Media Gaethje predicts knockout over Topuria @ Whitehouse

[Neck&Neck]

Newly divorced Toppy is going to be a monster

 

[JKS]

His hands are but Justin is a kickboxer and has more ways to win.

He has the great equalizer which is kicks. One good leg kick and Topuria's mobility is gone. One good head kick and it's lights out, we've seen Toppy eat one and Justin give them. Justin also has great uppercuts which are sneaky. Lots of ways to end Topurias's night and Ilia eats a lot of shots. Any big fight with Justin is a pick em.

I don't think the high kick will do it. But I think those leg kicks can do some serious damage. If he can land a few solid ones early, that can certainly slow down the movement and power of Ilia. Ilia does lean on the front lead leg, and this is orthadox vs orthadox, so it will be Justin's power leg kick to the outside of Ilia's lead leg.

I think Justin will do better than people think, he's just gotta fight smart. Stay on the outside and use those leg kicks and maintaining his defense and guard. He also had a lot of success playing the counter game vs Poirier, who had the faster and more accurate hands, but Justin had better timing and beat him to the punches.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Fighter predicts he wins fight - more on this story at 11...

 

[VinceArch]

I would normally agree with you but Gaethje is effectively 40 in a division you get destroyed in as soon as you turn 36; also Toppy is the fucking truth, he is to mma boxing what Khabib was to mma wrestling.

Sure, but just last month Gaethje was supposed to be beaten by Paddy via whatever Paddy wanted and now we're hearing the same thing except now it's Ilia. I'm just saying let's not write Gaethje off completely.

 

[JoeBobbaLou2]

Is it possible? yes

Is it likely? hell no.

 

[CroCopsLHK]

I mean, what do you expect him to say? We've all seen him fight. Yeah, he's gonna go for the KO. That's who he is. That's why we love watching him fight. You know what you're signing up for with a Gaethje fight.

"Im glad to be fighting at the White House. I hope to god I dont lose which is very possible!"

 

[RichardHarrow]

If Pimblett's punches in bunches hurt Justin then Top's will knock him out.

 

[Gnosisrausch]

First round KO for Topuria so long as he's regained his mental focus from the recent breakup/family stuff. We'll see how much that played on his motivation.

Stylistically, he's the perfect guy to expose all the massive holes in Justin's punching technique.

Not so sure if I agree with the "massive holes in Justin's punching technique". His punching is actually highly functional for MMA. Still, Topuria is obviously the superior boxer.

 

[Gnosisrausch]

Gaethje was supposed to be beaten by Paddy via whatever Paddy wanted and now we're hearing the same thing except now it's Ilia.

That's a pretty big "except", broski.

 

[VinceArch]

That's a pretty big "except", broski.

Sure, until it perhaps isn't. Then all you guys will be saying you all knew Gaethje had it in him to beat Ilia or you'll say that Ilia wasn't in the right head space. Same thing like always.

 

[nonoob]

It would be insane if Gaethje became a champion on his way out.

Justin has a good chance with the right game plan.

Avoid toe to toe engaging, throw the low kicks that can lead to a headkick KO.

 

[Söze Aldo]

It'll probably be like his fight against Emmett except with Ilia getting the finish



Nobody is going to beat this man on the feet.

 

[Black Blood]

It's not anyone ever comes in saying 'I'm really going to get outworked and outclassed here. I bet a 1 - 2 puts me down hard.'

 

[JBJ was here]

Sure, but just last month Gaethje was supposed to be beaten by Paddy via whatever Paddy wanted and now we're hearing the same thing except now it's Ilia. I'm just saying let's not write Gaethje off completely.

Paddy was easily the most overrated fighter on the roster heading into the Gaethje fight, one of the most overrated of all time. He's a 30-something fighter who's been fighting professionally forever, struggled against Jordan Leavitt and Jared Gordon, and since then had wins against three corpses. The notion that he suddenly and mysteriously learned new skills that elevated him from being the fighter who struggled against Leavitt before getting a nice finish and then struggled against Gordon before being gifted one of the worst robbery decisions in the history of MMA was always a fantasy notion. Paddy was always supposed to get beaten to a bloody pulp by Gaethje unless father time showed up to claim Gaethje's soul; that many people refused to acknowledge this based on Paddy's enchanting accent and their reading of vibes and chicken entrails doesn't change the matter.

Ilia Topuria, on the other hand, is a really fucking good MMA fighter, a deserving champion with recent wins that in both quality of opposition and performance rank among the best few MMA win streaks of all time. I think Gaethje has a better shot against Topuria than most people are giving him, but any fault in the general analyses marking Topuria as a heavy favorite is a marginal fault of degree, not an indication of a fundamental failure to understand MMA as in the case of people who thought Paddy was a clear favorite against Gaethje.

 

[VinceArch]

Paddy was easily the most overrated fighter on the roster heading into the Gaethje fight, one of the most overrated of all time. He's a 30-something fighter who's been fighting professionally forever, struggled against Jordan Leavitt and Jared Gordon, and since then had wins against three corpses. The notion that he suddenly and mysteriously learned new skills that elevated him from being the fighter who struggled against Leavitt before getting a nice finish and then struggled against Gordon before being gifted one of the worst robbery decisions in the history of MMA was always a fantasy notion. Paddy was always supposed to get beaten to a bloody pulp by Gaethje unless father time showed up to claim Gaethje's soul; that many people refused to acknowledge this based on Paddy's enchanting accent and their reading of vibes and chicken entrails doesn't change the matter.

Ilia Topuria, on the other hand, is a really fucking good MMA fighter, a deserving champion with recent wins that in both quality of opposition and performance rank among the best few MMA win streaks of all time. I think Gaethje has a better shot against Topuria than most people are giving him, but any fault in the general analyses marking Topuria as a heavy favorite is a marginal fault of degree, not an indication of a fundamental failure to understand MMA as in the case of people who thought Paddy was a clear favorite against Gaethje.

The parts I bolded are all good points. The support for Paddy was as overrated as it was massive, Gaethje fought on mindless, berserker offense and won 4 rounds. Now imagine when he fights more calculated against Ilia. He will be the underdog and for good reason, but I don't think Ilia is going to blow him out the water like he did Oliveira and Holloway.