Reasons to like DDP's chances against izzy.

His style is tailor made for Izzy. I don't see it. I don't think Izzy is going to fight emotional no matter what cringe shit happens between them.
 
fortheo said:
We need to start looking at this guy as a serious threat to the title, so I'll start by mentioning some of his attributes that I think make him a threat to izzy:
  • He is one of the biggest Middleweights at 6'1 with 76 inch reach, and according to himself he weighs 210 lbs on fight night (sometimes more). Both guys that izzy lost to were able to match izzy's length to some degree and make their size felt in the octagon. DDP is taller, longer and just bigger than the vast majority of middle weights that izzy has been fighting, so izzy might not be as safe at range as he typically is.
  • He has a significant grappling advantage. I don't think there is much debate here. If he gets on top of izzy, he'll be a big problem.
  • He is a switch stance fighter. Izzy relies on leg kicks as a large part of his game, but it takes more time to break down switch stance fighters with leg kicks than it does for fighters who spend the majority of their time in one stance.
  • He throws a good amount of low kicks himself. He is no Pereira, but he does attack the legs and most people don't do that to izzy.
  • Big power
  • Very good chin.

How do you guys think they match up?
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After what he just did to Rob he is a very real threat. He looked far more composed than usual, and only rushed in during the finishing sequence.
 
He imposed his physicality on Rob yesterday and Rob couldn't handle it. Izzy is going to run from him like he did Romero, it's a matter of if DDP can cut him off and get in range to impose his will.
 
Dricus has what other MWs don't: he's smart and can adjust mid fight. He also has a massive advantage here if he can clinch Izzy as I see him easily leg hook dragging him to the ground and controlling him. He swings wild when he chaces guys but it seems to look at his oppoenent and if need be react. It's not a squash match for Izzy for sure.
 
He has a good chance for sure, watch the Jan vs Izzy fight again to see what happens when someone with grappling skills gets ahold of Izzy. DDP can beat him up on the ground and sub him, or blitz him and knock him out like he did to Rob just now. On the flip side, Izzy's only path to victory is trying to knock him out. I say this because DDP has a style where he forces you to fight his fight, Izzy is not going to be able to sit at range throwing leg kicks and outpoint him for 5 rounds, DDP will be in his face making it ugly and it won't go the distance one way or the other.

My prediction: Izzy is going to be so emotional going into the fight that he'll try too hard to get a KO "for the culture" and end up getting slept himself, and then we'll see Izzy go to 205 because there's more interesting fights for him there now (Hill, Jiri, Alex, etc).
 
Good point about the leg kicks. Alex had Izzy broken down and ready to fold after the first round in their last fight with leg kicks. DDP can definitely take advantage of that.

DDP is also the much stronger fighter and hits much harder, I don't like Izzy's chances.

One thing's for sure, he's not going to stand at range and let Izzy leg kick him to a weak decision.
 
MDoza said:
On the feet, Izzy just KO’d a bigger, taller, more powerful, more technical fighter with a longer reach than DDP.

I just don’t see Dricus winning on the feet.

If he’s got a chance, it’s grinding out the fight on the cage and on the ground.
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Come on lol, Izzy got that KO because Alex was over confident charging in with his hands down after putting a beating on Izzy.
 
Bradillac said:
Come on lol, Izzy got that KO because Alex was over confident charging in with his hands down after putting a beating on Izzy.
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Dricus also likes to charge in, which is what Izzy is best against.

He won’t fight with his hands down like Whittaker did though.
 
13Seconds said:
Izzy is just too fast man. He's also the best counter puncher in the game.

DDP suprised me last night but I still don't like his chances vs Izzy at all.
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DDP's 'Awkward Striking' is starting to sound like Conor's 'MMA Angles' against floyd.
 
Bend NvR Break said:
I guess your haven't really followed Jan's career. Jan was absolutely a grappler first dominating the European circuit in BJJ and early in his career he submitted his opponents. He has 9 subs and 9 KOs. The difference is all his subs came before he got into the UFC. Once he got into the UFC he changed to a more exciting strike first approach (which is another reason he lost his first 4 of 6 UFC fights).

Don't let his striking fool you. Jan is absolutely a grappler first and one of the best European grapplers in the UFC.
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Lol, this thread is about DDP, not Jan.
 
They trained together a while ago, according to both of them. Not sure how many sessions, but DDP says he manhandled Izzy and it won't be a fight as soon as he gets a hold of him
 
MDoza said:
Dricus also likes to charge in, which is what Izzy is best against.

He won’t fight with his hands down like Whittaker did though.
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Izzy having his hands up won't help him stop the TDs. Izzy is best at kicking and running, when forced to engage he gets caught plenty, DDP also has a better chin than a weight-cut-depleted Alex.
 
I agree with basically everything but just pointing out, 76" reach isn't impressive for a MW at all. To give context, Conor has 74" reach & fights at FW/LW. Granted, Conor has great reach for FW/LW division but for MW, it isn't impressive. GSP also has 76" reach & basically only fought at WW
 
This fight shocked me.

I severely underrated Du Plessis based just on the eye test. When I'd seen him before, he looked so slow and awkward and unathletic, that I honestly thought he'd be easy pickings for Whittaker.

So yeah I was absolutely shocked at the way Du Plessis just ran through him with ease.

In the first round I knew Whittaker was in trouble as soon as I saw how much stronger DDP was. His slow looking strikes packed some power, even the blocked ones bothered Whittaker. When when he threw him to the ground with ease and finished with some solid GNP, I was like fuck, DDP is going to win.

That was impressive enough that I wouldn't be shocked if he beat Izzy.
 
He definitely appears to have leveled up perhaps in part due to his nasal procedure. I always take fighter claims with a grain of salt but if in fact he was previously unable to properly breathe out of his nose, it’s a pretty big deal that he can now. While unorthodox, his striking is effective, powerful and for what it’s worth, the lead jab counter that led to the finishing sequence was a highly technical move on against a highly respected technician. Finally, his top game must be incredibly strong because no one has ever held Bobby down like that; not Romero, not Jacare, not Brunson. The Dricus that showed up last night is a legitimate threat, and I never saw myself believing that before the fight.
 
I expect Izzy to smoke him tbh. As much as I don't like Izzy's BS yesterday, chances are he knocks him out with that weird sloppy striking. It's not easy to get hold of Izzy as his footwork is very good.
 
HP_Nut said:
I agree with basically everything but just pointing out, 76" reach isn't impressive for a MW at all. To give context, Conor has 74" reach & fights at FW/LW. Granted, Conor has great reach for FW/LW division but for MW, it isn't impressive. GSP also has 76" reach & basically only fought at WW
Click to expand...

Compared to the majority of izzie's middleweight opponents, 6'1 and 76 inch reach is a rangier fighter than what he's been facing: Gastelum, tavarez, vettori, whittaker, costa, canonier, and romero are all less rangy. Brunson and old man silva are the only opponents longer than ddp that izzy beat. the other two (jan and pereira) he lost to.
 
Also unlike Vettori or Cannonier, he finds an extra gear when he’s losing
 
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