(( Myth )): Izzy is "Better Technically" than Alex ... Not So

[Edward Henry Greb]

There is a pervasive opinion, that Israel Adesanya is a "better" or "more technical" kickboxer than Alex Pereira, and that Alex just has "more power."

This is flat-out untrue.

The truth is, Alex Pereira is better everywhere (technically speaking) than Israel Adesanya. From correctly-throwing punches, with leverage, to kicking & checking kicks, to knees and flying knees (especially switch-knees), Alex Pereira is by far the better technical striker than Adesanya — as his professional record (and multiple world titles in kickboxing) clearly demonstrate.

The only advantage Israel Adesanya has over Pereira is speed & movement, not skills. Alex is slower, more deliberate, more methodical, and more sustained. Izzy is just able to dart in-and-out so fast.

Literally, the fight between them was the proverbial the tortoise vs. the rabbit — with the rabbit slowing down in the end and losing the race. Over and over, the result will always be the same.

If you actually watch and rewatch that last fight, Alex systematically broke Israel Adesanya down, with a sustained body and leg attack. If you watch the punch stats, Alex rarely went for the head during the first few rounds. He actually out-landed Adesanya, in every round, if you look at the body and leg stats. It was the perfect game plan.

Yeah, Izzy won the head stats, at least he did in the beginning.

The fight basically went exactly as I thought it would go (sans the third and fourth rounds). I figured Izzy would be ahead early, would slow down in the middle-to late rounds, and would eventually get caught and obliterated by Alex.

I actually thought it would be Alex who would win the ground game, so Izzy dominating in the third was a surprise — but the end result was exactly the same as what I thought it would be: GRAPPLING EXCHANGES WOULD SLOW IZZY DOWN ... and make him ripe for the picking for Alex's power shots.

And that's exactly what happened.

Have to give Israel Adesanya credit for being a capable champion. But all throughout Israel Adesanya's UFC career, he has enjoyed a height advantage, a reach advantage, a kickboxing advantage, and a speed advantage ... which is precisely why he has remained undefeated, until now.

Against Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya no longer had a height advantage, no longer had a reach advantage, no longer had kickboxing advantage — the only thing he had left was his speed advantage — which slowly got taken from him, and ended in the fifth round.

Pereira's equal physical stature, combined with his superior kickboxing, superior technique, and superior power finally caught up with Adesanya, and the longer any fight goes between these two, the result will always be the same.

Izzy's speed will only carry him so far against the better, stronger, more powerful, more technically-polished veteran kickboxer with superior physical attributes that is Alex Pereira.

That's my $0.02 ...

 

[BigTruck]

Nice first post.

 

[MMABr]

You make good points, actually.

Alex's work cutting angles, pressuring, checking kicks and kicking game overall paid great dividends in the end.

Many Izzy fanboys don't want to acknowledge it and keep coming up with excuses like "luck" lol. Must be a tough pill to swallow, that 0-3 head to head.

 

[TheTickG]

Interesting take on it.

It was also a technical adjustment by Alex to throw the right cross through Izzy's guard, when he knew Izzy would go for a clinch, which setup the ending.

 

[backlight]

People think flashy point fighting = technique, unfortunately.

 

[loisestrad]

The fight basically went exactly as I thought it would go (sans the third and fourth rounds).

LOL
'
"For basically half of the fight it went like I thought it would go"

 

[2004 account]

Great take, perfect analogy with the tutoise and the hare...I agree with it all (in fact I've been stating that Alex is a better technical striker than Izzy since the fight ended)


Izzys fans might disagree but what do they know?

 

[613]

Izzy is more unorthodox. Alex is more technical

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

Interesting take on it.

It was also a technical adjustment by Alex to throw the right cross through Izzy's guard, when he knew Izzy would go for a clinch, which setup the ending.

Bingo: I was literally screaming, "Alex needs to throw the right, not the left!" during the fourth round.

