Could a prime Weidman have beaten Izzy?

[J0rdan890]

It would be a close fight but I think prime Weidman wins. I would love to see that fight

 

[stacrafty]

lol

Prime Weidman murks Izzy. Huge frame, fantastic grappler, competent striker, pace and cardio to give anyone trouble. Izzy had been pretty lucky in terms of style matchups. MW doesn't really have an elite grappler right now, but Jan showed what a pretty good grappler can do to him. Don't gimme that Romero argument either - he might have been a wrestler once upon a time but he's been throwing nothing but wild haymakers for over a decade. Anderson was a much better version of Izzy imo. Better striking and MUCH better grappling. What he did to Lutter, Sonnen, and Henderson on the ground just shows how elite his ground game was. I honestly think the version of Sonnen who almost beat Anderson would destroy Izzy just based on being a horrible matchup for him.

meanwhile in reality he'd be second guessing himself as he fails to land anything and Izzy's distance control is too good.

and yes you summed up the credentials of your opinion by thinking the version of sonnen who almost beat anderson would beat Izzy. In what universe does Sonnen even land a punch on Izzy?

 

[Small Town Andrew]

I think so. Weidman was an animal

 

[SoberAwakening]

That's the kicker..there was no "prime" Weidman. It was the perfect storm of Silva's decline and Weidman being the new hot toy on the UFC shelf. A guy who could legit wrestle and was a pretty good striker. Look at his record post Silva against guys who weren't aging stars in the UFC vs the actual contenders in the division. Not sure I've seen a bigger drop tbh. That's not hate, just stating facts.

Izzy is extremely fast and deceptively strong. Will stand in the pocket and take a hit to give 2-3. And he's in his prime. Nobody in the current weight class is going to take him down and Weidman definitely wouldn't be able to strike with him.

 

[mkt]

Prime Weidman was (T)KOed like 5x

Prime Weidman claim to fame was beating a 38 year old Silva,a 36-37 year old Machida(who was considered past his best after being strangled by Jon Jones) and a deflated 40 year old TRTless Belfort,who hadnt fought in over a year

Stylebender by KO

That wasn't "prime" Weidman. He was one of those cases that was never the same after being finished. He fought scared afterwards.

Prime Weidman faced Anderson, who even at an old age was a better finisher than point-fighting Izzy. The same goes for 35-year old Machida that Weidman went 5 rounds with. He was still a good and dangerous fighter, even if not in his true prime. Weidman in his prime had good enough striking and a good enough chin to mix up striking/wrestling and beat Izzy easier than Jan did. Weidman's wrestling is levels above Jan's. He might even submit Izzy.

 

[mkt]

That's the kicker..there was no "prime" Weidman. It was the perfect storm of Silva's decline and Weidman being the new hot toy on the UFC shelf. A guy who could legit wrestle and was a pretty good striker. Look at his record post Silva against guys who weren't aging stars in the UFC vs the actual contenders in the division. Not sure I've seen a bigger drop tbh. That's not hate, just stating facts.

Izzy is extremely fast and deceptively strong. Will stand in the pocket and take a hit to give 2-3. And he's in his prime. Nobody in the current weight class is going to take him down and Weidman definitely wouldn't be able to strike with him.

Current Weidman, no. Weidman circa 2011-15 beats Izzy 9 out of 10 times.

 

[justalurker]

Prime Weidman looked like he could beat almost anybody. Amazing knockouts standing up, world-class wrestling. I can easily imagine a pre-Rockhold Weidman putting pressure on Adesanya and winning a decision.

I will never forgive Chris. I thought he would rule the division with an iron fist

 

[mkt]

I like Chris. It just feels like another one of those dudes who were running hot through an aging division

Let's not forget Izzy barely beat 40+ year old versions of Anderson and Yoel. Besides that, he's been fed inferior strikers and brawlers...and Brunson with a terrible gameplan. It's very similar to Liddell beating nothing but wresters/grapplers for years. Izzy's wrestling and ground game simply haven't been tested at MW...but were tested and failed at LHW. Prime versions of Weidman or Chael would be something he's never seen.

 

[listrahtes]

Izzy is extremely fast and deceptively strong.

I guess thats why he looked worse vs a six year older zombified Silva than Weidman did. That was very telling.

Its not really possible to compare them by one fight but it definitely shows how good Weidmans distancing and especially timing was. Izzy in the MW back then would have had a tough time staying in the top 10 and top5 would be a real huge effort no one could be sure about.

I wrote annother extensive post about that. Anyone with a stand up like Izzy can win such a fight but he would have been a clear underdog.

 

[mkt]

I guess thats why he looked worse vs a six year older zombified Silva than Weidman did. That was very telling.

