanges while mixing in wrestling/grappling attacks early).

Too many people just assume "Poatan is a better striker so if Ank strikes he's fucked" but if Ank actually uses a mixed approach by showing wrestling set-ups, feinting, clinch-fighting, it could do a lot to shut-down Poatan's aggression and ability to just decimate him with kicks without repercussion.

There is a reason the betting lines are coin-flip when most fans nut-hug Poatan and hate Ank, it's because betting sharps realize how many problems Ank poses if he actually implements the correct game-plan and in probably his only chance to win the title if he doesn't it would be an obscene mistake.

It doesn't mean he can't get knocked out or his legs chewed up, but if he actually does come correct to this fight it could shut-down a lot of Poatan's game and make this a hell of a fight.

Hill was never wobbled or KO'd either — how that go when he faced Alex?

Jiří was only KO'd by King Mo, a decade ago, then Jiří KO'd King Mo in the return match.

Jiří was only KO'd a decade later by Alex — then KO'd faster, and far more brutally, in the return match.
Jiří then KO'd Rakic, and Hill, showing there are levels to the shit.

Meanwhile Ankalaev struggled with Rakic.

The only reason Ankalaev has been KO'd yet, as he's only faced dog shit strikers so far.

Has absolutely nothing to do with facing Alex Pereira, with 4 ounce gloves, the difference of which you will witness shortly.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Hill was never wobbled or KO'd either — how that go when he faced Alex?

Jiří was only KO'd by King Mo, a decade ago, then Jiří KO'd King Mo in the return match.

Jiří was only KO'd a decade later by Alex — then KO'd faster, and far more brutally, in the return match.
Jiří then KO'd Rakic, and Hill, showing there are levels to the shit.

Meanwhile Ankalaev struggled with Rakic.

The only reason Ankalaev has been KO'd yet, as he's only faced dog shit strikers so far.

Has absolutely nothing to do with facing Alex Pereira, with 4 ounce gloves, the difference of which you will witness shortly.

Hill fought 9 months after an achilles injury, coming in fat, slow, and unprepared. That definitely didn’t help his cause, he’d likely get smoked regardless, but that’s why it went down so fast (that and Hubris).

Jiri is tough as shit and a savage but has terrible defense that relies on reflexes, fights in an unorthodox stance, and doesn’t deal with calf kicks well, he was always at high risk to get smoked by a massive technical hitter like Poatan because he has limited offensive tools (can’t kick well, poor wrestling, poor clinch fighting, limited ability to jab).

Ank faced Jan, Santos (semi-washed but still dangerous), Rakic, Krylov, etc. Those guys are all top 10 fighters that are primarily strikers. Most importantly he’s a true southpaw, not a switch-hitter, which is something Poatan has always had issues with.

We all get it, Poatan is the best striker that is a level above the competition, but the way you nut-hug him and down talk his opposition is delusional and embarrassing.

It’s funny how they haven’t fought, the betting line is even, and you’ve already prepared Anks funeral. Bet your house on it since you are so certain and post the slip.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

Hill fought 9 months after an achilles injury, coming in fat, slow, and unprepared. That definitely didn’t help his cause, he’d likely get smoked regardless, but that’s why it went down so fast (that and Hubris).

Hill is fundamentally dog shit compared to Alex; that's why he went down, in one round, with the first left-hook Alex threw.

Jiri is tough as shit and a savage but has terrible defense that relies on reflexes, fights in an unorthodox stance, and doesn’t deal with calf kicks well, he was always at high risk to get smoked by a massive technical hitter like Poatan because he has limited offensive tools (can’t kick well, poor wrestling, poor clinch fighting, limited ability to jab).

We agree.

Ank faced Jan, Santos (semi-washed but still dangerous), Rakic, Krylov, etc. Those guys are all top 10 fighters that are primarily strikers. Most importantly he’s a true southpaw, not a switch-hitter, which is something Poatan has always had issues with.

An MMA fighter being "primarily striker" = dog shit compared to an absolutely elite, 2x-, 2-division Glory Kickboxing Champion, w/ devastating KO power.

LMAO, Poatan literally KO'd his last two opponents who were southpaws. He has no "issues' at all with southpaws.

We all get it, Poatan is the best striker that is a level above the competition, but the way you nut-hug him and down talk his opposition is delusional and embarrassing.

Not nut-hugging anyone, keep your gay overtones to yourself. Just recognizing the difference between a truly elite striker and the dogshit striking in the UFC.

It’s funny how they haven’t fought, the betting line is even, and you’ve already prepared Anks funeral. Bet your house on it since you are so certain and post the slip.