Izzy was wide-open for it, and extremely wary of the left hook. The change up of throwing the right cross, then uppercut, in the fifth is what paved the way for that left hook.

Well said.

 

[Oscar Madison]

Alex is the Alpha.

Izzy is more touchy feely.

"Technically" -- fighter success in damaging an opponent and dismantling each other's tools, whilst accumulating points to take rounds if it goes to the judges -- is a bar argument for what purpose?

The fight ended when Alex violently asserted his role as alpha -- and Izzy was beaten.

 

[GoshiShun17]

There is a pervasive opinion, that Israel Adesanya is a "better" or "more technical" kickboxer than Alex Pereira, and that Alex just has "more power."

This is flat-out untrue.

The truth is, Alex Pereira is better everywhere (technically speaking) than Israel Adesanya. From correctly-throwing punches, with leverage, to kicking & checking kicks, to knees and flying knees (especially switch-knees), Alex Pereira is by far the better technical striker than Adesanya — as his professional record (and multiple world titles in kickboxing) clearly demonstrate.

The only advantage Israel Adesanya has over Pereira is speed & movement, not skills. Alex is slower, more deliberate, more methodical, and more sustained. Izzy is just able to dart in-and-out so fast.

Literally, the fight between them was the proverbial the tortoise vs. the rabbit — with the rabbit slowing down in the end and losing the race. Over and over, the result will always be the same.

If you actually watch and rewatch that last fight, Alex systematically broke Israel Adesanya down, with a sustained body and leg attack. If you watch the punch stats, Alex rarely went for the head during the first few rounds. He actually out-landed Adesanya, in every round, if you look at the body and leg stats. It was the perfect game plan.

Yeah, Izzy won the head stats, at least he did in the beginning.

The fight basically went exactly as I thought it would go (sans the third and fourth rounds). I figured Izzy would be ahead early, would slow down in the middle-to late rounds, and would eventually get caught and obliterated by Alex.

I actually thought it would be Alex who would win the ground game, so Izzy dominating in the third was a surprise — but the end result was exactly the same as what I thought it would be: GRAPPLING EXCHANGES WOULD SLOW IZZY DOWN ... and make him ripe for the picking for Alex's power shots.

And that's exactly what happened.

Have to give Israel Adesanya credit for being a capable champion. But all throughout Israel Adesanya's UFC career, he has enjoyed a height advantage, a reach advantage, a kickboxing advantage, and a speed advantage ... which is precisely why he has remained undefeated, until now.

Against Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya no longer had a height advantage, no longer had a reach advantage, no longer had kickboxing advantage — the only thing he had left was his speed advantage — which slowly got taken from him, and ended in the fifth round.

Pereira's equal physical stature, combined with his superior kickboxing, superior technique, and superior power finally caught up with Adesanya, and the longer any fight goes between these two, the result will always be the same.

Izzy's speed will only carry him so far against the better, stronger, more powerful, more technically-polished veteran kickboxer with superior physical attributes that is Alex Pereira.

That's my $0.02 ...

Great post. Very well thought out, fair, and informative. That's the type of analysis I enjoy to see. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for the rematch.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

Great post. Very well thought out, fair, and informative. That's the type of analysis I enjoy to see. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for the rematch.

Thank you

 

[Apect15]

Agree brotha alex Boxing is 100 times better same with his kicks lets not talk about his fcking knees

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

LOL
"For basically half of the fight it went like I thought it would go"

That's your spin on what I said.

I expected Alex to be the stronger grappler, and that part was a surprise. If you want to be technical, is he didn't even get a legit take down, he failed in every attempt.

Alex scored the first takedown, but Izzy's speed was able to reverse Alex's second takedown attempt.

Regardless, I predicted that the grappling would be poison for Izzy, slowing him down, which is exactly what happened.

Also, not expecting Alex to take the fourth round off is not that big of a deal.

Alex actually picked it up toward the end of the fourth round, and is the panic-clinched until the bell rang. Izzy was panic-clinching again in the fifth round, but Alex was no longer worried about conserving his energy, and then lit his ass up and finished him.