Its not really possible to compare them by one fight but it definitely shows how good Weidmans distancing and especially timing was. Izzy in the MW back then would have had a tough time staying in the top 10 and top5 would be a real huge effort no one could be sure about.

I wrote annother extensive post about that. Anyone with a stand up like Izzy can win such a fight but he would have been a clear underdog.

Yep. And if Izzy had been defending his belt between 2012-2015, he'd also have to fight prime versions of Rockhold, Jacare, Kennedy and Yoel (a younger/better version than he later beat). There's no way he'd beat all of them. Someone would drag him to the floor and either submit, GnP or just hold him down for a UD.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

In his mind, Chris could beat Israel and Jones back-to-back on the same night

 

[Yellowcrab]

I guess thats why he looked worse vs a six year older zombified Silva than Weidman did. That was very telling.

He didn't get finished by Romero at least and he isn't 2-6 in 8 last fights...

Also, he's currently third in the pound for pound ranking in the UFC.

But yeah, shoulda, woulda, coulda...

 

[arcadeperfect]

I think ”Prime Weidman” would whoop Adesanya. Weidman is/was hell of a grappler and was a very strong middleweight.

Adesanya is very dangerous on the feet and tough to get down, but I feel like he has been in a right place in the right time to have the success he’s had. We’ve seen Brunson fight recklessly and get KO’d, we’ve seen him fight tentatively and ”scared” and that’s what we saw against Adesanya. I think we’re now seeing the best version of Brunson right now and he could pose a danger to Adesanya now.

This is a fantasy match up though and no one is right or wrong. Weidman seems to be done, pretty much, and Adesanya is still undefeated at MW. We’ve seen that he’s beatable.

If anyone was at the right place at the right time it was Weidman. Silva, Machida, and Belfort were all old when they fought.

 

[J-Pac]

lol


meanwhile in reality he'd be second guessing himself as he fails to land anything and Izzy's distance control is too good.

and yes you summed up the credentials of your opinion by thinking the version of sonnen who almost beat anderson would beat Izzy. In what universe does Sonnen even land a punch on Izzy?

Did you ever see prime Sonnen fight? His offensive wrestling was insane. He did what a ton of guys, including Weidman, struggled to do against Anderson: he put him on his ass for 5 rounds and held him there. Sonnen was an awkward goof on the feet but his offensive wrestling would be a MASSIVE advantage against Izzy. It even opened up the striking against Anderson and let him have some success on the feet. He would outwrestle Jan fairly handily - he would be by far the best MMA wrestler Izzy would have faced.

 

[Tapatio]

it would be important to know what version of Gynobender Weidman would face. Gyno irks me because i don't like cocky cheaters, but he is showing a remarkable progression. Early Gyno would be wrestlefucked by Weidman.

Weidman downfall was in my opinion (Apart that he always faced killers) related to his inhability to make adjustements during fights. He was brutally KOed in several fights that he was "winning" and once that everyone figured him out, it was over.

 

[Juice]

Weidman the most overrated fighter in history because of two fluke wins against Anderson Silva.

Izzy runs right through any version of Weidman easily and effortlessly.

 

[Migdagen]

I just rewatched all Silva's fights with my gf and I don't believe prime Weidman could have beat a non-clowning Silva and I think Silva was on his way to a fairly easy win in the first fight but his ego and boredom with being champ got to him.

He was tired of being champ and was relieved to relinquish the title and Weidman was in the right place at the right time and he capitalized. And good on him. He wasn't winning that stand up and prior to Silva's silly antics he didn't seem like he was going to win that fight.

I'd have to put my money on Izzy, sorry. Weidman's a good guy, but I don't believe he was ever on either Silva's level or Izzy's. He got the gift and the curse from Anderson - beat him twice and then shit the bed as a career, including the freak curse of breaking his leg in the same way he broke Silva's. Right place, right time.

He made history and I'm happy for him, but he was never on Silva's level. No middleweight really ever was, to my mind, including Izzy.

Just saw your AV, I guess you are not biased at all.
My point was that Chris would have been good enough in the stand up vs Adenasya to survive until an opportunity for a takedown would show up. To think that one guy would easily win 10/10 of the time like most does on this board is simply not realistic.

 

[mudrubble]

Just saw your AV, I guess you are not biased at all.
My point was that Chris would have been good enough in the stand up vs Adenasya to survive until an opportunity for a takedown would show up. To think that one guy would easily win 10/10 of the time like most does on this board is simply not realistic.

Maybe not 10/10 sure. But I might not say that for many fighters in the division either. Just the general, do I think Costa beats Izzy? No. 10/10? Well, that's hard to say.

Likewise my answer, personally, is the same with Teh Chris. Does he beat Izzy? No. 10/10 - that's harder to say. Maybe he wins some, sure.