Would Izzy have success with other fighters at 205lbs?

[Bowel-forged Stool]

People acting like Jan destroyed Izzy ....3-2 Jan and it all came down to the fifth round

A lot of people consider Jan a bum. If Izzy was going to walk away from this looking good, he needed a win.

 

[HatKick]

He can beat several guys in the top 10 but he'd have a much tougher time. Eventually his lack of size and power would be a problem against the elite. Rakic, Jiri, Reyes, Ankalaev and Volkan are much tougher matchups for him than any MW. Don't know if Izzy can grow into a proper LHW. He's built like a tall teenager with that narrow frame.

People also forget Izzy had the advantage of mystery when he fought Jan. Jan literally had to figure out how to beat him on the fly. Now the blueprint has been laid. It's still very hard to do but it's there for guys like Rakic and Ankalaev to follow.

 

[Mammothman]

I think guys like Reyes and Glover would beat him up

 

[Goutfather]

People acting like Jan destroyed Izzy ....3-2 Jan and it all came down to the fifth round

no it was 4-1, with a 10-8 round. It was a lopsided blowout, with a hyped challenger suffering a humiliating defeat in a bout he was favored to win.

 

[DatSamboKid]

Israel is an average sized MW. He can probably make 170lbs if his life depended on it. I argued that the 20lbs weight gap between MW and LHW was underrated heading into Israel vs Jan.

I don’t think Israel will have much success at 205lbs if he doesn’t add some muscle mass.

 

[BigGucciSosa]

If he bulks up he'd be champ

 

[kalabula]

He was competitive with the current champ. That says something about how he would fair, I think.

 

[tehMoose]

lmao no

 

[SokoudjouFanboy]

Of course he'd have success. Hell he could be champ. But I do think a fighter tends to be P4P dominant in a single given weight class and they play with fire when they move up and down. I think at 205 guys that tried to follow blueprints that failed against him at 185 (ie the Vetorri blueprint) could have more success. But he's still the most dynamic striker in the sport with great TDD. It's a tough ask.

 

[Stagliano]

no it was 4-1, with a 10-8 round. It was a lopsided blowout, with a hyped challenger suffering a humiliating defeat in a bout he was favored to win.

Losing against the champ in a higher weightclass is not what I'd call humiliating.

 

[Prefect]

Who knows.

I think Izzy's (small) size could become very problematic, especially since 205ers of today are often quite big.

After all, Izzy barely cuts weight for 185.

I get tired of the he needs to move up in weight thing. Izzy is going to get merked by someone way less skilled at LHW.

 

[Noctilux]

He would lose to The Huntington Beach Bad Boy Tito Ortiz.

I've never seen anyone die of laughter.

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Usman said he wasn't interested in the fight but with his improved striking and high level wrestling he seems tailor made to beat izzy.

Considering both are looking like the new gsp and Silva, it's interesting to see if this ever gets more heat.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

If he goes to LHW.. I think he will win some and lose some. I actually think he would beat Reyes, who I have never been overly impressed with personally. I don't think he will be champ though

 

[ElLunico]

Of course. People act like Jan destroyed Izzy. Izzy held his own thru 3 rounds.

Izzy lost that fight because of the 2 well timed TD's from Jan and Jan just used his weight to hold Izzy down. Jan didn't even do much damage until the finals seconds of the 5th round.

He could definitely beat other LHW's. Hell I would still give him a good chance beating Jan in a rematch

 

[Rajon Rondo]

He wouldn't beat Glover Texeria

 

[Dan the Hangman]

He's a skinny LHW fighting at MW. 6'4 with 80" reach is LHW size fighter, the only reason he has success at MW is because he bullies and counter punches <6ft manlets. He wouldn't break into the top ten at LHW with his embarrasing 1-4 loss to Jan.

 

[Octupus Samurai]

Jan is just too big and carries too much power for Izzy to deal with, but could Adesanya defeat any of the other top LHWs? That division is like a shark tank of talented and powerful strikers, would Izzy want to take another dive in it? Prochazka, Reyes, Ankalaev, etc are tough matchups for him

It his division ofc he would, he only Lost to the champ, he is fighting midgets!

 

[r-harper-1]

A lot of people consider Jan a bum. If Izzy was going to walk away from this looking good, he needed a win.

I don’t think many consider Jan a bum at this stage ....I don’t think Izzy lost much momentum.....obviously a win would’ve been great ....

 

[Ares Black]

Yes, of course.