Jones looks very beatable right now. If Adesanya can keep it standing he should be able to have his way with him.
Izzy should be able to defend the takedown for the first few rounds and light jones up on the feet. Tko within 3.
How big is Izzy compared to Reyes? That is the deciding factor for me. Jones looks limp dicked when he fights guys he doesn't have a huge reach/leverage advantage over.
Izzy seems to be improving leaps and bounds each fight, and Jon looked very beatable on Saturday. I was thinking at the end of the second Izzy would do we’ll in this fight and he has proven he can perform in championship fights for the full five rounds
You forget the minor detail that Reyes has legitimate one punch KO power; Izzy does not. (Forget the Whitaker fight, that's not happening to Jones.) Reyes is a much bigger, stronger man ... whereas Izzy is flimsy by comparison. Jones had big respect for Santos' power and Reyes' power, whereas he will absolutely walk right through Izzy ... over whom Jones will also enjoy a reach and power advantage.
He has the build to fight at light heavyweight. He would need to bulk up a bit though. I don't think hes any smaller than Jones was at the early part of his career.
It would be cool if he did win and we would most likely get a rematch no matter how dominant the win is. I don't like either guy that much and I know it would hurt Jones so fucking much to lose against Adesanya. So I will cheer for Adesanya, but may the best man win.
Adesanya can't out ground and pound Jones, so Adesanya would have to keep distance and beat Jones with striking. However according to the UFC website, though they are the same height, Jon has a 4 inch reach advantage which would severely limit Adesanya's ability to control the range. And since there is a 20lb weight/strength difference, it is unlikely that Israel would be able to defend the takedown. TLDR - He's just too small.
Let's not forget that Israel is just one fight removed from a welterweight giving him all he can handle thru 4 and beat another ex -welter for title. I'm not trying to slight KG and especially Whitaker but , again and again and again........and again, timing and circumstances play such a big role in this sport. The 185 division hasnt been truly stacked since rockhold fought chris ( at that exact time, division was absolutely crazy ..... and then a perfect storm of events that will never be duplicated happened. I look back and still tough to actually digest). Israel could be the next big thing or we 'll see. There's no denying his evolution with each fight.
