Błachowicz vs Izzy will depend a lot on the ref

[stacrafty]

Jan is gonna handle Izzy on the ground. This part of the fight is heavily overlooked. Jan has a very good wrestling and submission game when he applies a grappling focused gameplan. And Jan is gonna have a 20-25lb size edge here, that will be a factor once Jan starts working for TDs against the cage and gets top position.

Jan and his team aren't dumb. They know to focus on grappling for this fight. I am assuming neither is Izzy and his team, but even considering that, the edge still goes to Jan.

lmao, you assuming its "even" by the time it gets to the ground

Firstly how will it get to the ground, Izzy has arguably the best footwork and distance control we have ever seen.
Secondly, Jan probably won't be fresh by the time it does, he'd have taken a decent amount of damage and be somewhat gassed

Only way this works is if Jan somehow gets an early takedown

 

[Dacha]

Jan can easily take Izzy to the ground.

Izzy has exceptional striking skills, but thats about it. This is no kickboxing. Unless Izzy inflicts major damage early, Jan will own him, it wont even be a contest.
If Izzy tries to run away a lot, Jan can predict that and catch him with Ngannou style KO.

Very brave of Izzy to step up a weight class, i give him huge credit for doing it. Wish more champs did that in the past.

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

Jan can easily take Izzy to the ground.

Izzy has exceptional striking skills, but thats about it. This is no kickboxing. Unless Izzy inflicts major damage early, Jan will own him, it wont even be a contest.
If Izzy tries to run away a lot, Jan can predict that and catch him with Ngannou style KO.

Very brave of Izzy to step up a weight class, i give him huge credit for doing it. Wish more champs did that in the past.

You got that right, the Izzy fanboys who think Jan the grappler is going to have a five round kickboxing match with Izzy are delusional.

Izzy also strikes with precision, not with power. He overwhelms his opponents with volume instead of knocking them out with a single blow. This method of striking is much less useful when you have a grappler with heavier hands that is not going to mind taking one if it means he can take you down.

 

[Wonderfight]

You got that right, the Izzy fanboys who think Jan the grappler is going to have a five round kickboxing match with Izzy are delusional.

Izzy also strikes with precision, not with power. He overwhelms his opponents with volume instead of knocking them out with a single blow. This method of striking is much less useful when you have a grappler with heavier hands that is not going to mind taking one if it means he can take you down.

Izzy is not a volume striker by any means, quite opposite. All his shots are carefully picked and placed. Guy is a patient counter-striker.
Precision > power, all day and every day.

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

Izzy is not a volume striker by any means, quite opposite. All his shots are carefully picked and placed. Guy is a patient counter-striker.
Precision > power, all day and every day.

What I said was correct, if you don't understand the nuance thats on you.

 

[Wonderfight]

What I said was correct, if you don't understand the nuance thats on you.

That is much bigger than nuance, it is flat out wrong which changes implications on much what you said. And yes, I know what you tried to say and can agree in some way.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

You got that right, the Izzy fanboys who think Jan the grappler is going to have a five round kickboxing match with Izzy are delusional.

Izzy also strikes with precision, not with power. He overwhelms his opponents with volume instead of knocking them out with a single blow. This method of striking is much less useful when you have a grappler with heavier hands that is not going to mind taking one if it means he can take you down.

Israel finished Whittaker and Costa(who both survived significat Romero punishment) with one punch, he maybe doesnt have the most raw power but he has shown exellent ability to counter opponents. If Jan gets sloppy throwing bombs I can very much see Israel putting him down as well.

Romero caused Israel problems IMHO because he didnt do that, he tends to throw powerful one off punchs himself, doesnt get over aggressive and sloppy and so leaves relatively few openings.

I do think its possible Israel wins and hangs onto the belt for awhile. Jiri and Rakic are perhaps a bit more technical but also prone to getting wild at points.

Israel is the right kind of fighter to take on larger opponents IMHO, not a bully like say Usman who would I suspect not do well at MW.

