Media No current MW can beat Adesanya. He will only be beaten by a high level wrestler (USA, Russia)

[fortheo]

Hermansson has the styles to give Adesanya problems. I just rewatched his fight against Jared Cannonier, and I noticed a couple things.

Hermansson can mix his striking and chain wrestling pretty well. His top control, however, isn't there yet, as he wasn't able to control Cannonier on the ground for too long.

Also, his cardio is suspect. I noticed he was breathing a little heavier than Cannonier after a few takedowns. That is not a good sign if he's going with a wrestling heavy strategy.

Well, his top control was good enough to keep Jacare and many others down... Cannonier just has some crazy heavyweight strength. I'm sticking with jack as my darkhorse in the division right now. I think guys like cannonier and Yoel will just be bad stylistic match ups for Jack because their hips are so damn strong and they have one punch KO power.

I also really like Jack's ability to catch leg kicks and turn them into takedowns. He's done it a lot

 

[The Half Blood Prince]

I wouldnt look much into the Vettori fight, Adesanya has made a lot of adjustments since that fight and Vettori couldnt do much with the few takedowns he landed as Izzy would just pop right up.

Izzy does have a good grappling game the very few times we have seen it, it has been promising with his guillotine and triangle on Gastelum.

Its hard to take Izzy down because he is so good with range and he can catch u coming in if youre not careful even though this isnt a reliable method, so its not that easy. I wouldnt say he has been exposed at all. He is the champ with 2 title defences for a reason

 

[frontkick1]

Well, his top control was good enough to keep Jacare and many others down... Cannonier just has some crazy heavyweight strength. I'm sticking with jack as my darkhorse in the division right now. I think guys like cannonier and Yoel will just be bad stylistic match ups for Jack because their hips are so damn strong and they have one punch KO power.

I also really like Jack's ability to catch leg kicks and turn them into takedowns. He's done it a lot

You really think adesanya would put himself in the same position landing the same weak lowkick as jacare?

 

[fortheo]

You really think adesanya would put himself in the same position landing the same weak lowkick as jacare?

I mean, it's not like Jack has only taken jacare down off of leg kicks...It's kind of a staple takedown in his game if you watch his fights.

But of course timing them against Izzy will be harder, but he will try to take izzy down off of izzy's leg kicks and that will potentially make izzy think twice about spamming them like he has been doing against his last two opponents.

 

[Doughie99]

Mildly Off-topic : Come back endless threads about Conor McGregor, all is forgiven..........


board's current thread obsession is already quite tedious. just my view, don't @ me.

 

[MMAart]

Well, his top control was good enough to keep Jacare and many others down... Cannonier just has some crazy heavyweight strength. I'm sticking with jack as my darkhorse in the division right now. I think guys like cannonier and Yoel will just be bad stylistic match ups for Jack because their hips are so damn strong and they have one punch KO power.

I also really like Jack's ability to catch leg kicks and turn them into takedowns. He's done it a lot

I agree with you. Good observation about the catching of leg kicks. Jack Hermansson is definitely a darkhorse in the division. If there is anyone who can pull the upset against Adesanya, he's definitely one of them.

It will be interesting to see who will get the first shot against Adesanya next.

Who knows, Hermansson might pull off the upset and becomes the first Scandinavian MW UFC champion.

 

[Tokoloko]

Adesanya is a taller, longer Anderson Silva, a long-reigning champ with a wrestler kryptonite. They have many similarities and if history repeats itself, Adesanya will be champion for a long time until a young, well-rounded, high level wrestler comes along to end his reign.

None of the current Middleweights have all of these attributes.

Similarities:​

Anderson | Adesanya​

First pro fight: 22 years old (June '97) | 22.5 years old (March 2012)
UFC MW belt: 31.5 years old (Oct 2006) | 30 years old (Oct 2019)

Strengths: stand-up striking, timing, speed, and reflex.

Weaknesses: Wrestling

Travis Lutter exposed Anderson's weakness, but he lacked the striking ability to get the job done...

Chris Weidman had the wrestling + bjj + striking (kick defense) to finish the fight

Likewise, Vettori exposed Adesanya's weakness



... but he lacked the BJJ and striking to finish the fight

​

If history repeats itself, a fighter who can beat Adesanya must be a young wrestler with good striking who can mix the striking with takedown to take Adesanya to the ground to drain his endurance.

Similar to Anderson Silva, one of Adesanya's most effective attacks is leg kick. Therefore, the fighter to beat him must have excellent leg kick defense (leg checks).

The fighter who matches these descriptions will most likely come from the USA or Russia, because these two nations produced the most number of high level wrestlers who successfully transitioned into MMA.

What do you guys think?

World class striking and his main background is Sambo .... (Was supposed to fight Hermansson cuz Gastelum wanted to chicken out - unluckly didnt get visas and will fight Jotko on October 17)

 

[SammyG420]

Andesanya has a blue belt in BJJ. He looked like a fish out of water when Vettori put him on his back. Someone with BJJ and can take Adesanya to the ground (ex: prime Jacare Souza) could potentially finish him there.

He looked fine on the ground vs Gastelum

 

[HuskySamoan]

Disagree, its easy to look other worldly against the brawlers of Anderson's day, Izzy is a much better striker, an Evolved version with better striking pedigree to begin with.

