Will Izzy coming in light impact the grappling exchanges?

[arcadeperfect]

how many times vettori took adesanya down ?
imagine what a bigger dude like Jan will do to him
He just have to mix it up don't just stand and kickbox with the guy

Vettori only managed to do that in the 3rd round. He also cuts the same amount of weight as Paulo Costa.

 

[SecondToNone]

I’m always hoping for a close fight. I’m an Izzy guy. Think he’s just a special fighter and got the upmost respect for how active he’s remained and the willingness to challenge everyone. That being said, I still always hope for a close fight no matter who’s involved.

I just don’t see it happening.

Paulo could barely touch Izzy and the speed difference was evident through out. Now you’re throwing another fighter who’s even slower then Paulo in there against Izzy? This has all the makings of a one sided beating.

Paulo could have hit Izzy if he fought smarter. He didn't even try because he had to use a different strategy than usual. Also, range.

 

[fg1985bg]

Paulo could have hit Izzy if he fought smarter. He didn't even try because he had to use a different strategy than usual. Also, range.

Range was a factor...Yes I’m not denying that. But saying that Paulo “could have” hit Izzy is something that can be applied to any fight. The fact is, he didn’t hit Izzy. There was issues with movement, speed, the pacing and so one. Those same issues are issues that Jan is going to struggle with as well.

Again, saying what “could have” happened in a fight just opens the door for a never ending line of excuses for fighters. What happened to Paulo that night is that he ran into a special fighter who’s on great run. It’s the same thing that’s going to happen to Jan because the gap in speed/movement is even more apparent in this match up.

 

[Andrusz]

I’m always hoping for a close fight. I’m an Izzy guy. Think he’s just a special fighter and got the upmost respect for how active he’s remained and the willingness to challenge everyone. That being said, I still always hope for a close fight no matter who’s involved.

I just don’t see it happening.

Paulo could barely touch Izzy and the speed difference was evident through out. Now you’re throwing another fighter who’s even slower then Paulo in there against Izzy? This has all the makings of a one sided beating.

I think Jan has a much higher fight IQ than Costa.

Costa's gameplan was just idiotic, he never engaged or pushed the action, definitely didn't try to grapple and honestly wasn't really that much bigger than Izzy. His frame is more filled out but he's not physically bigger than Izzy by any means.

He was picked apart on the outside with leg kicks and when they were taking their toll he rushed in and got styled on. Textbook gameplan execution by Izzy.

Jan I don't believe will be as easily manipulated and he is a lot more dangerous than Costa. He has true one punch KO power and Izzy is coming up a weight class. I think he also is more durable than Costa and will have to be hit with a perfect shot to be put away. Izzy will do the same outside gameplan to chop him down but I expect Jan to be more calculating and adaptive than Costa.

The longer this fight goes the more is is against Izzy imo. Them getting tired will even out the striking playing field.

Having said all that Izzy is definitely the favourite and the other high caliber Kickboxer - Thiago Santos - that faced Jan slept him relatively easily. Santos however is a powerful punch, so the circumstances are also different.

I say 60/40 Izzy as well, but my heart is definitely with Jan.

 

[Tweak896]

This feels like I'm reliving Silva vs Griffin again. Like Jan ever size bullied anyone.

 

[Blayt7hh]

Jans not really a big 205er. Size matters and it will be an advantage on the ground. Out of all the combat sports though I would say size matters the least in jiujitsu. Given that plus the small difference in their sizes, it’s going to come down to who is more skilled on the ground if it ends up on the ground

 

[machidafan99]

yes, he'll be dominated

 

[fg1985bg]

This feels like I'm reliving Silva vs Griffin again. Like Jan ever size bullied anyone.

This.

All of a sudden Jan is being portrayed as this unstoppable force of nature with a touch of death that manhandles all his opponents like toys.

 

[jeff7b9]

My theory is that Jan will look to grapple in this match. He has fantastic submission wrestling. He submitted both Devin Clark and Nikita Krylov (which was a fair stunner at the time and that's when we were like OK JAN IS A CONTENDER). In all fairness, he dictated a lot of the clinch exchanges against Rockhold and Jacare, too. With Izzy coming in light, it may not be a far-fetched idea to think that Jan will rely a lot on those early strength exchanges in the grappling to impose his will. I expect him to be cautious with the striking, only opening up after asserting respect with his physicality in the clinch. What do you guys think? Would this be a potential route for Jan?

It is absolutely his best path to find success in this fight.

