Izzy's title reign was pretty average in hindsight

Wonderfight said:
This only confirms what I thought about this thread, its is quite laughable. Guys like Usman, Khabib and Max above Izzy? Based on what? Izzy made everyone stuck in the rut being unable to impose themselves for 3 years. You had all of the guys trying to land a takedown or grind him against the fence for dear life so they can maybe win a decision. After Gastellum, he never felt danger or pressure until Perreira who he KO-ed immediately in the next fight. His highlight reel is phenomenal, he did it for a long time and against a plethora of different styles. I will again repeat the part about doing it for the long time (longer than long if you count how often he fought), that is the ultimate test for any fighter ever.

And please don’t put Khabib in category of impressive title reigns. Man fought 4 serious opponents in his life, all tailor-made for his style with the weaknesses already exposed by the much smaller guys who did what Khabib does, only worse.
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honestly a digusting thread with a stupid premise made by a known hater (even picked Cannonier to beat izzy LMAO)
 
Koro_11 said:
-Goes life and death with Kelvin Gastelum to win the interim belt

-Has an impressive knockout of Whittaker to unify the title

-Has an absolute stinker against Romero that shouldn't even be counted as a win

-Runs through some weird timid version of Costa

-Gets beat by Jan Blahowich at 205

-Gets a forgettable decision over Marvin Vettori

-Wins a close decision over Whittaker

-Has another stinker for a decision against Cannonier

-Gets TKO'd by Poatan

-Pulls off a knockout over Poatan in a fight he was soundly losing

-Gets practically shut out by Sean Strickland


So in 11 fights, 3 are losses.

Of the 8 wins one is basically a draw, and 2 others are very close competitive decisions where he took no risk. 2 more are lame decisions where he also took virtually no risk.

He's got a few finishes in there that give the impression that he's more of a killer than he really is, but realistically and statistically most of his fights against the top guys are either close competitive fights, boring decisions, or him on the losing end.

People were already comparing him to Anderson after like 2 title defenses, but he's nowhere close to him or Jones, or GSP, or even Marty.

Looking back Izzy's title reign is most comparable to that of say Tyron Woodley, which is a very respectable accomplishment so no shame in that. Dude was still a very good fighter, just not that elite level type that could stand the test of time and many different types of opponents.

GSP, Anderson, Bones, Fedor.... those dudes were really special man.
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He did all that in like 3-4 years though. The others took way longer. He actually regained the belt (unlike Anderson) but man that Strickland loss has got to hurt that legacy. People worked out his leg kicks are his entry and with no wrestling threat, you can just focus on checking his kicks and backing him up to the cage.

Pereira went out there and achieved everything he couldn't and is 3-1 against him and would be a heavy favourite in a rematch.
 
WoozyFailGuy said:
Izzy was only able to KO fighters that literally ran into his punches. That's why the fights against Yoel and co were such stinkers, he doesn't have the ability to pressure someone aggressively.
I think the comparison to Tyron is apt, and I still think his reign was more impressive than say Usman's, even though I'm an Izzy hater.

Pre-Rockhold Weidman 50-45's Izzy decisively.
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Yoel is one of the best finishers at 185 and was just as responsible for that fight. No chance Weidman beats Izzy. Weidman was a better version of Marvin without the chin of Marvin. He beat Anderson because he went to far on the showboating only. Izzy was a better striker than SIlva, but lesser MMA fighter.
 
This thread is bizarre. It's hinged on discrediting a champion who had 6 title defenses. I agree that the MW divison is weaker than it was 10 years ago but that many title defenses is still impressive.

Izzys war vs prime Gastelum was electric. One of the most exciting title fights at MW ever.

His knockouts of Whittaker,Costa and Pereira were also incredible.

He had some snoozers agaisnt Romero, Cannon and Vettori but that happens when you fight that many times. Anderson had snoozers too against Leites and Cote. It happens.