So, yeah, the fight basically went exactly as I predicted, with a few hiccups that didn't affect anything.

 

[Wonderfight]

He is getting tagged a lot for me to call him a great technical fighter. He can have all the tooks, but his defense is not the best and is often sacrificed for the kill. Which works fine but yeah, dude is wide open a lot of the time. Good for him that he is giant and very long/strong in context of his opponents. And this is not only seen in Izzy fight of course.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

There is a pervasive opinion, that Israel Adesanya is a "better" or "more technical" kickboxer than Alex Pereira, and that Alex just has "more power."

This is flat-out untrue.

The truth is, Alex Pereira is better everywhere (technically speaking) than Israel Adesanya. From correctly-throwing punches, with leverage, to kicking & checking kicks, to knees and flying knees (especially switch-knees), Alex Pereira is by far the better technical striker than Adesanya — as his professional record (and multiple world titles in kickboxing) clearly demonstrate.

The only advantage Israel Adesanya has over Pereira is speed & movement, not skills. Alex is slower, more deliberate, more methodical, and more sustained. Izzy is just able to dart in-and-out so fast.

Literally, the fight between them was the proverbial the tortoise vs. the rabbit — with the rabbit slowing down in the end and losing the race. Over and over, the result will always be the same.

If you actually watch and rewatch that last fight, Alex systematically broke Israel Adesanya down, with a sustained body and leg attack. If you watch the punch stats, Alex rarely went for the head during the first few rounds. He actually out-landed Adesanya, in every round, if you look at the body and leg stats. It was the perfect game plan.

Yeah, Izzy won the head stats, at least he did in the beginning.

The fight basically went exactly as I thought it would go (sans the third and fourth rounds). I figured Izzy would be ahead early, would slow down in the middle-to late rounds, and would eventually get caught and obliterated by Alex.

I actually thought it would be Alex who would win the ground game, so Izzy dominating in the third was a surprise — but the end result was exactly the same as what I thought it would be: GRAPPLING EXCHANGES WOULD SLOW IZZY DOWN ... and make him ripe for the picking for Alex's power shots.

And that's exactly what happened.

Have to give Israel Adesanya credit for being a capable champion. But all throughout Israel Adesanya's UFC career, he has enjoyed a height advantage, a reach advantage, a kickboxing advantage, and a speed advantage ... which is precisely why he has remained undefeated, until now.

Against Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya no longer had a height advantage, no longer had a reach advantage, no longer had kickboxing advantage — the only thing he had left was his speed advantage — which slowly got taken from him, and ended in the fifth round.

Pereira's equal physical stature, combined with his superior kickboxing, superior technique, and superior power finally caught up with Adesanya, and the longer any fight goes between these two, the result will always be the same.

Izzy's speed will only carry him so far against the better, stronger, more powerful, more technically-polished veteran kickboxer with superior physical attributes that is Alex Pereira.

That's my $0.02 ...

All though i applaud you for a great first post in a forum where most white belts posts are garbage...

I fully disagree .. and not one actual striking expert will back your notion either..

Alex is a juggernaut kickboxer who relies on his power and his ability to stay in the pocket .. because of his strength and size over opponents at 185lbs...the guy is a HW fighting at 185lbs.He has next to no head movement and doesnt move half as well as Izzy also his technique on his strikes are not the best traditionally speaking , his left hook and actually most of his strikes are thrown from his hip level with his elbows in tight to the body... He also frames his arms out to catch strikes which is how we got rocked as Izzy moved past the block by framing with the lead hand and throwing a straight right while slipping to the side to throw the hook...5 more seconds and Alex would of been snoring...