Izzy has done a fantastic job of avoiding being hit in every fight except his Gastelum fight, where:
- he still got the overall better of the exchanges, and
- has improved his defense since then

I would also add that Jan should look to wall and stall early and lean and hang on Izzy, not even necessarily prioritizing the TD as that could lead to Jan expending energy, but rather use a GSP vs BJ 2 approach, with a pinch of Mohammad Ali’s pulling hard on the neck to get opponent tired and fatigue the neck and back muscles.


Jan needs to limit time at long range striking, he should be thinking Randy Couture style, strike his way inside and then cling to Izzy like white on rice.


I would have Jan trying to apply enough pressure to prevent Izzy from having time to implement feints and have enough exchanges at distance to start making reads to time Jan coming in, as Izzy will be trying to run Jan into a counter, maybe that left hook, or a pull back right straight (a la F Mayweather)

 

[Dante]

Izzy works on his grappling all the time; if Yoel could not keep him down I sincerely doubt that Jan can. Technique outweighs strength and mass(to a certain extent) he’s also tall and lanky and athletic so I can see a takedown happening for Jan; but I don’t see Jan keeping him on the ground

 

[The Half Blood Prince]

Jan is going to rag doll him. I honestly believe it's going to be pretty lopsided, as long as Jan sticks with the grappling.

Jan is going to strike with Izzy multiple times

Enough to get countered standing up. Jan is a striker not a grappler its where he feels most comfortable just like how Whittaker only striked with him.

Thats why in his last 5 fights he has only shot once. One takedown attempt. That's it.

 

[jeff7b9]

The grappling should heavily favor Jan in both power and technique.

Does anyone know if this is going to be in the small cage?

Apex
Yes, small cage.

 

[TreeOfWoe]

You could interchange Jans name for Paulo and these threads would look similar to those when Izzy vs Paulo was happening.

“Jan is massive”
“Too strong for Izzy”
“ will manhandle him and over power him”
“Izzy can’t knock him out “
“Izzy gonna get destroyed”

All that’s missing is a few “skinny clown” insults.

All Jan has is a punchers chance. There is too much of a skill gap between the two. Jan is a nice lovable dude but he’s a placeholder and it’s up to him to decide how he loses this fight. He tries to be technical and it’s a 5 round massacre. He tries to rush and maul Izzy, he eventually goes to sleep.

Jan is in control of how he loses this fight.

Jan and Paulo are completely different fighters you moron. It doesn't matter what plebs were saying on here prior to the fights.

 

[Andrusz]

This feels like I'm reliving Silva vs Griffin again. Like Jan ever size bullied anyone.

If Izzy wins it will look like that most likely I agree.

 

[Hoist The Flag]

Izzy be like: "What grappling exchanges?".

 

[Steve Fox]

You could interchange Jans name for Paulo and these threads would look similar to those when Izzy vs Paulo was happening.

“Jan is massive”
“Too strong for Izzy”
“ will manhandle him and over power him”
“Izzy can’t knock him out “
“Izzy gonna get destroyed”

All that’s missing is a few “skinny clown” insults.

All Jan has is a punchers chance. There is too much of a skill gap between the two. Jan is a nice lovable dude but he’s a placeholder and it’s up to him to decide how he loses this fight. He tries to be technical and it’s a 5 round massacre. He tries to rush and maul Izzy, he eventually goes to sleep.

Jan is in control of how he loses this fight.

Don't compare Jan to Ricky Martin.

Paulo could have hit Izzy if he fought smarter. He didn't even try because he had to use a different strategy than usual. Also, range.

Paulo and smarter don't belong in the same sentence.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

You could interchange Jans name for Paulo and these threads would look similar to those when Izzy vs Paulo was happening.

“Jan is massive”
“Too strong for Izzy”
“ will manhandle him and over power him”
“Izzy can’t knock him out “
“Izzy gonna get destroyed”

All that’s missing is a few “skinny clown” insults.

All Jan has is a punchers chance. There is too much of a skill gap between the two. Jan is a nice lovable dude but he’s a placeholder and it’s up to him to decide how he loses this fight. He tries to be technical and it’s a 5 round massacre. He tries to rush and maul Izzy, he eventually goes to sleep.

Jan is in control of how he loses this fight.

There is a similarity between how this fight and the Costa fight were talked about by some fans. However, Jan is a very different fighter than Paulo. Paulo had a puncher's chance. Jan has multiple routs to victory.

I like Izzy in this fight, but you are treating it like it's a boxing match. I agree that striking favors Izzy a lot, but it's not true that Jan's only two approaches are to rush or to try and strike technically. He can clinch and he can try to take Izzy down. Adesanya's tdd has been fantastic at MW. We don't know yet how it will translate up against the LHW champion.