Israel got lucky. Potan made a mistake.

[jeff7b9]

I don’t agree or disagree, but luck is a part of MMA. You have to be able to function in spite of or in conjunction with the luck you experience in the cage. That’s what separates greatness from the rest.

Fortune favors the well prepared.

You can only land that "lucky shot" if you put yourself in the perfect position to do so.

 

[Rio Ferdinand]

Potan made a mistake, he was walking izzy down beating his leg to the poitn where he couldn't walk. Kneed him in the head then he got wild with his punches and got caught with teh same sequence he got hit with in the first mma fight.

Potan made a silly mistake and threw the fight. He is had stayed at range he would have beaten Israel he had the fight won.

He threw the fight. Super disappointed in Potan, why throw two stupid left hooks on a row with zero defence against a counter striker you were handily beating

 

[blocnoir]

I wanted Izzy to lose but that was not really luck, it was skill
But yes, Alex made a mistake and Izzy capitalized on it with skill

Which is what's what in a fight.

 

[Equinox Shadow]

I would say Adesanya baited Pereira into that counter, a beautifully timed hard right-cross with a second right coming, add the left hook for some final flavor. Adesanya was not hurt or dazed from the initial exchange nearly as bad as round 5 of their first MMA match. He was able to make a much better and crisp counter this time around. Their first match, Adesanya tried to grab and tie up Pereira after getting rocked. Before getting fully rocked this time, he unleashed the beautiful counter-combo.
...Nothing fluky about it. It was as beautiful as Poatan's finish of Izzy in their second kickboxing match.
...Unofficially, I have their rivalry 2 - 2. I felt Adesanya easily won their first kickboxing match 2 rounds to 1.
...I would like to see another bout between them. Fun to watch.

Pereira needs to get a higher left kick put into use. When Adesanya goes for his wide right duck and juke, that would be a great time for Pereira to unleash a kick to Izzy's ducking head. Izzy tends to make that avoiding move with his hands down, his head is wide open to a kick.

Glad to see Adesanya win though. Most of the time, I enjoy when a former Champ regains their title.

Potan made a mistake, he was walking izzy down beating his leg to the poitn where he couldn't walk. Kneed him in the head then he got wild with his punches and got caught with teh same sequence he got hit with in the first mma fight.

Potan made a silly mistake and threw the fight. He is had stayed at range he would have beaten Israel he had the fight won.

He threw the fight. Super disappointed in Potan, why throw two stupid left hooks on a row with zero defence against a counter striker you were handily beating

 

[Ibm]

Apart from Alex getting reckless, he did absolutely amazing. Those strikes are some of the best we've ever seen. Crisp clean and powerful. People need to really give him credit and cut him slack. He almost put a clinic on Israel again!

 

[RockyLockridge]

He threw the fight. Super disappointed in Potan, why throw two stupid left hooks on a row with zero defence against a counter striker you were handily beating

lack of experience

 

[Saint]

Two shots to the temple, that Izzy threw with everything he is worth. It rocked Pereira.

His head off the canvas likely knocked him out cold.

He was out long before he hit the canvas. Do you people say stuff just to say it?

 

[xhaydenx]

He absolutely was not winning the fight or the round easily. It was super competitive and AP had done more damage. Those kicks were becoming a serious problem. AP rushed the finish though and you can’t make mistakes in fights like this.

There’s no reason for us to be bickering about these details. They’re obviously super evenly matched.

Izzy won the first round on all three cards, and he was doing better in the second than the first, so yeh, he was winning the fight. Outside of the leg kicks in round 2, Izzy was very clearly winning the boxing anytime he went forward.

I didn't say they weren't competitive. It absolutely was, but you can be losing a round and still be competitive and high level guys like Alex and Izzy know this. Alex wouldn't have cared about losing the first 2 considering the damage he was doing to the legs that looked like it was gonna pay huge dividends as the fight wore on.

