Who can beat Adesanya at MW?

[FreddieRoachsVoice]

Only Whittaker but that is more a testament to the sad state of MW than it is to Israel's "dominance". The majority of the top 10 at MW should not and would not be ranked skill wise at other divisions.

 

[C0NCH3TO]

A good MMA wressler/grappler like ( all in their prime) Handy, DC, Lindland, Hughes, GSP, Weidman and Sonnen. Someone that will shoot for good, effective takedowns all night long and overwhelm Izzy.
Rockhold is vicious on the ground but he doesn’t set up takedowns like the guys I mentioned previously. He’d keep it standing longer than needed and that’s asking to get KTFO.

 

[King Joffery]

Well anyone can beat anyone on a given night but Izzy is levels above these bums at MW right now. Whittaker is probably the next best but I'd give him a 20% chance tops.

 

[Xoleth]

Khamzat maybe with more experience.

I need to see him vs better fighters though. Not sure why people are writing off Till. He just needs to put everything together, I’m not as high on him as others are but there was a reason why Izzy had great interest in fighting him.

Yeah, when he gets that experience, I'll put him on the list.

Izzy had an interest because they had an online beef.
His last decent win was against Cowboy in 2017.

 

[CashMoney1991]

Prime Weidman has the best chance If only we had prime sonnen now izzy seems to have a harder time defending power doubles and that was Sonnen's bread and butter

 

[You Will Vote For Dreyga]

Robert and Darren Till have the best shot

 

[MCS]

Post-champ Weidman wrestled well against Gastelum, and even though Kelvin's gone more in the brawling direction he should still be a better wrestler than Izzy. In the open Izzy can be taken down, he's got good TDD against the fence. That would make the Weidman fight more interesting than all the MW strikers/non-wrestlers standing with him or hopelessly trying to grapple him.

Long road for Weidman to get there. Likely never will. Izzy matches up well against the current top 15.

 

[jitzmonkey]

Robert Whittaker - he really needs another game plan, maybe more offensive wrestling and he doesn't excel at it. I just don't see Whittaker winning.

Paulo Costa - No! Just no! There was clearly something off with him in their fight, but even in his best day, his reach and his lack of technique are not helping him at all. Maybe with a blitz like Vitor did vs Wand, but he is not explosive enough.

Jared Cannonier - got outclassed by Whittaker, not a match for Adesanya

Marvin Vettori - 0-2 already

Derek Brunson - lost to Adesanya and his wrestling is not that good to hump him for 5 rounds

Jack Hermansson - maybe with an unexpected submission, but he has poor striking

Darren Till - lol, just lol

Uriah Hall - good striker, but not champion material, not a problem for Adesanya

Kelvin Gastelum - he really had a good fight with Adesanya and hurt him the most. Great hand speed, great striking, but in the end Adesanya is the superior striker. If Whittaker had Holland's size and reach, definitely.

Edmen Shahbazyan - decent striker, bad cardio, clearly not a match

Sean Strickland - just no!

Chris Weidman - Adesanya would chop his broken leg pretty fast. Prime Weidman clearly has a chance.

Omari Akhmedov - basically Vettori with no cardio?!?!

Kevin Holland - I really believe Holland has the best chance. I know he lost twice in a row, but to wrestlers. His striking is legit, and he has the power and the reach. I am not saying he would beat Adesanya, I'm saying he has the best chance from all the ranked fighters.

Brad Tavares - already outclassed


I actually believe Rockhold would have a better chance than all of the ranked fighters. Sure, his chin is not so good, but if he improves his takedowns, he could be a problem.

TLDR: "I actually believe Rockhold would have a better chance than all of the ranked fighters. Sure, his chin is not so good, but if he improves his takedowns, he could be a problem."

 

[D'z]

Bobby, MVP, and possibly Uriah Hall.

 

[Xoleth]

TLDR: "I actually believe Rockhold would have a better chance than all of the ranked fighters. Sure, his chin is not so good, but if he improves his takedowns, he could be a problem."

Indeed.
Please tell me who would have a better chance than him from the ranked fighters.

 

[youllneverwalkalone]

Indeed.
Please tell me who would have a better chance than him from the ranked fighters.

Almost anybody. Not so much because they are better skill-wise than Rockhold but rather because we are in the year 2021.

Robert and Darren Till have the best shot

I get Robert but Darren Till? He has done little-to-nothing noteworthy at 185 and is inactive af. What makes you think he is a threat to Adesanya?