 

[Fukkup]

Except for the right peck.

He said bigger muscles not tits.

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

Israel finished Whittaker and Costa(who both survived significat Romero punishment) with one punch, he maybe doesnt have the most raw power but he has shown exellent ability to counter opponents. If Jan gets sloppy throwing bombs I can very much see Israel putting him down as well.

Romero caused Israel problems IMHO because he didnt do that, he tends to throw powerful one off punchs himself, doesnt get over aggressive and sloppy and so leaves relatively few openings.

I do think its possible Israel wins and hangs onto the belt for awhile. Jiri and Rakic are perhaps a bit more technical but also prone to getting wild at points.

Israel is the right kind of fighter to take on larger opponents IMHO, not a bully like say Usman who would I suspect not do well at MW.

The problem with what you are saying is it may be logical, but it is not in line with the current reality of the division.

Blachowicz is a methodical slow paced grappler with heavy hands. He is a points fighter, Blachowicz does not care how he wins and never has, he only cares about winning.

Izzy can beat Jan, but if we are handicapping this fight based off the facts alone then Jan should be the favorite. I disagree though that Izzy could have any longevity in the division.

Glover Teixeira is the #1 contender, whoever wins Blachowicz/Adesanya will be fighting him most likely; and that is one of the worst matchups possible for Izzy. Santos is a much bigger guy than Izzy, strikes with much more power, and Glover walked through it, beat the hell out of him on the ground and submitted him; while Santos has a black belt in BJJ

Izzy is a great champion but once he gets finished by a LHW, loses his 0, any claim to being the GOAT and a lot of his hype is going to just being thrown out the window. Jan is risking nothing by taking this fight, Izzy is risking his legacy in the sport, the risk versus the reward just is not commensurate. To go to a division with a bunch of top ranked grapplers when you are a purple belt who only has faced strikers is just arrogant and a sign he has bought into his own hype.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

The problem with what you are saying is it may be logical, but it is not in line with the current reality of the division.

Blachowicz is a methodical slow paced grappler with heavy hands. He is a points fighter, Blachowicz does not care how he wins and never has, he only cares about winning.

Izzy can beat Jan, but if we are handicapping this fight based off the facts alone then Jan should be the favorite. I disagree though that Izzy could have any longevity in the division.

Glover Teixeira is the #1 contender, whoever wins Blachowicz/Adesanya will be fighting him most likely; and that is one of the worst matchups possible for Izzy. Santos is a much bigger guy than Izzy, strikes with much more power, and Glover walked through it, beat the hell out of him on the ground and submitted him; while Santos has a black belt in BJJ

Izzy is a great champion but once he gets finished by a LHW, loses his 0, any claim to being the GOAT and a lot of his hype is going to just being thrown out the window. Jan is risking nothing by taking this fight, Izzy is risking his legacy in the sport, the risk versus the reward just is not commensurate. To go to a division with a bunch of top ranked grapplers when you are a purple belt who only has faced strikers is just arrogant and a sign he has bought into his own hype.

I'v not really see much from Jan that makes me think he's a massively threatening grappler personally, really his recent run of sucess has been built mostly off of his power. He's not a massively wreckless brawler but he does tend to have to push forward and get into aggressive exchanges to land well which I think could well play into Isreals game.

Just how good Israel is on the ground is I spose questionable but I'm not sure glove beating Santos marks glover out as a monster either, look at what Mousasi did to him for example.

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

I'v not really see much from Jan that makes me think he's a massively threatening grappler personally, really his recent run of sucess has been built mostly off of his power. He's not a massively wreckless brawler but he does tend to have to push forward and get into aggressive exchanges to land well which I think could well play into Isreals game.

Just how good Israel is on the ground is I spose questionable but I'm not sure glove beating Santos marks glover out as a monster either, look at what Mousasi did to him for example.

Glover beat Anthony Smith up so badly on the ground the referee after the fight felt he had to issue an apology.