Izzy gave everything he could to the sport. High octane wars filled with ultra violence, flashy KOs, multiple title defenses and came back to brutally knock the shit out of Poatan after being knocked out by him just one fight prior which isn't easy from a psychological standpoint. What else do you want from a champion?

By TSs standards almost every title run was "average in hindsight" Izzy brought the Ultra Violence and defended his title multiple times. These sherdog opinions are absurd lol. Mostly driven by fighter hatred and jealousy.
 
maximus__ said:
Yoel is one of the best finishers at 185 and was just as responsible for that fight. No chance Weidman beats Izzy. Weidman was a better version of Marvin without the chin of Marvin. He beat Anderson because he went to far on the showboating only. Izzy was a better striker than SIlva, but lesser MMA fighter.
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Weidman was a way more skilled wrestler than Vettori.
Marvin took Israel down 4 times, Whittaker another 4 in the rematch, and 3 by Jan.
Weidman could definitely have a chance of getting TDs and take better advantage of them than the aforementioned.
I dont know who would win but lol at "no chance" for Weidman. Israel has had a better run.
 
Zharinovsky said:
This thread is bizarre. It's hinged on discrediting a champion who had 6 title defenses. I agree that the MW divison is weaker than it was 10 years ago but that many title defenses is still impressive.
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Two of his defenses have the majority of people saying he lost on MMADecisions. They rushed Pereira and Strickland, two strikers to face him, instead of rushing wrestlers like Chimaev or Nickal to take him on. His reign is a product of the UFC protecting him and arranging easy fights, three of which he has now failed, and the judges giving him two questionable decision victories.

Anderson Silva had some boring matches sure. No one is saying that he never put on some awful performances. But no one questioned if they were robberies when he won. Because it was obvious that he still won. They just questioned why the Maxtrix and knockout artist version of Silva didn't show up for those fights and why he deliberately fought in such a boring manner.

After Adesanya fought Romero and Whittaker in their rematch the questions weren't just "why were those fights so boring?" but also "did Adesanya even win those matches at all?".
 
Adesanya is a product of the current roster, most of them weren't high caliber wrestlers who went for the TD (Romero despite being a wrestler wasn't like Weidman who loved to grapple) and even so, the only one who managed to really hurt him was Gastelum. I don't bash Adesanya for the roster he had to fight which in hindsight was the same as andy silva in terms of skill, but for the ego he showed thinking he was better than anyone.

IF CKB changes the approach on training i don't know, but for sure Strickland managed to expose adesanya.
 
DecisionSplit said:
Two of his defenses have the majority of people saying he lost on MMADecisions. They rushed Pereira and Strickland, two strikers to face him, instead of rushing wrestlers like Chimaev or Nickal to take him on. His reign is a product of the UFC protecting him and arranging easy fights, three of which he has now failed, and the judges giving him two questionable decision victories.

Anderson Silva had some boring matches sure. No one is saying that he never put on some awful performances. But no one questioned if they were robberies when he won. Because it was obvious that he still won. They just questioned why the Maxtrix and knockout artist version of Silva didn't show up for those fights and why he deliberately fought in such a boring manner.

After Adesanya fought Romero and Whittaker in their rematch the questions weren't just "why were those fights so boring?" but also "did Adesanya even win those matches at all?".
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Lol 6 title defenses = "UFC was protecting him"


Make it make sense.
 
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I never understood when people mention that the second Poatan fight was close until he got KO but at the same time discredit Izzy when the first fight was close before he got KO.
 
Seeing half glass empty there and can't say TS is wrong, seems pretty accurate.
 
pankrat said:
Weidman was a way more skilled wrestler than Vettori.
Marvin took Israel down 4 times, Whittaker another 4 in the rematch, and 3 by Jan.
Weidman could definitely have a chance of getting TDs and take better advantage of them than the aforementioned.
I dont know who would win but lol at "no chance" for Weidman. Israel has had a better run.
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The Chris fought in an era where he was the best grappler and using the cage to stay standing was in it's infancy.
His wins are Anderson Silva x2 (great win) Vitor Belfort (post TRT) and Machida with the belt.
He then lost to everyone that Izzy beat via finish except KG who nearly put him out.

