Whitaker fans must be frustrated

Underground
21

He still managed some tds but off counters mostly? Still miss the GSP style effortless transitions off the strikes.

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22

To me he was too much in his own head imo. I think he just gave too much respect in there. I understand about fighting intelligently. But there’s ways to apply intelligent pressure. He had nothing to lose really, he’s already been KO’d by Israel go out and try for a finish which he needed imo.

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23

Yeah and what frustrated me was like everytime they were separating from the clinch, Whittaker was backing off, like come on, you are in a range where Adesanya is the least dangerous, and you back off. Do something when separating, thats where you’re better aswell…

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24

Whitaker had a great gameplan. The Bruce Lee/Jon Jones knee kick was working well for him.

He is very skilled.

The problem is, he is much smaller/shorter than Izzy, but isn’t a heavy puncher.

If Romero had that gameplan he would have been champ.

Whitaker is the clear second best at 185. I’m not sure where he goes from here. He gave it his all, he was composed, had a great gameplan, just doesn’t have the physics needed to pull it off.

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25

Yes. I always thought Whitaker was more diverse with his striking if I remember correctly.

26

I thought they both fought poorly in terms of strategy.

Isreal should have stayed with the kick to Whittakers lead leg that was so effective in rd 1. Robert should have been forced to switch stances; he never was.

Robert’s training camp should have been takedown/wrestling intensive. He had a great opportunity when he was on izzy’s back and a body triangle would have been interesting had he tried it and got it.

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27

He def could have taken advantage of that more yes.

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28

Rob got enough tds but Izzy’s ability to get back up and also defend when Rob took his back standing.

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29

The bottom line is Whittaker spent too much time fighting in Israel’s comfort zone. It was a good showing but not good enough.

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30

I’d be surprised if it wasn’t. But Whitaker iirc isn’t a lifetime wrestler, nor a bjj ace. He’s not Charles Oliveira on the back.

Someone with that skillset could have finished izzy.

I already felt Jon Jones beats Adesanya. This fight further affirms that belief.

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31

Whittaker did great compared to last time. Seemed like he was fighting to not get caught, rather than win. The aggression that would be necessary to take home the win wasn’t really there.

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32

I will say this – he had a BIG smile on his face at the start of the in-cage post fight interview with DC.

I don’t think he was fighting not to lose, but i remember thinking he seems pretty happy considering he lost.

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33

  1. Whittaker needed more aggression. He let Izzy dictate the pace and range.

  2. He needed to make more happen in the clinch against the cage. So many times he’d clinch up, they’d move against the cage, and then they’d stall out until Izzy escaped. I wish more guys looked for Greco takedowns rather than always looking for doubles and singles against the fence.

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34

It’s a bit frustrating for fans of both guys honestly. It’s cool to see a dominant championship legacy but sucks when it’s at the cost of exciting fights

Saw this a lot with GSP and occasionally with ando. Happy for the guys. Respect them but lacklustre fight

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36

100% agree Barry

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37

I was waiting for Whittaker to start putting more punches together off of that double jab. He was starting to land it with more regularity, and something about it was throwing Izzy off, because he caught (or forced) Izzy straight back and off balance a couple times, but then he didn’t follow it up.

This is of course also a credit to Izzy for, even though getting hit, never ceasing his movement and not being there to take subsequent power shots. IMO once we got to round 4, Rob had to start taking more chances, but by then, it’s extremely difficult to play from behind against someone like Izzy, especially if you legitimately think you were winning the fight, as Whittaker seemed to.

Fights like these between two elite level guys often come down to “moments”. Izzy’s early work and steady, consistent striking simply outweighed Whittaker’s moments of double jabs and takedowns, because the double jabs didn’t lead to bigger lands, and the takedowns didn’t lead to sustained ground control or submission attempts.

This fight, with a few changes, could have gone the other way, and in reality, was very close.

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38

I think Whittaker didnt feel like any follow up shots were gonna land, so he didnt even bother. He knew Izzy wasnt going to be there.

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39

I thought he shouldn’t have given up the back so easily even if he didn’t manage to get under Adesanya’s chin.

That was his one big chance imo.

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40

Like Izzy said before the fight, had some real estate in Whittaker’s brain after the first fight. Whittaker was extra cautionary. Izzy did mostly leg damage and had a first round round knockdown, Whittaker did better with the jab but wasn’t enough to win and his takedowns were dry. Good decision by Refs overall even though was rooting for Whittaker.

Sadly, nobody beats Izzy in this division unless very high level grappler/wrestler who can keep him down or higher level kickboxer (Pereira?).

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41

I know you get some shit on here. But I love me some Bobbyolympic.