I guess you did not watch Glover/Santos because Glover inflicted a brutal beating against a much bigger man than Israel.

Also, Israel is a purple belt, he has no ability on the ground and would get mauled. It is amazing you think he has some hidden ability, that black belts do not possess. I guess having Eugene Bearrman in your conor is better than havng a black belt, it can turn a white belt into a black belt.

I would love to see him defend his LHW title versus Glover, it would be a very sobering fight for a lot of Izzy fans who don't seem to watch the LHWs fight.

 

[wwkirk]

Except for the right peck.

Has there been an official explanation for that?
I thought of starting a thread, but it might get deleted.

 

[JKS]

lmao, you assuming its "even" by the time it gets to the ground

Firstly how will it get to the ground, Izzy has arguably the best footwork and distance control we have ever seen.
Secondly, Jan probably won't be fresh by the time it does, he'd have taken a decent amount of damage and be somewhat gassed

Only way this works is if Jan somehow gets an early takedown

Why? Because Jan can very well handle himself standing as well. The thing about Izzy is the moment he takes a hard shot to the dome, he retreats and fights very safe from distance. Look how he fought in the Romero fight vs an opponent who can punch hard. Jan is gonna have him backing up the whole time and mix it up with boxing and TDs.

 

[stacrafty]

Why? Because Jan can very well handle himself standing as well. The thing about Izzy is the moment he takes a hard shot to the dome, he retreats and fights very safe from distance. Look how he fought in the Romero fight vs an opponent who can punch hard. Jan is gonna have him backing up the whole time and mix it up with boxing and TDs.

lol, you are aware hes had over 100 pro fights, some of them at heavyweight, has fought "heavy hitters" countless times. Remember the Whitakker fight standing in the pocket and doing Matrix moves?

If Jan connects sure Izzy will respect it, but I don;t see him landing that much and being picked apart similar to Costa

 

[JKS]

lol, you are aware hes had over 100 pro fights, some of them at heavyweight, has fought "heavy hitters" countless times. Remember the Whitakker fight standing in the pocket and doing Matrix moves?

If Jan connects sure Izzy will respect it, but I don;t see him landing that much and being picked apart similar to Costa

Using the 100 pro fights isn't exactly a good argument. While he has experience, it also take a toll on his chin. Kickboxing in particular is hard on a fighters chin. And yes he's fought heavy hitters, and what happened when he did? He got KO'd pretty bad. If Jan hits him, which he will there is a pretty good chance Izzy is going down, if he hits him solid, it's night night. 4oz gloves and a big man like that?? Sleep time.

Whitaker is a shorter man with a short reach who chased Izzy around. Jan is a big guy with a big reach, he doesn't chase, he stalks and cuts off. Very different scenario. And the big factor here is Jan has big power in very short range, he can land a KO shot with little or no wind up.

 

[arcadeperfect]

The mythos about Adesanya's fight with Vettori is getting dumber as time advances.

The judge who scored that fight for Vettori is the same idiot who had Felder beating RDA.

Vettori wins 1 round via lay and pray and all of a sudden that fight is a controversial split decision lol. Apparently the other 2 rounds where Izzy put a striking clinic on him means nothing.

 

[Deleted member 567183]

Vettori won that fight. Adesanya is a fraud. Also lost against Romero.

Izzy won clearly the 1st 2 rounds against Vettori but the 3rd round he lost and in the Romero fight Izzy loses 1,2 and 5th round so we should have a new Champion

 

[jjjjjjjjjjohnny]

izzy may be biting off more than he can chew - don't underestimate polish power - reminds me of ivan polish power putski!

 

[DarkRaven]

Vettori won that fight. Adesanya is a fraud. Also lost against Romero.

Fearing for a GOAT status

 

[Prologue]

Get Cecil Peoples out of retirement ASAP Aunty Dana!!!!

Cecil Peoples is the people's Peoples