Izzy is more fluid, dynamic ,faster and has way better movement and is why it was absolutely necessary for Alex to attack low ,which he did ...props to him...and lets not get started on grappling...Izzy is technically superior to him in all aspects of grappling...this is just facts


Please remember guys...Izzy found Alex's chin in 5 mins ...Alex took 5 rounds ...almost 25 mins to do the same thing .. if that doesnt tell you whos more efficient or effective between the two i dunno what will

Izzy bag work


(Cant find a longer clip)

Alex


The technique differences r easy to spot

 

[ChimRichalds]

There is a pervasive opinion, that Israel Adesanya is a "better" or "more technical" kickboxer than Alex Pereira, and that Alex just has "more power."

This is flat-out untrue.

The truth is, Alex Pereira is better everywhere (technically speaking) than Israel Adesanya. From correctly-throwing punches, with leverage, to kicking & checking kicks, to knees and flying knees (especially switch-knees), Alex Pereira is by far the better technical striker than Adesanya — as his professional record (and multiple world titles in kickboxing) clearly demonstrate.

The only advantage Israel Adesanya has over Pereira is speed & movement, not skills. Alex is slower, more deliberate, more methodical, and more sustained. Izzy is just able to dart in-and-out so fast.

Literally, the fight between them was the proverbial the tortoise vs. the rabbit — with the rabbit slowing down in the end and losing the race. Over and over, the result will always be the same.

If you actually watch and rewatch that last fight, Alex systematically broke Israel Adesanya down, with a sustained body and leg attack. If you watch the punch stats, Alex rarely went for the head during the first few rounds. He actually out-landed Adesanya, in every round, if you look at the body and leg stats. It was the perfect game plan.

Yeah, Izzy won the head stats, at least he did in the beginning.

The fight basically went exactly as I thought it would go (sans the third and fourth rounds). I figured Izzy would be ahead early, would slow down in the middle-to late rounds, and would eventually get caught and obliterated by Alex.

I actually thought it would be Alex who would win the ground game, so Izzy dominating in the third was a surprise — but the end result was exactly the same as what I thought it would be: GRAPPLING EXCHANGES WOULD SLOW IZZY DOWN ... and make him ripe for the picking for Alex's power shots.

And that's exactly what happened.

Have to give Israel Adesanya credit for being a capable champion. But all throughout Israel Adesanya's UFC career, he has enjoyed a height advantage, a reach advantage, a kickboxing advantage, and a speed advantage ... which is precisely why he has remained undefeated, until now.

Against Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya no longer had a height advantage, no longer had a reach advantage, no longer had kickboxing advantage — the only thing he had left was his speed advantage — which slowly got taken from him, and ended in the fifth round.

Pereira's equal physical stature, combined with his superior kickboxing, superior technique, and superior power finally caught up with Adesanya, and the longer any fight goes between these two, the result will always be the same.

Izzy's speed will only carry him so far against the better, stronger, more powerful, more technically-polished veteran kickboxer with superior physical attributes that is Alex Pereira.

That's my $0.02 ...

Excellent write up, though I may slightly disagree. I do think Izzy is a bit more technical, but you are absolutely spot on in saying that Alex is extremely technical in there. Some people pretend he is the KB version of Wilder, who just has one good strike that lays everyone out. He's definitely extremely skilled in there.

 

[Edward Henry Greb]

All though i applaud you for a great first post in a forum where most white belts posts are garbage...

Thank you.

I fully disagree .. and not one actual striking expert will back your notion either..

We certainly do disagree, and I am a striking expert.

Don't let my "White Belt" fool you ,,, I was boxing before the UFC existed

Alex is a juggernaut kickboxer who relies on his power and his ability to stay in the pocket .. because of his strength and size over opponents at 185lbs...the guy is a HW fighting at 185lbs.He has next to no head movement and doesnt move half as well as Izzy also his technique on his strikes are not the best traditionally speaking , his left hook and actually most of his strikes are thrown from his hip level with his elbows in tight to the body... He also frames his arms out to catch strikes which is how we got rocked as Izzy moved past the block by framing with the lead hand and throwing a straight right while slipping to the side to throw the hook...5 more seconds and Alex would of been snoring...

