Why is Lee such a huge betting favorite over Iaquinta?

Lee was outstriking Tony, outgrappling him , even mounted him. He was winning the fight and by all accounts looked to be the superior fighter up until he gassed.

That was Lee fighting with a staph infection and likely on antibiotics as well

That fight in itself was a clear Indication that Lee is at the absolute top of the division and all while being only 25 years old.The Barboza fight only solidified it.

Only people sleeping on him at this point are just blind / slow. There's really no world where Lee doesn't end up as a future champion within the next few years.

Al Iaquinta is a good fighter but he's destined to be a journeyman / gatekeeper. He will likely never be at the top of the division.
 
I can obviously see why oddsmakers have Lee as a big favorite. He has been much more active fighting 9 times since April 2015 compared to Iaquinta who has only fought 3 times since April 2015. Lee has gathered FINISHES over Jake Matthews, Trinaldo, Chiesa, and Barboza. While Iaquinta has only manged a split decision over Masvidal, and a KO over an aged and easy knockout of Diego Sanchez. We can take away some things from the Khabib fight for Al, he showed extreme heart, great cardio for being put in on less than like 3 days notice, and good takedown defense especially later in the fight.

Kevin Lee has also shown tremendous developments in his physical appearance most likely due to his age, he is only 26. But, what we have seen since the Al fight in 2014 is that he is still the same style of fighter. Lee has a mean double leg, a great squeeze on your neck, and smothering top position. Thing is tho, even Khabib struggled at times to keep Iaquinta on the ground and that was Iaquinta on 3 days notice. Obviously, Kevin Lee's size, strength of schedule, and physical appearance make him a safe bet, at -350 right now I don't see him as a good bet. Iaquinta has all the skills to win, and if he can keep the fight off the ground for the first 3 rounds which is where Lee will be the absolute strongest, then he has a good chance at winning. +290 for Al is a good play.
 
Bologna1 said:
either lee is going to dominate or lose IMO. don't see it being a close fight if he takes it. he also definitely thinks its gonna be an easy matchup - so we'll find out if he's right.
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He thinks every fight is going to be an easy matchup
 
Kvothe_the_kingkiller said:
Not according to https://www.bestfightodds.com/. Maybe he's +350 somewhere; if so, i'd definitely take those odds :)

EDIT: By the way, in the Original Post you mention that some sites have Lee as -350, but FYI that does NOT MEAN that his opponent is automatically +350.... ;)
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Hah, I realize that. I'm out on my feet right now so I'm not thinking clearly. The best I have him is a +290. Thank you and good catch.
 
cevo said:
Iaquinta barely fights anymore, and Lee has been active and improving for years. Based on just skill it's a toss-up.
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I agree. Lee has not only been more active, but smashed Barboza in his last fight, while Iaquinta put in a capable but forgettable performance against Khabib.
 
I got Lee. He won a round vs Al in the first fight. Now it's Lee 3.0 vs real estate Al.
 
Alpha_T83 said:
I agree with that. Al Iquinta seems like your average guy without a huge amount of talent and athleticism that pushed his career as far as he could possibly go. I think a lot of that toughness is just discipline and determination.

If you gave someone as hard working and well rounded as Al Iquinta the genetics & talent of GSP, he'd probably be the greatest ever by a substantial margin.
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Al went 5 rounds with khabib on a weeks notice...I think that says alot of his skill..khabib couldn't keep al down...so I think this fight is going to be very competitive...regardless of who is favored...
 
UFCBlackbelt said:
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/how-is-david-tank-abbot-remembered.3201061/page-5
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/is-tank-abbot-worthy-of-the-ufc-hof.3135945/ (majority voted yes)
http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/ufc-and-sherdog-legend-tank-abbott.3876027/

Tank Abbot is always referred to as a legend, it's nuts. The guy barely beat anyone impressive. If this was modern MMA it would be like calling Artem a legend. It's ludicrous.
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What does your post have to do with this thread?
 
Kevin has been doing ok against good competition 6-1 in his last 7, Al has done alright too but didnt put much of a fight against Khabib and hasnt fought much in the last 3 years. Also isnt Kevin training at Floyd's gym? i have seen his trainer in a lot of TMT videos on youtube.
 
Did you see what happened to Al vs Khabib? Lee is stronger in the first than even Khabib and just mows people over with pure brute strength. By the second, you are gassed and fatigued like Barboza, and your game is different. Lee was a baby when that fight took place and has advanced greatly. It will be fun but he is deservedly the favorite.
 
cevo said:
Iaquinta barely fights anymore, and Lee has been active and improving for years. Based on just skill it's a toss-up.
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This is actually a very overlooked fact. Lee is the only top 10 fighter who has been consistently fighting over the last few years instead of taking off months or years at a time.

If Al wins I'll comfortably change my tune, but the reality is is that a small but vocal population is simply very overrating Al.
 
markg171 said:
This is actually a very overlooked fact. Lee is the only top 10 fighter who has been consistently fighting over the last few years instead of taking off months or years at a time.

If Al wins I'll comfortably change my tune, but the reality is is that a small but vocal population is simply very overrating Al.
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lol, no one is overlooking that. The main arguement for why Lee will win is that Lee has been busy fighting and Al hasn't had many fights in the last few years.
 
NoBiasJustMMA said:
lol, no one is overlooking that. The main arguement for why Lee will win is that Lee has been busy fighting and Al hasn't had many fights in the last few years.
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Read the very next sentence.

Lee is the only top 10 fighter who has been consistently fighting over the last few years instead of taking off months or years at a time.
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Literally every time someone talks about how LW's "been held up" they ignore that Lee was the most active fighter during that period while everyone else except Poirier were sitting around waiting to be blessed for a red panty night instead of going out and trying to secure one by actually fighting.
 
markg171 said:
Read the very next sentence.



Literally every time someone talks about how LW's "been held up" they ignore that Lee was the most active fighter during that period while everyone else except Poirier were sitting around waiting to be blessed for a red panty night instead of going out and trying to secure one by actually fighting.
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Poirier has been active as well but he had a hip problem recently. Lee isn't the only active LW, but he's been healthy and others have had injuries or recently got suspended.

You said Lee being active is a very overlooked fact, which it isn't as most everyone knows he's been active.
 
Because Al sucks, only got any interest after getting his ass kicked by Khabib lol he was literally a joke before the Khabib fight that nobody cared about and his constant crying online was hilarious
 
Gamblers can't resist the right amount of Black muscles
 
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