I'm not going to bet my house on any fight, I'm not that stupid. Why don't you bet your house on Ankalaev — oh, that's right, you probably don't have the wherewithal to actually own a house.

So maybe bet your apartment rent?

 

[F15]

Hill fought 9 months after an achilles injury, coming in fat, slow, and unprepared. That definitely didn’t help his cause, he’d likely get smoked regardless, but that’s why it went down so fast (that and Hubris).

Jiri is tough as shit and a savage but has terrible defense that relies on reflexes, fights in an unorthodox stance, and doesn’t deal with calf kicks well, he was always at high risk to get smoked by a massive technical hitter like Poatan because he has limited offensive tools (can’t kick well, poor wrestling, poor clinch fighting, limited ability to jab).

Ank faced Jan, Santos (semi-washed but still dangerous), Rakic, Krylov, etc. Those guys are all top 10 fighters that are primarily strikers. Most importantly he’s a true southpaw, not a switch-hitter, which is something Poatan has always had issues with.

We all get it, Poatan is the best striker that is a level above the competition, but the way you nut-hug him and down talk his opposition is delusional and embarrassing.

It’s funny how they haven’t fought, the betting line is even, and you’ve already prepared Anks funeral. Bet your house on it since you are so certain and post the slip.

OP seems a little bit unhinged… he goes from analytical to bat shit crazy. Good breakdown by yourself as always

 

[NenadRS]

I rewatched the fights, Ankalaev did not look much smaller than Jan as you say, they are similar, Ankalaev somewhat taller/longer, Jan stocky.

Alex will murder Ankalaev on the feet, that is for sure - but Ankalaev may control Alex every round on the ground, now we do not know how much Alex progressed in grappling, most imprortantly to prevent takedowns, otherwise he will lose by being controlled on bottom. (I doubt it makes sense for him to practice submissions from bottom)

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Hill is fundamentally dog shit compared to Alex; that's why he went down, in one round, with the first left-hook Alex threw.

Hill has terrible footwork, but he is fast, long, and has some fast hands and power. I would agree Poatan is far superior in most areas, but this is fighting at the higher weight-classes, these guys aren't truly elite everywhere - Poatan doesn't have good defense for the most part, he is static with head movement and comes in and out on straight lines, it's how Roundtree was able to light him up at length with basic naked straight left blitzes. He also has poor wrestling defense and his grappling defense is to stall and look for stand-ups/scrambles (which are limited). He's not some perfect fighter and those weaknesses if threatened will effect how he strikes.

An MMA fighter being "primarily striker" = dog shit compared to an absolutely elite, 2x-, 2-division Glory Kickboxing Champion, w/ devastating KO power.

This is MMA striking, not Kickboxing - in pure kickboxing all these guys lose to Poatan, but when if you add in all the other effective threats (clinch/wrestling/etc.) it negates a lot of stances, attacks, and approaches.

Poatan got outwrestled by Bruno Silva of all people and couldn't finish him (despite breaking his jaw/face late in the 3rd), clearly using other MMA attacks changes how you can react in a fight.

LMAO, Poatan literally KO'd his last two opponents who were southpaws. He has no "issues' at all with southpaws.

He has tons of issues with southpaws, you've never actually watched his kickboxing career lol.

And in MMA he's had his issues - a short, limited Roundtree was lighting him up for a few rounds with basic entries off a blitzing straight left. Izzy isn't even a real southpaw but would get free switch-kick body kicks every time he changed stances (one of his only weapons from that stance).

Your one of those fight fans that doesn't actually "see" the fight, you just see the end result and blind to all the technique and art being used and make your conclusion based off the finish. You know he lost two rounds to Roundtree right? A guy with no top 10 wins, that is shorter/less reach, that dropped him as well? But he has "no issues" and just murders everyone without issue....

Not nut-hugging anyone, keep your gay overtones to yourself. Just recognizing the difference between a truly elite striker and the dogshit striking in the UFC.

Wow, really struck a chord there with the nut-hugging reference - what happened to you in school or at church bro? There's nothing inherently gay about nut-hugging, it just refers to blindly loving someone/something without seeing any fault.

Would seem you have no conceptual nuance to the fight game - to you Poatan = elite God-tier striking, Everyone else = dog-shit. I wouldn't even say that's an obscene overstatement, because a lot of strikers are pure dog-shit, but guys like Rakic, Ank, Jan, Santos, etc. are definitely not dog-shit in an MMA context, unless you are blind to technique and the art of striking in MMA.

I'm not going to bet my house on any fight, I'm not that stupid. Why don't you bet your house on Ankalaev — oh, that's right, you probably don't have the wherewithal to actually own a house.

So maybe bet your apartment rent?