He relies on a lot more than just power.

Alex is technically outstanding, with great reflexes, great reach, great technique, great leverage, very strong chin, and a will and determination that are seldom seen.

Yes, he could use more head movement. However, the moment somebody else can "touch him" — Alex can thereby touch them back.

Unlike Adesanya, Alex is not afraid to get hit, and he's 100% confident that he's going to win any fistic (kicking/kneeing) exchange.

Izzy avoids these like the plague — and it's hard to really get behind someone who's afraid to get hit.

As far as those two punches at the bell, Izzy caught Pereira cold. That will likely not happen again.

If you notice at the midway point, Pereira was walking right through Izzy's punches after he warmed up ...

Izzy is more fluid, dynamic ,faster and has way better movement and is why it was absolutely necessary for Alex to attack low ,which he did ...props to him...and lets not get started on grappling...Izzy is technically superior to him in all aspects of grappling...this is just facts

That's pretty much what I said, so I don't think we disagree.

Izzy is definitely faster and more fluid, that his is only alternative and way to beat Alex — because Alex is better at everything else, technically, physicality, power, etc.

Agree with you, Izzy surprised me in his grappling. However, I think Pereira was simply "trying to get up" rather than trying to achieve anything grappling-wise.

Please remember guys...Izzy found Alex's chin in 5 mins ...Alex took 5 rounds ...almost 25 mins to do the same thing .. if that doesnt tell you whos more efficient or effective between the two i dunno what will

Yeah, but you need to also remember that's always going to be the way it is ... when you have a superfast athlete facing a slower, more methodical puncher.

It's the classic clash of styles that makes this sport so great.

The reason why Pereira is now Champion (and was also the only dual Champion in Glory), is he has absolutely mastered the technical aspect of the game — and carries an almost mythical, devastating power.

Izzy's speed advantage wasn't enough to make him a champion in Glory — while Pereira was a dual champion in the same outfit, without the same speed, because he is technically-superior and more powerful.

And, while Izzy's speed/height advantage were enough to make my UFC Champion — that Championship also ended the moment Pereira faced him here too.

Cheers,

 

[BangBang]

There is a pervasive opinion, that Israel Adesanya is a "better" or "more technical" kickboxer than Alex Pereira, and that Alex just has "more power."

This is flat-out untrue.

The truth is, Alex Pereira is better everywhere (technically speaking) than Israel Adesanya. From correctly-throwing punches, with leverage, to kicking & checking kicks, to knees and flying knees (especially switch-knees), Alex Pereira is by far the better technical striker than Adesanya — as his professional record (and multiple world titles in kickboxing) clearly demonstrate.

The only advantage Israel Adesanya has over Pereira is speed & movement, not skills. Alex is slower, more deliberate, more methodical, and more sustained. Izzy is just able to dart in-and-out so fast.

Literally, the fight between them was the proverbial the tortoise vs. the rabbit — with the rabbit slowing down in the end and losing the race. Over and over, the result will always be the same.

If you actually watch and rewatch that last fight, Alex systematically broke Israel Adesanya down, with a sustained body and leg attack. If you watch the punch stats, Alex rarely went for the head during the first few rounds. He actually out-landed Adesanya, in every round, if you look at the body and leg stats. It was the perfect game plan.

Yeah, Izzy won the head stats, at least he did in the beginning.

The fight basically went exactly as I thought it would go (sans the third and fourth rounds). I figured Izzy would be ahead early, would slow down in the middle-to late rounds, and would eventually get caught and obliterated by Alex.

I actually thought it would be Alex who would win the ground game, so Izzy dominating in the third was a surprise — but the end result was exactly the same as what I thought it would be: GRAPPLING EXCHANGES WOULD SLOW IZZY DOWN ... and make him ripe for the picking for Alex's power shots.

And that's exactly what happened.

