Izzy is a more skilled fighter than Pereira

[Poatan Power]

Because you don't win the majority of rounds against someone bigger, longer, and stronger than you without being more skilled.

I think Israel's clear advantage is in defensive skill. He's faster, yes, but also has much better head movement than Pereira who is often content to eat shots as they come. I don't think I need to be their coach to discern this.

Okay. I'm sorry to tell you that you don't know what you're looking at.

Alex has amazing head movement. He manages distance very well and is often "hit" out of his opponents powerband where you get hit with real power. People have a hard time landing flush shots on Alex -- they're mostly glancing, off center line, through a guard and landing when the timing (and therefore power) is disrupted. This is genuinely god like head movement. It's so subtle you barely notice it unless you know what to look for. Alex's "style" can be summed up as standing in the pocket, absorbing glancing shots that are partially blocked, timing disrupted, distance manipulated, etc. that cause no damage while he counters with stiffening combos. It's also a very time tested style because it doesn't rely on god like speed (which Izzy has), which is usually the first thing Father Time takes.

Watch the Jan fight rounds 2 and 3 in slow motion during the exchanges. You won't need 2 hands to count the number of times Alex got hit with a square punch of any kind and it was all due to head movement and distance management / guard management and you can measure it in millimeters. Jan's offense is continually disrupted and it's 90% because of Alex's head movement style.

Izzy obviously has fantastic head movement, he's also an elite kickboxer. But to postulate that Izzy's head movement is "much better" because his head movement is larger and he has a more Anderson-esque style is silly. Izzy's style makes guys whiff more often, yes, but that also means he lands less strikes. Alex takes more (non-damaging) strikes to land more (very damaging) counter strikes. Izzy makes guys whiff more and uses a lot more 1-and-done counters where he sticks to the outside, hits once and gets back to the outside. Neither are wrong and neither are "better," I'd argue, they're both effective.

re: "you don't win the majority of rounds..." oh shush. Was Chael Sonnen a better mixed martial artist than Anderson Silva? No? Then shut the hell up and sit down.

 

[JKS]

No he's not lol

 

[achoo42]

Alex has amazing head movement. He manages distance very well and is often "hit" out of his opponents powerband where you get hit with real power. People have a hard time landing flush shots on Alex -- they're mostly glancing, off center line, through a guard and landing when the timing (and therefore power) is disrupted. This is genuinely god like head movement.

You know who actually did that? BJ Penn in his prime.

I just rewatched Pereira's fight against Bruno Silva and he often just eats shots flush. When he does slip or duck, it wasn't subtle.

I have a hard time believing that Pereira, with an 80 inch reach and towering over the entire division, isn't just exploiting his height and reach so that he can slightly lean back or roll when attacks come. I don't think he's consciously trying to react the way he does, he just doesn't have a choice because his head movement isn't particularly fast or natural.

I don't know if we can prove this one way or another. Maybe the truth is in between what you said and what I think he's doing. But in any case, Adesanya's defensively more skilled and it's not really under contention.

Izzy's style makes guys whiff more often, yes, but that also means he lands less strikes.

True. And yet Izzy still won the majority of the rounds they fought.

Was Chael Sonnen a better mixed martial artist than Anderson Silva? No? Then shut the hell up and sit down.

I mean...he was the better fighter that one night. There are a dozen ways that fight could have ended with Chael winning, and he dropped Anderson twice.

 

[Nobru]

This should be obvious, and yet there are people everywhere calling Pereira the most skilled kickboxer in the UFC.

Izzy is more skilled than Pereira. He always has been.

Izzy's won at least 8 out of the 13 rounds that they fought, all while being shorter, weaker, and less powerful. He's knocked him out and anyone with eyes can tell that he beat him in their first kickboxing match (and arguably their second as well).

If Alex is truly the more skilled fighter, he shouldn't be dropping rounds or getting knocked out by someone weaker, shorter, less powerful, and less skilled than him.

As far as effectiveness in striking, Alex has an edge. But in terms of pure skill, Izzy is superior.

in your view, is speed a skill? strenght? chin?

If you wanna compare standup skills, I would advise watching kickbox leagues, such as Glory. Alex did great as you know, but Izzy also did well there. He is skilled, no question. Hes very fast, most of all.

Some facts:

First time they fought, which you mentioned, Alex was a noob. He was truly fresh and unexperienced. Second fight, he was coming off of an elbow surgery 30ish days pre fight, AND took the fight on 10-12 (I am not sure about this one) days notice.

1st UFC fight, Izzy got those couple good hits end R1. After that the only rounds he won, he did by grappling. To be TKOed at 5th.

2nd fight, Alex was killing his legs and put him in trouble. Alex made a mistake and got KOed.

You wanna compare their skills now? Both are great. In a pure stand up, IMHO Alex beats him 75% of the times they fight.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

Yes, but that's because of his power and not his skill. Pereira and Adesanya's offensive skill are almost even but Adesanya's defensive skill is much superior, making him technically superior overall.

I do think Pereira is the more effective striker, meaning that he has a better chance of beating other strikers mainly due to his power. But he's not the "best kickboxer in the UFC"—I still think Adesanya is because his defense is better.

You can think what you want. but reality is against you.

In kickboxing, Alex is 2-0 against Adesanya.
In kickboxing, Alex = 2x, 2-division World Champion. (Adesanya = 0x Champion)

In MMA, Alex and Izzy are 1-1.

There is no metric by which Izzy eclipses Alex.

By every metric, Alex eclipses Izzy.

 

[Frankie Baby!]

It's interesting that you use the word equalize, because it suggests that they aren't equal without that power. Why? Because Alex is less skilled.

