Robert Whittaker vs. Alex Pereira - Who wins?

[Rank Squatter]

I wanna say rob could use his wrestling but Alex is big guy and trains with Glover

Alex is.big mw

 

[DelanoRunnymede]

Rob is easily the favorite because unless Perreira somehow improves his wrestling/TDD 10x over the next 3 months, he stands no chance.

Everybody worth a lick is going to try and take him down now.

Agree with everything you say, but have to ask. Is that Dimitar Berbatov in you pic? Legend!!

 

[warriorfan808]

Rob is just too well rounded. It all depends on how much better Poatan gets at wrestling

 

[humdizzle]

whittaker still has to get in on him and take him down. its not like izzy took him down, it was a failed td attempt by alex where izzy ended up on top.

one touch from alex and whittaker goes night night

 

[Adamant]

IDK, but I'd like to see Bobby take it.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

Whittaker if he fights smart. It'll have to be grappling heavy. If Izzy can catch him and outpoint him, Alex can snipe him too. I'd favor Bobby though.

 

[Viking Power]

Love me some Bobby Knuckles, but don’t think he can withstand any sort of firefight with Alex nor do I think he will easily take him down and grind him out. The size difference is huge.

 

[Safton]

Is he a true grappler? I know his credentials and he has shown it in some fights. But it takes a prime Jacare, Romero, Weidman, Kennedy etc. to grapplefuck him.

MV probably matches up better. He's big and strong and can clinch all day.

I dunno, I'm not really convinced. Maybe in a while. But so far Alex still looks fairly raw in his defensive grappling acumen. Andreas took him down and held him down for an alarming amount of time. Bruno Silva -- who almost never uses that weapon despite having a Happy Meal Black Belt -- even had some mild success despite being at a vast size disadvantage. Round 3 against Izzy looked bad.

I'm the first one to talk about how Whittaker's grappling toolkit is fairly limited under most circumstances. He has great, super-explosive blast doubles with insanely good timing. But his top control is pretty porous (by his own admission) and he hasn't shown the ability/willingness to grind out guys for 3-5 rounds or finish them on the mat with a submission or GnP. That said, he decisively out-wrestled Gastelum and Vettori recently. In the rematch against Izzy he was able to take him down, get his back, and threaten an RNC -- he was credited with over three and a half minutes of control time in that fight despite it being largely a striking affair (where he more than held his own).

I'm sure Pereira will get better. His size is a huge natural advantage as it is. Whittaker's not a primary grappler... but I can see why people would pick him in believing that what grappling he does have is enough to out-hustle Pereira who has looked relatively shaky in that area. My main concern would be Rob's durability and unlikeliness to find a finish across five rounds, however. Gives Pereira too many chances to insert himself back into the fight.

 

[egk]

It all depends on Alex's takedown defense and ability to get back to his feet. A lot of people are assuming Alex is just horrible and any grappler will have their way with him but they said the same about Izzy. No one really knows until it happens. I can't see anyone at MW standing with Alex.

 

[HP_Nut]

Surprised so many are picking Alex. I thought Alex had a great fight, even in rds where he lost he had his moments. But rd 3 really exposed his ground game, he has a LOT to learn. Styles make fights, this is not a great matchup for Alex

 

[Nobru]

TIMING + POWER + reach.
Size diference.
Alex by KO.

 

[Portland8242]

Why is all wrestling "panic wrestling"? Obviously Bobby would wrestle, no panic involved. This is MMA.

It's the one of the dumbest and most used term by single digit IQ MMA fans.

Panic wrestling is Bader shooting on Rumble from 10 feet out or Conor shooting on Nate after getting rocked.

These same idiots called Gustafsson wrestling Jan "panic wrestling" when he just went to a plan B because he underestimated just how good Jan is on the feet. Most of the idiots who use that term I just don't take seriously.

 

[Sickbro69420]

Rob>Alex
Izzy>Rob
Alex>Izzy

 

[Bradillac]

Do people seriously think Rob could even take a jab from Alex? Rob doesn't stand a chance in that fight.

 

[Dreyga Hates You Sherbums]

It all depends on Alex's takedown defense and ability to get back to his feet. A lot of people are assuming Alex is just horrible and any grappler will have their way with him but they said the same about Izzy. No one really knows until it happens. I can't see anyone at MW standing with Alex.

We just saw Adesanya have his way with Alex on the ground. On the floor it was one-way traffic. Pretty much any grappler in MW would smash him

 

[Post 2 Decision]

Whittaker, Vettori, and Khamzat all dismantle Pereira