How do you know what money I have or don't have? Again with the cool-guy assumptions.

I never claimed Ank would kill Poatan, I said if he fought smart it would be a hell of a fight and his approach and use of clinch/wreslting could shut-down a lot of Poatan's typically weapons. I didn't even say he would be guaranteed to win lol, and yet the concept that he doesn't just get insta-smoked by Poatan absolutely irks the shit out of you for some reason.

Since you lack reading comprehension all you see from any type of critique is "Poatan bad, Ank good" when it's far more complex than that. Take a step back from your blind love for Poatan and actually use some critical assessment to be able to critique his flaws and see where other fighters might give him problems and you might learn something. Or don't, and choose to go through life as another sycophantic hero worshipper whose favorite fighters are un-killable Gods that can do know wrong. It's a sad way to go through life, pretending to know everything and learning nothing along the way.

Sadly it's par for the course these days.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

Hill has terrible footwork, but he is fast, long, and has some fast hands and power. I would agree Poatan is far superior in most areas, but this is fighting at the higher weight-classes, these guys aren't truly elite everywhere - Poatan doesn't have good defense for the most part, he is static with head movement and comes in and out on straight lines, it's how Roundtree was able to light him up at length with basic naked straight left blitzes. He also has poor wrestling defense and his grappling defense is to stall and look for stand-ups/scrambles (which are limited). He's not some perfect fighter and those weaknesses if threatened will effect how he strikes.



This is MMA striking, not Kickboxing - in pure kickboxing all these guys lose to Poatan, but when if you add in all the other effective threats (clinch/wrestling/etc.) it negates a lot of stances, attacks, and approaches.

Poatan got outwrestled by Bruno Silva of all people and couldn't finish him (despite breaking his jaw/face late in the 3rd), clearly using other MMA attacks changes how you can react in a fight.



He has tons of issues with southpaws, you've never actually watched his kickboxing career lol.

And in MMA he's had his issues - a short, limited Roundtree was lighting him up for a few rounds with basic entries off a blitzing straight left. Izzy isn't even a real southpaw but would get free switch-kick body kicks every time he changed stances (one of his only weapons from that stance).

Your one of those fight fans that doesn't actually "see" the fight, you just see the end result and blind to all the technique and art being used and make your conclusion based off the finish. You know he lost two rounds to Roundtree right? A guy with no top 10 wins, that is shorter/less reach, that dropped him as well? But he has "no issues" and just murders everyone without issue....



Wow, really struck a chord there with the nut-hugging reference - what happened to you in school or at church bro? There's nothing inherently gay about nut-hugging, it just refers to blindly loving someone/something without seeing any fault.

Would seem you have no conceptual nuance to the fight game - to you Poatan = elite God-tier striking, Everyone else = dog-shit. I wouldn't even say that's an obscene overstatement, because a lot of strikers are pure dog-shit, but guys like Rakic, Ank, Jan, Santos, etc. are definitely not dog-shit in an MMA context, unless you are blind to technique and the art of striking in MMA.



How do you know what money I have or don't have? Again with the cool-guy assumptions.

I never claimed Ank would kill Poatan, I said if he fought smart it would be a hell of a fight and his approach and use of clinch/wreslting could shut-down a lot of Poatan's typically weapons. I didn't even say he would be guaranteed to win lol, and yet the concept that he doesn't just get insta-smoked by Poatan absolutely irks the shit out of you for some reason.

Since you lack reading comprehension all you see from any type of critique is "Poatan bad, Ank good" when it's far more complex than that. Take a step back from your blind love for Poatan and actually use some critical assessment to be able to critique his flaws and see where other fighters might give him problems and you might learn something. Or don't, and choose to go through life as another sycophantic hero worshipper whose favorite fighters are un-killable Gods that can do know wrong. It's a sad way to go through life, pretending to know everything and learning nothing along the way.

So much to destroy here, but sorry the workday has started.

Will dissect your infantile bullshit later.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

So much to destroy here, but sorry the workday has started.

Will dissect your infantile bullshit later.

Bro grow up - if you want to have a nuanced discussion let's have a nuanced discussion and we can have a reasonable back and forth like men.

Instead you just write-off everything I wrote as "infantile bullshit" because you can't actually get out of your own feelings. You aren't going to "destroy" anything, how do you think you win an internet debate? We are all just sharing our thoughts and options, if you can do so in an intelligent way that makes good points I can cede to them and respect them.

But the overly emotional approach kind of exposes where your level of expertise comes from. You saying Poatan has no issues with Southpaws while elevating him to a striking God literally tells me you haven't watched his kickboxing fights, so it's tough to take a lot of your statements seriously.