Izzy did also beat Alex in their first pure striking fight (regardless of what the judges say) and probably would have gotten a TKO over Alex in the 2nd fight if not for some shitty refereeing.

Should woulda coulda, I meant Alex’s power makes the fight equal in any fight. They’re objectively close in skill, they’ve fought 4 times ffs and each time was either close or a finish

 

[Here's Johnny!]

Two weight Glory World champion vs no weight Glory World champion.

but like if Izzy beat Alex... they would have the same record pretty much right? so... is that vastly superior or simply better? the word vast is pretty specific, to a VERY GREAT EXTENT, IMMENSELY... its like 2 fights better... they have almost the same wins and losses... and Alex was the guy that stopped Izzy from being champ... when Izzy was competitive with Alex... you seem to just be biased as fuck... that said... I think Izzy is fucking weird and I am not a fan..

 

[Mr. Super Necessary]

Point to me where I said Volkanovski was a better striker than Adesanya.

You said he wouldn't be as skilled as Volkanovski. So what are you saying more skilled in? Since they're both strikers. You just mean, more skilled at winning overall?

 

[ragreynolds]

I think it's pretty obvious that Izzy is more skilled. Does that mean he's better? Not necessarily, but he's definitely more skilled. In kickboxing, Alex has the winning record vs Izzy, so it's hard to argue that Izzy is the better kickboxer. But I would agree that he is the more skilled kickboxer. However, in MMA they are 1-1, and I think that Izzy is the better MMA fighter as well as being the more skilled fighter.

 

[aali14]

3-1, and Jan Blachowicz disagrees

 

[stacrafty]

This should be obvious, and yet there are people everywhere calling Pereira the most skilled kickboxer in the UFC.

Izzy is more skilled than Pereira. He always has been.

Izzy's won at least 8 out of the 13 rounds that they fought, all while being shorter, weaker, and less powerful. He's knocked him out and anyone with eyes can tell that he beat him in their first kickboxing match (and arguably their second as well).

If Alex is truly the more skilled fighter, he shouldn't be dropping rounds or getting knocked out by someone weaker, shorter, less powerful, and less skilled than him.

As far as effectiveness in striking, Alex has an edge. But in terms of pure skill, Izzy is superior.

Well yeah obviously he was still the betting favourite despite "0-3", was always beating Alex in each fight just had to eliminate the outside influences (hometown refs, the bell etc), which he did by flattening Alex.

But this is sherdog home to some of the most incelullar mma fans on the planet. So the delusional hate will always influence opinions.

 

[stacrafty]

Too bad being more skilled only won him 1 fight out of 4 against Alex and never won him a major kickboxing world title or multi division titles like Alex. Izzy was a failed kickboxer

Or failing could be only being able to win via a dodgy hometown ref decision, and then being saved by a standing 8 count - again by a hometown ref.

And then when that's taken away? Flattened in front of the world.

 

[pātrēärkē]

I brought up Wilder because poor little baby was having trouble understanding the difference between effectiveness and skill.

Wilder is effective. That's why he has a better resume than 99% of the division.

Wilder is not skilled. He is effective and has a superior resume because he is powerful.

If you understand that, we can move on to understanding why Pereira could be 3-1 against Adesanya despite being less skilled than him.

Little baby steps.

Your arguments are rather strange. Are you saying that most of the division is more skilled than Wilder? He boxed the ears off of Stiveren in their first fight and boxed well enough against Ortiz. His power is the difference maker but only Fury has ever out boxed him. He's one of the more skilled in a weak era though he can get sloppy, but so does Ortiz and he's an Olympian. Lots of power punchers don't amount to shit

As for Izzy, saying he is more skilled is subjective. Maybe you like his style more but he hasn't achieved as much as Alex and has more head to head losses to him as well. There is nothing tangible for you to make your argument with

 

[achoo42]

You said he wouldn't be as skilled as Volkanovski. So what are you saying more skilled in? Since they're both strikers. You just mean, more skilled at winning overall?

You think Ngannou is as skilled as Volkanovski...?

 

[Vegesus44]

Izzy made Alex go to another division, he would have been murked by anyone if he had to starve himself like that again.
I like Alex but I am a Kiwi and I agree with everything OP said.

Makes one think...

 

[CatchtheseHands]

Alex is the better offensive striker. Izzy is the better defensive striker but I think Izzy has the slightly better fight IQ.

 

[Pious Augustus]

This should be obvious, and yet there are people everywhere calling Pereira the most skilled kickboxer in the UFC.


Izzy is more skilled than Pereira. He always has been.

Izzy's won at least 8 out of the 13 rounds that they fought, all while being shorter, weaker, and less powerful. He's knocked him out and anyone with eyes can tell that he beat him in their first kickboxing match (and arguably their second as well).

If Alex is truly the more skilled fighter, he shouldn't be dropping rounds or getting knocked out by someone weaker, shorter, less powerful, and less skilled than him.

As far as effectiveness in striking, Alex has an edge. But in terms of pure skill, Izzy is superior.

in the fourth fight, Izzy was getting destroyed on the feet till the knockout

in the third fight as well, Izzy resorted to wrestling

 

[orca]

Has nothing to do with pure skill. Ngannou could be 10-0 against Volkanovski but won't ever be as skilled.

lol at comparing nganou and volk wahaha
u should compare fighters at the same weight

 

[Mr. Super Necessary]

You think Ngannou is as skilled as Volkanovski...?

Oh I misread

I thought you said Izzy could beat him 10 times n not be as skilled

No I don't think Ngannou is as skilled, I misread your post

 

[dc007]

Yes, he's more skilled but Pereira is bigger and that matters.