How did Israel go from almost losing to Vettori to beating Gastelum?

snaportap21 said:
Some people, like Mousasi, fight to the level of their opponents.
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I guess. But moose usually smashes you if you're not at least top 10. Santos, Belfort out of prime, Uriah in the second fight, Carvalho all looked like they didn't belong in there. Rory as well but he was just undersized and fought a weird gameplan.
 
chinarice said:
Brunson seems to mainly have really bad fight IQ.

Still a good fighter though. He isn't going to lose to guys who aren't good themselves.
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And reall bad striking/footwork as well. Wich highly affects the ability to transitions to TDs. The guy has great atheticism and wrestling base but is sloppy as fuck
 
chinarice said:
Still going on about the power thing. He fucked Gastelum up and almost finished him while he can take shots way better than Whittaker can.

Israel will TKO him inside 15 when they fight.
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Whittaker took shots from Romero during 50 minuts, fighting injured. What are you talking about?
 
FlowchartRog said:
Exactly how I feel. Kelvin has been one of my absolute favourite fighters ever since TUF, I'd root for him against anyone in the UFC. So I was really pissed off he lost, I thought he was sure to flatten annoying hypejob Adesanya. But yeah, I can't deny Israel is a lot better than I thought. His championship level heart and cardio impressed me.
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I always liked watching Kelvin fight, but I wasn't sold on his upside at MW.

Not doubting him anymore. I think that he can beat anybody on any given night in that division, including Weidman in a rematch.
 
MMAProfessional said:
That's his base...He's just gotten comfortable with striking. He won TUF with his wrestling and relied on it solely in the beginning
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Thank you. Was he a high level wrestler?
 
Improving and matchups, not that Kelvin's style suits Israel, but his body type does, HUGE disparity in reach and height between them, not sure how tall Whittaker is, but it wont be as bad.
 
He has improved a lot but that Vettori fight was not a split decision. Easily a unanimous decision. Also Vettori got popped with steroids. In all the fights that Israel has been taken down in he received no damage and was right back on his feet. His coaching staff seems pretty legit too.
 
Phisher said:
I always liked watching Kelvin fight, but I wasn't sold on his upside at MW.

Not doubting him anymore. I think that he can beat anybody on any given night in that division, including Weidman in a rematch.
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I agree with this too.

I mean, look at him, he is a fat little WW basically, with the physique of a 40 year old Roberto Duran. Considering that, and what he's accomplished already at 185, he's a pretty incredible fighter.

How do you see him doing against Rob and Yoel? I was really disappointed Whittaker pulled out yet again - I had a feeling Kelvin's speed, power, solid boxing, and iron chin would have won him that fight.

Yoel I'm really not sure. Weird fight, hard to imagine, and hard to imagine Kelvin beating him. Yoel is an absolute beast - explosive and unpredictable and solid as a rock.
 
MMAProfessional said:
Even the Silva fight it seemed like Israel wasn't a top fighter. How did he go from getting taken down multiple times in two fights to beating one of the best in the division pretty convincingly? Keep in mind it's been only a year since that fight. Crazy.
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The last round was the only convincing part of the fight. Right until then, it was tied.

On the Vettori, it was a close match but as a fight it wasn't close at all IMO. Israel clearly won a fight and he admitted there some mental errors that made the match closer than it should have been
 
FlowchartRog said:
I agree with this too.

I mean, look at him, he is a fat little WW basically, with the physique of a 40 year old Roberto Duran. Considering that, and what he's accomplished already at 185, he's a pretty incredible fighter.

How do you see him doing against Rob and Yoel? I was really disappointed Whittaker pulled out yet again - I had a feeling Kelvin's speed, power, solid boxing, and iron chin would have won him that fight.

Yoel I'm really not sure. Weird fight, hard to imagine, and hard to imagine Kelvin beating him. Yoel is an absolute beast - explosive and unpredictable and solid as a rock.
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Yoel is the worst style match up for Gastelum. Gastelum has a puncher's chance, but if Romero decides to actually use his wrestling, like he did in the second round against Weidman, it would look pretty bad for Kelvin.

RE Whittaker, I don't feel comfortable making predictions about him until he comes back. He's coming off of the hernia and the two Romero fights and has had a bunch of injury issues even before that.

Assuming that Whittaker is 100%, I'd call it a toss up. Maybe slightly favor Kelvin because of his chin. Kelvin is durable enough to make it a dog fight, and he's more than capable of getting his licks in.
 
Vettori is young and a up and comer on PED's. Just because he hasn't had the opportunities to prove himself doesn't mean he isn't good.

Watch him become a legit top 10 guy in the near future.
 
INTERL0PER said:
Your premise is false. He didn't almost lose to Vettori. He won convincingly against Vettori.

That fight, like many others, has fallen victim to Sherdog Selective Memory. Everyone remembers a close fight where Izzy got taken down. What they don't remember (or didn't see in the first place) is that a lot of Vettori's strikes may have been close to landing, but most got blocked or evaded, and when Izzy got taken down nothing happened and he got back to his feet in like a minute.
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Boom. There it is.

Add to the fact Vettori is a young fighter who hasn't sustained any damage and has a fire hydrant for a head.
 
MMAProfessional said:
Even the Silva fight it seemed like Israel wasn't a top fighter. How did he go from getting taken down multiple times in two fights to beating one of the best in the division pretty convincingly? Keep in mind it's been only a year since that fight. Crazy.
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Nothing beats constant training and constant fighting.
 
chinarice said:
Still going on about the power thing. He fucked Gastelum up and almost finished him while he can take shots way better than Whittaker can.

Israel will TKO him inside 15 when they fight.
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U think Israel hits harder then romero?
 
He almost lost to Vettori AND Gastelum! Only a matter of time before Kings MMA has another UFC championship.
 
chinarice said:
Whittaker isn't taking the shots Gastelum did and we have no idea how much surgeries and 50 minutes with Yoel Romero have affected him.
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Whittaker isnt the same. Yoel took a piece of his prime home with him, and he did it on 3 separate occasions, during 2 separate fights. I like BobbyKnucks but Romero changed his career path dramatically in those 50 minutes they tried to kill each other. Also Romero won the 2nd fight
 
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