Prior to his run at the belt he beat Mark Munhoz and Maia. Weidman is the kinda guy that Izzy usually makes look silly. I think he benefitted from a weak period at MW and he fought absolutely nobody prior to getting the belt. He wouldn't get a shot in today's climate though I think he was a great fighter ruined by the Rockhold loss.
 
Koro_11 said:
-Goes life and death with Kelvin Gastelum to win the interim belt

-Has an impressive knockout of Whittaker to unify the title

-Has an absolute stinker against Romero that shouldn't even be counted as a win

-Runs through some weird timid version of Costa

-Gets beat by Jan Blahowich at 205

-Gets a forgettable decision over Marvin Vettori

-Wins a close decision over Whittaker

-Has another stinker for a decision against Cannonier

-Gets TKO'd by Poatan

-Pulls off a knockout over Poatan in a fight he was soundly losing

-Gets practically shut out by Sean Strickland


So in 11 fights, 3 are losses.

Of the 8 wins one is basically a draw, and 2 others are very close competitive decisions where he took no risk. 2 more are lame decisions where he also took virtually no risk.

He's got a few finishes in there that give the impression that he's more of a killer than he really is, but realistically and statistically most of his fights against the top guys are either close competitive fights, boring decisions, or him on the losing end.

People were already comparing him to Anderson after like 2 title defenses, but he's nowhere close to him or Jones, or GSP, or even Marty.

Looking back Izzy's title reign is most comparable to that of say Tyron Woodley, which is a very respectable accomplishment so no shame in that. Dude was still a very good fighter, just not that elite level type that could stand the test of time and many different types of opponents.

GSP, Anderson, Bones, Fedor.... those dudes were really special man.
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Liked
 
OriginMMA said:
I never understood when people mention that the second Poatan fight was close until he got KO but at the same time discredit Izzy when the first fight was close before he got KO.
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The first fight was only close because Izzy wrestled. That's why. It's a skill set he can't employ against the rest of the division and a hole Pereira appears to have plugged with the Jan fight.

Same thing as with both Jan and Pereira is why Izzy lost to Strickland. They all checked his leg kicks and stopped him from feeling safe enough to throw them.

It's just the usual situation of everyone getting to prepare for the champ and take bits from each challenger until they get the win over him. The guy has fought nothing but top guys the majority of his career. Even his worst wins have had major success.

Rob WIlkinson held PFL gold and Tavares is the ultimate gatekeeper at 185.
Everyone else has been a divisinal ranking main stay for 5+years now and either fought for the belt or held a belt during that time.
 
Izzy did pretty damn well. Defended quite a few times and avenged his loss to Alex. I always believed that it would be a relentless wressler like Bo or Chimaev the one who would drop Izzy on his head and end his reign. I’m still in shock that Strickland beat his ass standing without a single takedown attempt.
 
maximus__ said:
The Chris fought in an era where he was the best grappler and using the cage to stay standing was in it's infancy.
His wins are Anderson Silva x2 (great win) Vitor Belfort (post TRT) and Machida with the belt.
He then lost to everyone that Izzy beat via finish except KG who nearly put him out.

Prior to his run at the belt he beat Mark Munhoz and Maia. Weidman is the kinda guy that Izzy usually makes look silly. I think he benefitted from a weak period at MW and he fought absolutely nobody prior to getting the belt. He wouldn't get a shot in today's climate though I think he was a great fighter ruined by the Rockhold loss.
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To say using the cage to stay standing was in it's infancy 10 years ago is obscenely uneducated
To say he beat Maia and Muñoz before fighting for the tittle and right after saying "he fought absolutely nobody prior to getting the belt" reveals a troll, a hater, or a mentally challenged person.
To try and downplay him for the Gastelum win, when he beat him in way more emphatic fashion than Israel did to get his belt, is more of trolling/hating/mentally challenged dude
 
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