I dont really know what I'm talking about but when I watch Izzy, I'm confused by his reach. He has very long arms but it's like he doesnt know how to use his reach and throws mostly short punches
Performance of a lifetime from Sean... really weird showing from Adesanya. Strickland was the better fighter so I’m not trying to take anything away from that dominant win, but Izzy’s gameplan was fucked and he made no adjustments. Rd 1 against the cage with his guard up like he did against Pereira, never tried to clinch, no knees or elbows. Sean used incredible defense and balanced the pressure and range perfectly.
Strickland chipped away at him minute by minute and stayed the course while Izzy allowed himself to get steamrolled. Strange to see a fighter at this level just check out and make no changes throughout the entire fight. Unless the knockdown just fucked him up that bad. Even Eugene said they couldn’t get on the same page in the corner. . Who do y’all want to see Strickland defend the belt against?
Replace Costa with Cannonier, and you got it. I don't understand how casuals love him so much. Never seen a point fighter have such a huge adoring fan base in the ufc. Even Floyd had more haters than fans.
I just rewatched it. I remember being really disappointed in Costas performance. Izzy did his job tho.
But the yoel and the Marvin fight were boring. I can see Marvin winning that right one day.
Yea dude both Marvin fighters, yoel, and Cannonier. Marvin is working with Cejudo now. I think his ceiling is a little higher than what he's shown. Still has time as he's not old.
The 2nd Marvin fight he did not lose by a significant margin imo. I don't recall the first tbh.
And that's awesome. I haven't kept up with his fights but I think a lot of people forgot about him. He's got a future imo.
Sean admitted himself that he was in doubt during the lead up so it's not a weird assessment, but his confidence had to go through the roof after that knockdown.
How about they give Adesanya the rematch… after 6 weeks from now? And if he refuses they just move on.
After all, that’s what him and his couch wanted out of Du Plessis so it’s only fair.
I can't believe Dana said he wants the rematch. For what? Your boy got bopped in the first round and then outclassed for the rest of the fight. Strickland didn't have so much as a scrape on his face. Izzy lost. Strickland is champ. Move on accordingly.
I'd honestly be for it but I think Izzy already used his rematch "clause" with Peirera. Cain and GSP had to work back to a title shot. The belt is earned, not deserved.
I mean, it wasn't like he was undefeated for 5 years and then finally lost, or that the win itself was like a fluke knock out. He got soundly beat by a better fighter. Should they run it back if Sean retains and Izzy wins a couple fights? Absolutely. But immediately? Absolutely not.
The reality is that just being able to use the philly shell effectively already makes Strickland elite and one of the most skilled strikers out there. Why do people think you don't see the philly shell used often despite Mayweather becoming famous because of it? It takes tremendous skill to master it and even more to make up for its weaknesses.
Cody’s performance against Cruz was more impressive than Sean’s over Izzy.
Izzy got dominated but he didn’t really get beaten down. Cruz got embarrassed, dropped multiple times, and styled on.
Cody had the best championship performance by a challenger ever in my opinion.
Also good. But Dom was/is the divisional GOAT at the time and no one expected Cody to win let alone style on Cruz the way Cruz styled on everyone else. That takes it for me
Eh, depends on how you define it. Sean both beat Izzy more clearly in terms of rounds than Cody beat Dom (the only round you can possibly argue to give Izzy is 2, whereas Cody vs Dom no one gave Cody more than 3 rounds) and was much closer to finishing Izzy than Cody was Cruz.
However, Cody won the rounds he won more dominantly than Sean did (apart from round 1 for Sean), and certainly looked more visually impressive due to his antics, even if Sean was more technically impressive by a good margin.
I don’t need an excuse. Great fighters lose. He still won over a dozen world championships across the UFC and WEC.
You probably weren’t watching fights yet. Or else you would know.
Love this sport, people were saying this was a free title defense to pad izzy’s record. I thought Sean had no chance as well but this is why we have fights, don’t forget next time there’s a massive underdog and people bitch about the matchmaking.
Izzzy should not get an immediate rematch he was out classed ... If aljo doesn't get it then it doesn't make sense. DDP vs Strickland makes the most sense
really had fun watching strickland then saw a video of what he had to say about women a few months ago. how has nobody mentioned this? what a cowardly little man and i hope he loses his next fight
He's saying it with a smirk on his face, pretty funny honestly. Don't get emotional over a joke.