I think people forget how good past generations fighters were because the lasting impression is usually the more recent ones (recency bias) when they were washed up. Ya know in MMA dinosaurs like Lawler and Bisping became champion late in their careers, not that long ago. Most of these LHWs like Smith, Santos, Reyes, Blachowitz are not better than guys like Rashad, Rampage, Machida, Bader, Rumble etc in their primes. A guy like Mousasi is still a top 5 MW and has better technique/skills all around than probably everyone at 185.

Ya know, prime Hendo, Rich Franklin, Chael Sonnen, Vitor, Marquardt and even fucking Okami were no joke. You think the Hendo that slugged it out with prime Rampage and Wanderlei is a lesser foe than Costa? Who exactly has Costa beat? You think Brunson is a better pressure fighter and wrestler than the Sonnen who beat prime Bisping, Marquardt, Okami and took Anderson to the brink? You really think Robert Whittaker knocks out a prime Belfort? I don't, I think Belfort wins. You think as it stands Vettori is a better win than Ace? Franklin in his prime, the size, intelligence, well roundedness and conditioning hes easily top 10, very possibly a contender in 2020.

I think MMA fans are morons. Izzy is great but has a long way to go, he could very possibly beat a prime Anderson. One thing is certain though, Izzy hasn't beaten the same level of competition, MMA doesn't evolve tenfold every generation, ya know I think Rory pre Lawler war is a better WW than Edwards or Colby and could very possibly beat Usman too. Fighters primes all different, its mental, physical and time, not just one factor. Anderson has fought much better competition as of now, even Forrest is a forner champion.

 

[under_t]

Alex Pereira has defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing.
He can also get a win in MMA if Adesanya sticks to standing.

 

[frontkick1]

I mean, it's not like Jack has only taken jacare down off of leg kicks...It's kind of a staple takedown in his game if you watch his fights.

But of course timing them against Izzy will be harder, but he will try to take izzy down off of izzy's leg kicks and that will potentially make izzy think twice about spamming them like he has been doing against his last two opponents.

You mean hermansson is the guy that would instill fear to adesanya??
Do i need to remind you every time he faced a grood striker he got KTFO? Unless you think cannonier and santos are better strikers than adesanya...the same adesanya who just made the most self-confident guy of the division look like a an amateur.
Of course anything can happen but i just don't see hermansson being the one to beat adesanya. Let's see how he would fare against the likes of Costa Romero Whittaker before making any assumptions

 

[Andreh]

And... What's the news?

I already said it before... Akhmedov, Chimaev or even elder Weidman... Maybe Hermansson is the better name. A 2.0 Vettori...

We'll see.

 

[Luckyme]

People forget how amazing Anderson's BJJ is. That is what made him a complete fighter. Sure he could destroy you on the feet but put him on the ground and you are in deep trouble as plenty of fighters learned. Not sure Izzy has shown that but I get the comparison. Let's see how Izzy holds up after 5-6 title defenses.

Great point and this is one of the key differences between Izzy and Anderson. Anderson was a legit BJJ black belt and could win fights when taken to the ground by wrestlers (Chael, Hendo, Lutter, etc). We know Izzy’s TD defense is good but have no idea what his grappling is like.

 

[MMAart]

World class striking and his main background is Sambo .... (Was supposed to fight Hermansson cuz Gastelum wanted to chicken out - unluckly didnt get visas and will fight Jotko on October 17)

I just rewatched that fight, as well as Muradov's fight against Wendell Marques.



He has pretty good MMA striking - not on the same level as Adesanya, but it might be good enough for him to use it to set up takedowns.

His wrestling seems decent against Marques, with good ground and pounds, but what I'd like to see more of is his top control and cardio, because I believe in order to beat someone like Adesanya, you need to have excellent top control at a relentless pace to wear him out. Once he's tired, you can go for submission or beat him in the standup.

 

[Tokoloko]

I just rewatched that fight, as well as Muradov's fight against Wendell Marques.



He has pretty good MMA striking - not on the same level as Adesanya, but it might be good enough for him to use it to set up takedowns.

His wrestling seems decent against Marques, with good ground and pounds, but what I'd like to see more of is his top control and cardio, because I believe in order to beat someone like Adesanya, you need to have excellent top control at a relentless pace to wear him out. Once he's tired, you can go for submission or beat him in the standup.

He should be cardio machine...If i remember right he was tired only once and it was in his UFC debut vs Alessio Di Chirico (6 day short notice)

BTW dont forget that Makhmud can train with best boxing trainers in world (TMT) and also can get great sparrings in Czech -

or in Poland -

(good place to train for polish opponent...easy bet vs Jotko)

 

[MMAart]

Russia and other 10 nations before USA...

Which other 10 nations are these?

 

[OldFashion]

That young wrestler is already here

This hypejob would get knocked out even faster than Costa

 

[MMAart]

Hold back? He failed 3 takedowns!

"Hold back" as in not pushing the pace and going all out wrestling heavy, like Cain Velasquez or Khabib, who constantly pressure their opponents until they get exhausted and taken down.

If you rewatch Romero's fights, notice he's great at explosive takedowns, but he is not very good at pinning the opponents on the ground or he doesn't seem to try to pin them down.

 

[Post 2 Decision]

This hypejob would get knocked out even faster than Costa

What evidence do you have for that?

 

[mikesparrow]

Very accurate assessments regarding Anderson's BJJ and Adesanya's take down defense and ground game!

Do you see anyone currently in the MW division who has what it takes (wrestling / bjj) to be a serious threat to Adesanya?

Weidman, Hermason, Chimaev and Romero (if he could remember that he can actually wrestle)..