 

[JustBleed69]

Robert Whittaker - he really needs another game plan, maybe more offensive wrestling and he doesn't excel at it. I just don't see Whittaker winning.

Paulo Costa - No! Just no! There was clearly something off with him in their fight, but even in his best day, his reach and his lack of technique are not helping him at all. Maybe with a blitz like Vitor did vs Wand, but he is not explosive enough.

Jared Cannonier - got outclassed by Whittaker, not a match for Adesanya

Marvin Vettori - 0-2 already

Derek Brunson - lost to Adesanya and his wrestling is not that good to hump him for 5 rounds

Jack Hermansson - maybe with an unexpected submission, but he has poor striking

Darren Till - lol, just lol

Uriah Hall - good striker, but not champion material, not a problem for Adesanya

Kelvin Gastelum - he really had a good fight with Adesanya and hurt him the most. Great hand speed, great striking, but in the end Adesanya is the superior striker. If Whittaker had Holland's size and reach, definitely.

Edmen Shahbazyan - decent striker, bad cardio, clearly not a match

Sean Strickland - just no!

Chris Weidman - Adesanya would chop his broken leg pretty fast. Prime Weidman clearly has a chance.

Omari Akhmedov - basically Vettori with no cardio?!?!

Kevin Holland - I really believe Holland has the best chance. I know he lost twice in a row, but to wrestlers. His striking is legit, and he has the power and the reach. I am not saying he would beat Adesanya, I'm saying he has the best chance from all the ranked fighters.

Brad Tavares - already outclassed


I actually believe Rockhold would have a better chance than all of the ranked fighters. Sure, his chin is not so good, but if he improves his takedowns, he could be a problem.

I pretty much agree, although I think if Whittaker fights smarter the fight could at the very least be competitive.

 

[pamirec]

Rob, if he decides to wrestle.

 

[Xoleth]

Almost anybody. Not so much because they are better skill-wise than Rockhold but rather because we are in the year 2021.

They are not more skilled than him on the ground.
Not even close.
No, not a fan of Rockhold.

 

[jitzmonkey]

Indeed.
Please tell me who would have a better chance than him from the ranked fighters.

Whittaker needs to make adjustments to his approach; but definitely has all of the skills to beat Adesanya.

Rockhold has 0 chin & boxing defense. That's not a good recipe to beat the best technical male striker in the UFC.

Izzy would counter the sh-t out of him and make him look like a child. It wouldn't be Anderson vs. Forrest; but...

That said, if he can get by Whittaker for a second time, I don't see anyone giving him too much trouble over the following few fights.

Maybe Khamzat puts on some size and keeps working on his striking if COVID didn't destroy him.
Maybe Kevin Holland with his good BJJ game and his crisp hands actually learns how to *wrestle.
Maybe Uriah Hall keeps his run alive and hopefully (unlikely) isn't too old.
Till could change camps and actually take the sport seriously (probably wouldn't happen.)

That said, all Whittaker and all 4 of the above would give Izzy a tougher fight than Rockhold who should be only using his fights to promote his acting/modeling career.

 

[youllneverwalkalone]

They are not more skilled than him on the ground.
Not even close.
No, not a fan of Rockhold.

That's what I said, I don't think they are more skilled than Rockhold. The point is Luke is a retired guy who got KTFO left and right in the tail end of his career, he probably has negative chin at this point. Besides, while he may be more skilled on the ground than most ranked MWs, he was never known to have good TDs so the likelihood that he can gets Izzy down is minimal. Much more likely Izzy catches him with something big on the feet and finishes him.

 

[Xoleth]

That's what I said, I don't think they are more skilled than Rockhold. The point is Luke is a retired guy who got KTFO left and right in the tail end of his career, he probably has negative chin at this point. Besides, while he may be more skilled on the ground than most ranked MWs, he was never known to have good TDs so the likelihood that he can gets Izzy down is minimal. Much more likely Izzy catches him with something big on the feet and finishes him.

I didn't say he would beat Adesanya.
I said he has better chances than ranked MWs.

KTFO left and right - by Romero and Jan, two guys who could KO 99% of fighters.
I give you Bisping

 

[Bowel-forged Stool]

I think this is pretty accurate. I’m traditionally a Rockhold hater, but if his chin could stay bubble wrapped long enough to make it to Izzy, he could take the belt

 

[blaseblah]

Usman potentially, but he won't fight him as they are friends. Rockhold has no chin and no offensive wrestling, not sure why he is being mentioned.

 

[Ares Black]

Elias Theodorou