I'm not bickering about anything. Just discussing the fight, sherbro. And yeh, they are super evenly matched. I still think Alex is the better striker when he lets his hands go and throws in combos, but in two MMA fights against Izzy, he's barely done that and has mainly looked to counter a considerably faster puncher. It's crazy how he hasn't seemed to identify that. Every time Izzy has gone forward on Alex and not been timid, he's lit him up.

 

[Superior]

Poatan is clearly the superior fighter, shit happens.

 

[Sosua]

Everyone who wins got lucky

 

[C0NCH3TO]

You make big mistakes in mma and you will pay a high price. Our beloved sport is brutal and merciless. Izzy shattered that chin and will never be the same, I wasn’t expecting that. Mma is amazing for things like that.

 

[yxcv]

Nobody cares about Israel Adesanya. He could defend the title 20 times and still nobody really would care about him. At the same time everybody knows that Pereira owns Adesanya's thoughts. Who has a grudge on a little boy and mocks him? Israel Adesanya does.

 

[VAfan]

makes me sick considering i'm basically calling for (another) rematch but in this case it really could be interesting. now that izzy has his respect and alex won't be so aggressive and reckless, how does the next one go, hard to say. whichever way, i'd be willing to bet on a decision. maybe a bit like AA/sylvia, they've both finished each other and the rubber match could wind up being a staring contest.

 

[IronGolem007]

Potan made a mistake, he was walking izzy down beating his leg to the poitn where he couldn't walk. Kneed him in the head then he got wild with his punches and got caught with teh same sequence he got hit with in the first mma fight.

Potan made a silly mistake and threw the fight. He is had stayed at range he would have beaten Israel he had the fight won.

He threw the fight. Super disappointed in Potan, why throw two stupid left hooks on a row with zero defence against a counter striker you were handily beating

I am disappointed also, and yes Pereira made a mistake, but he always walks with his hands down.

I think Izzy knew his only chance was early, and he was swinging for the fences several times.

So while I'm disappointed, that was clearly a game plan of Izzy to draw him in, and fire that right as hard as he could, knowing the Pereira's hands would be down.

Pereira went in for the kill too quickly, he should've broken Izzy down more and slowed him down more.

I would like to see a rematch and I think Pereira will do better. He's a slow starter, and gets better the longer it goes.

Izzy is the opposite, a fast start, slows down the longer it goes.

 

[NationWideNinja]

Accept the guy you dislike won. Accept the guy you like lost. Whenbyou sray giving excuses for another man you sound like a proper bitch

Amen

 

[stacrafty]

One of the biggest flukes in MMA history
Alex was dominating him but just got caught

3-1 still

Won't be surprised if Izzy ducks the rematch

Well you have a black belt so you're obviously had a long history of garbage posting

Izzy was always the better fighter, always the betting favourite, always had Alex in trouble first

Alex found a way to fluke through via the ref saving him and then the bell - that's the only luck here

Take the ref and the bell away - and you have Izzy landing first AGAIN - and nothing to save Alex.

 

[LouDee16]

People keep saying Izzy is the more nuanced striker, but I think watching it all - Alex actually strikes me as the better overall striker.

I don't know if its because Izzy is slightly better as a combo striker, but from a general standpoint, Alex is the better kicker, has a better jab and lead hook for my liking. I think in both their MMA fights - Alex was winning the striking for the most part.

what fights were you watching... izzy won the 1st round and was winning the 2nd by an even further margin and this fight was all striking..

 

[Cinerary]

Izzy is not my cup of tea, but when the chips were down he got it done

The guy is a real champ and has earned his respect as a great champion

Great champions come back from losses, especially if it is an immediate rematch

I don't like izzy, but I do respect him 100%
Great fighter

I wanted Izzy to win but I'm not a fan of his. I thought Whittaker was unlucky on the scores in their second fight.

However, Izzy achieved an amazing feat, coming back after 3 losses, with enough self belief to win and in that manner.

He was getting his leg pieced up but he set the trap and executed. Anyone who calls that a dive really is a casual fight fan. Akex's face was caved in if you see the slow mo, his head bounced off the canvas, and he didn't try to protect himself.

A great win in the history of the sport imo.