Have to give Israel Adesanya credit for being a capable champion. But all throughout Israel Adesanya's UFC career, he has enjoyed a height advantage, a reach advantage, a kickboxing advantage, and a speed advantage ... which is precisely why he has remained undefeated, until now.

Against Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya no longer had a height advantage, no longer had a reach advantage, no longer had kickboxing advantage — the only thing he had left was his speed advantage — which slowly got taken from him, and ended in the fifth round.

Pereira's equal physical stature, combined with his superior kickboxing, superior technique, and superior power finally caught up with Adesanya, and the longer any fight goes between these two, the result will always be the same.

Izzy's speed will only carry him so far against the better, stronger, more powerful, more technically-polished veteran kickboxer with superior physical attributes that is Alex Pereira.

That's my $0.02 ...

I don't think Alex's striking is half as nuanced as Israel as far as technique goes but regardless, both are at the pinnacle. Also Alex has a natural LHW. To call him a weight bully is not far from the truth. He made weight though, so no complaints from me.

To suggest Israel has got this far almost exclusively because of his physical advantages is utter nonsense. You are trolling.

Watch these videos and tell me Alex has striking as refined as this.

To be honest, it's plain to see.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Thank you.



We certainly do disagree, and I am a striking expert.

Don't let my "White Belt" fool you ,,, I was boxing before the UFC existed




He relies on a lot more than just power.

Alex is technically outstanding, with great reflexes, great reach, great technique, great leverage, very strong chin, and a will and determination that are seldom seen.

Yes, he could use more head movement. However, the moment somebody else can "touch him" — Alex can thereby touch them back.

Unlike Adesanya, Alex is not afraid to get hit, and he's 100% confident that he's going to win any fistic (kicking/kneeing) exchange.

Izzy avoids these like the plague — and it's hard to really get behind someone who's afraid to get hit.

As far as those two punches at the bell, Izzy caught Pereira cold. That will likely not happen again.

If you notice at the midway point, Pereira was walking right through Izzy's punches after he warmed up ...





That's pretty much what I said, so I don't think we disagree.

Izzy is definitely faster and more fluid, that his is only alternative and way to beat Alex — because Alex is better at everything else, technically, physicality, power, etc.

Agree with you, Izzy surprised me in his grappling. However, I think Pereira was simply "trying to get up" rather than trying to achieve anything grappling-wise.




Yeah, but you need to also remember that's always going to be the way it is ... when you have a superfast athlete facing a slower, more methodical puncher.

It's the classic clash of styles that makes this sport so great.

The reason why Pereira is now Champion (and was also the only dual Champion in Glory), is he has absolutely mastered the technical aspect of the game — and carries an almost mythical, devastating power.

Izzy's speed advantage wasn't enough to make him a champion in Glory — while Pereira was a dual champion in the same outfit, without the same speed, because he is technically-superior and more powerful.

And, while Izzy's speed/height advantage were enough to make my UFC Champion — that Championship also ended the moment Pereira faced him here too.

Cheers,

This post is alittle more suspect then your O.P...

Seems to me , your fanboying alittle abit when it comes to Alex...Izzy is not afraid to trade ,he proved that in the Kelvin and Whittaker fights, he just understands against stronger opponents u cant stay stationary which is just great fighting IQ..and what you should do.....you should never be standing and banging with guys like Romero or Alex ...that just not intelligent ... Fighting is an iq test of the highest order


Alot of what your saying for what makes him more technical comes off as saying he has more physicality then Izzy and thats true and no one is arguing that...but i dont see where your proving hes more technically sound ..he was losing on every single card heading into the last round and had he not caught Izzy he would of a lost decision to Izzy in a fight where izzy rocked him and out pointed him..

Kuddos to Alex for pulling out the 5th round stoppage like Leon did against Usman .. he earned that belt for sure.


Im just not seeing proof of technical superiority only that Alex is a bigger (much bigger) boy who can hang in the pocket with anyone cuz of it (aka juggernaut) and hits hard...nothing about the finish said technical to me...he just exploded in on a stationary izzy ...