I think it was the fourth round where Bisping and DC started to disagree with each other. DC said Whitaker should of never gave up the leverage around the cage by resetting and moving to the middle of the octagon. Bisping said well he was probably tired from that sequence and needed a breather. DC responded in order to beat Izzy you need to take chances that will make you uncomfortable because now you gave Izzy the distance and he’s just going to keep pushing forward.
DC was correct imo.
I agree w/ DC as well. It takes effort to close the distance with someone like Izzy. Whittaker did it several times but then gave it up. His most significant head strike was a short left hook (to my recollection) immediately after separating from clinch. He should’ve thrown elbows, short punches. In terms of distant punching/kicking, should’ve gone more to the body. But I’m he knows better than us and decided not to do those things… who knows… easier said than done.
There is no doubt a fighter who loses a close decision could have done more. Same could be said for Izzy too though in the same close fight. It was close enough that a small minority of writers thought Rob won and 2/3 judges scored it 3-2 Izzy. Izzy could have done more to make it more definitive.
I don’t think Whitaker opened up enough for Izzy to look for the KO. He works better countering off peoples aggression. If his opponents play it safe he’ll just pick you apart from a comfortable distance and settle for a decision.
True but I don’t think izzy was that comfortable towards the end. Robs jab and tds gave him something to think about.
I agree with that. That’s why I felt he could of tried to do more because the openings were there. DC saw the same thing.
I couldn’t make out what his coaches were saying between rounds. I’m curious to know what advice they were giving the last two rounds.
The whole ’ you gotta take the belt off the champ ’ stuff is bullshit, its the same in boxing. There is nothing in the rules that say you have to win in a more dominant fashion over a champion than over a contender. Its more an excuse a champion will give in a close fight because they didn’t perform. Thats what i have found anyway. Whittaker could have done more and so could Adesanya, neither were dominant. Takedowns, control and cleaner punches would normally win a fight. Adesanya controlled the octagon but that had to be the way , Whittaker had to let the counter striker lead. Good counter strikers can fall apart when forced to lead. Adesanya had octagon control and leg kicks , Whittaker had Takedowns and jabs. Lets not act like Adesanya did much at all, that why it was close because fuck all really happened on both sides.
Good stuff.
Thing about Izzy though is unlike Anderson, he can fight on the lead and counter. We saw how effective he was on the lead in r1.
could have
You’re on the wrong forum.
His ability to lead wasnt great towards the end of the fight. As soon as he started to get countered he got very gun shy , similar happened in the Romero fight. He ate a huge left hand counter and then stuck to leg kicks. I don’t see anyone in the division that can capitalise on this at the moment. A performance like Chael Sonnens vs Silva in the first fight could be effective, would need a wrestler that disguises their takedowns with strikes to be successful.
DC was correct but doing that is not Bobby’s game, he likes the centre of the cage and instincts take over a lot of times.
IMO the Middleweight division with Izzy and Bobby(Izzy being the Champ, and Bobby being the very close second), is just like the Welterweight division with Usman and Colby. Bobby is the Colby to Izzy’s Usman.
Yea unfortunately for him he won’t get past Israel.
He schooled Costa on the lead and finished him. Yes there is a lack of primary wrestlers right now at MW. Prime Weidman would have been tough. Weidman is also 6’2” and had 77/78” reach iirc.
Yeah but Costa literally stood there in front and didnt offer up any resistance. Its easy to lead when someone isnt firing back. Yeah i agree , prime Weidman would have been an issue for him.
Same guy that was also Anderson’s cryptonite
Yup! However I think Izzy has better tdd with both range and framing off esp against the cage and we also saw how well he can stand back up too which is very important. Anderson was the better bjj guy off his back. But Weidmans range control in mixing his striking and tds was also top notch in his prime and with his size that would have been challenging for Izzy. Maybe Chamzat fills that void.
Izzys distance management might also be a big factor for Khazmat. We haven’t seen him deal with anyone like Izzy. Its one thing to have the wrestling but he will need good set ups or Izzy could turn him into a highlight reel.
For sure.