Why is Lee such a huge betting favorite over Iaquinta?

[Bojka]

People saw how bad AI's striking was against Khabib.

 

[fortheo]

Maybe because Kevin Lee is a really really good fighter while Iaquinta is a fucking real estate agent

Kevin Lee is going to take his ball sack and shove it in Iaquinta's ass

lol

There is a substantial gap in athleticism. AI is fundamentally sound in all areas, not great in any area. Very durable, but a little slow and pondering. Lee should be able to light him up standing or on the ground. Look for a one sided beat down, probably a decision because AI is tough as nails.

This was actually a respectful analysis, except for thinking Lee could light Al up on the feet. When does Lee ever really do that, especially over the course of five rounds?

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.

Change that tune, Mark

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.

Lee was the one who gassed. That weight cut is too much for him.

People saw how bad AI's striking was against Khabib.

Their first fight was almost 5 years ago, was extremely competitive, and Kevin Lee has made massive improvements since then. Lee was 21, younger than Max was when he fought Conor. You basically need to pretend that fight didn't happen when analyzing the matchup.

The two fights were actually pretty similar, though. If anyone showed improvements, it was AI.

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.

 

[Your Account]

 

[TheLinguist]

Maybe because Kevin Lee is a really really good fighter while Iaquinta is a fucking real estate agent

Kevin Lee is going to take his ball sack and shove it in Iaquinta's ass

O RLY?

 

[Dark Individual]

Maybe because Kevin Lee is a really really good fighter while Iaquinta is a fucking real estate agent

Kevin Lee is going to take his ball sack and shove it in Iaquinta's ass

Kevin Lee should find another career now since he can't even beat the measly real estate agent

 

[Dark Individual]

Look at the Conor nutgobblers hyping up Lee here lmao. Their hero looked like an amateur against Khabib so they pin their hopes on a run of the mill american wrestler and discredit an actual stud fighter in Al. Another reality check for the retards.

 

[GoshiShun17]

If lee wins this fight he’s future lw champ

If lee loses this fight he’s always been an over rated bum

Such wisdom

 

[markg171]

Change that tune, Mark

Ain't changing shit over Lee being too dumb to take the fight to the ground and willfully choosing to stand with Al.

 

[Mammothman]

There is a substantial gap in athleticism. AI is fundamentally sound in all areas, not great in any area. Very durable, but a little slow and pondering. Lee should be able to light him up standing or on the ground. Look for a one sided beat down, probably a decision because AI is tough as nails.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

Lee was the one who gassed. That weight cut is too much for him.


]

Indeed, he did. Still, his first few round onslaught that we witnessed before is brutal and he has a way of just physically toying with great fighters. What he did to Barboza was very impressive, aside from taking that one head kick, and his first round vs Tony was impressive too. Lee seems to have the same problem as Conor, Lombard or Rumble, in that he starts hard but when he fades, he looks for a way out - probably a fast twitched vs slow twitch kind of thing. His control, hips and dominant position taking is just top notch. I still think with all the information that we were given that Lee should have been the favorite, seeing as he did progress a lot since the first fight - no one knew how much Al progressed and that was the factor. Al is tough as nails, might consider putting him almost in a Diaz or Ferguson tier of toughness.

 

[NoSmilez]

I think they just expected him to take down Al and strangle him. Serra did the homework and had Al start with people behind his back during positional sparring. I am a big fan of positional rolling since it forces a person to perhaps work on their weaknesses.

 

[cherryzero]

Ain't changing shit over Lee being too dumb to take the fight to the ground and willfully choosing to stand with Al.

It wasn’t a case of Lee being too dumb. It was a cardio issue. He spent a good part of the second (iirc it was the 2nd) in Al’s back with a body triangle locked in. All he had to show for it was being more spent than Al at the end of it.

The second time he had Al’s back, Al got out of it and spent the rest of the round lighting him up.

I’m not sure Lee needs to move up, but he definitely needs to lose some muscle mass if he doesn’t. He was breathing through an open mouth at the end of the 1st where 90% of his output was jabs.

 

[markg171]

It wasn’t a case of Lee being too dumb

He went for zero takedowns in round 1, zero in round 4, and only 1 round 5.

Yes it's a case of him being too dumb.

 

[AGEZ909]

This is COMPLETELY off topic, but does anyone think that Al's last name should start with an "L" as opposed to an "I"

Is the dude of Latin decent by any chance because the above statement would make perfect sense if so. "La Quinta" literally translates to "The Fifth" in Spanish.


anyway, Al is criminally underrated, that's why OP. He put up a decent performance on 10 seconds notice against khabib. Idk why the man doesn't get his due respect. Won a quick 5 bucks on this last fight.

 

[cherryzero]

He went for zero takedowns in round 1, zero in round 4, and only 1 round 5.

Yes it's a case of him being too dumb.

Sure, completely ignore why and just focus on the number. It's not like takedowns are energy intensive....

Oh wait, they are.

 

[Cat Biscuits]

Maybe because Kevin Lee is a really really good fighter while Iaquinta is a fucking real estate agent

Kevin Lee is going to take his ball sack and shove it in Iaquinta's ass

Conor fan or just stupid?

 

[HenryFlower]

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.