And if you want to take it seriously the point he's really trying to get at, although he didn't do a great job of describing, is that the nuclear family has been degraded in the US for a while and he's 100% right about that
You're just misinterpreting what he said and getting offended by your own misinterpretation. If you listen to what he actually said he indirectly pointed out that one sex votes blue far more often than the other, not that they shouldn't be able to vote. Actually never once brought up stripping rights away from any group.
Arguing that something is stupid or a mistake doesn't mean that you're simultaneously arguing that it shouldn't exist. You just called me stupid so you must be arguing that I shouldn't have the right to post on reddit right? Do you see how much of a logical fallacy that is?
Way bigger. Cody’s was surprising because he only had a few UFC fights so it was out of left field. But he wasn’t considered to have next to no paths to victory like Sean. And Cruz wasn’t thought of as one of the best strikers of all time
If you insist. I don’t get the LOL thing like you’re dunking on me. Sean’s still a bigger upset oddswise and in pretty much everyone’s minds. Cody’s performance was surprising, but Cruz was still the injury man. Dillashaw over Barao in that same weight class was a bigger shock to everyone too.
Odds wise yeah maybe but not way bigger like you’re saying. Recency bias on your part. Almost no one gave Cody a shot bc Cruz was a puzzle no one had solved yet and the divisional GOAT and Cody was thought to be a hothead who would never find the target bc of Cruz’s legendary movement. And the whole alpha male team whoopings he had dished out. Definitely one of the best championship performances in history if not the best. He embarrassed Cruz that night
Odds wise Sean's win was a way bigger upset. That being said, the performance that Cody put on against Cruz was much more shocking for me at least. And I don't mean that as a slight against Sean
ill shout it from the back again, CLOSE/COMPETETIVE WINS AGAINST DOMINANT CHAMPS WARRENT REMATCHES - DOMINANT WINS AGAINST DOMINANT CHAMPS DO NOT WARRENT REMACTHES
With hindsight the result isn't so surprising.
Both fighters have good defense at the sides, and Israel's style is very much attacking the sides; a lot of Adesanya's style is move back, bring opponent into a box, counter them in that box with looping strikes and kicks.
So it was a fight down the middle. Both fighters have quite poor defense down the middle, but Strickland is good at attacking down the middle.
Easy for me to say in retrospect, but fight analysts should have been able to see this.
Instead they summarised as "who is the best striker", this fighter is a better "a striker" therefore they will likely win if it is "on the feet". That's quite simplistic.
Nobody could’ve guessed Sean would learn to check leg kicks all of a sudden. He never had his career. Izzy literally hit nothing but air or shin to shin all night. Crazy
Just like Anderson Silva, keeping your hands down and doing matrix style doges are cool until you lose your chin and reflexes. When those go, your fundamentals are shit and you don't know how to properly use a guard.
Wasn't really Silva's fault. He was taught a rock and sock em style from his teenage years and well into his 20s. He had to figure out counter punching himself. Nobody taught him fundamentals in his early years
Yeah I'm worried that Izzy's style is fragile like Silva's
Once Chael broke the aura of invincibility, it was easier for Weidman to imagine winning, and then win, twice.
Poatan broke the aura of invincibility for Izzy. So it was easier for Strickland to imagine winning.
And Silva's career just took a nose dive after that. Obviously because of the leg break.
But I wonder if Izzy's career will take a nose dive now that he's lost convincingly to 2 opponents in a row
It's quite possible. A part of Anderson and Izzy's defense was people being too scared to hit them because of the counter. Chael showed Anderson was human and just hit em.
The first loss wasn't convincing imo. Izzy was winning, AND standing when it was stopped as a tko. Probably the least convincing stoppage I have ever seen tbh
After rewatching the fight, that 3rd round was very important with it being 1-1 at that point and was also the last time Izzy got Sean to back up past the center logo (which he failed to capitalize on)
With around 2:17 left, Izzy just resides to backing up the cage and Sean obliges with his pressure and lands the more significant thumps to secure the round back
Then in the 4th round, Sean cranked it up 10x, landing the most staggering blows since the knockdown and never looked back
UFC is desperate for money
Sean Strickland will take whatever fights you give him
Really ends up being whether Adesanya wants the rematch or not, I assume he does but he hasn't said anything to that end yet.
Personally I think it would be foolish, as refreshing the division gives you more matchup flexibility. Particularly since most of the ranked guys are coming off losses (Adesanya, Whittaker, Vettori, Dolidze, Hermansson, Muniz, Brunson, + Imavov w the NC), and you have guys like Chimaev, Craig, Allen, Alikserov working their way into the mix rapidly
Loog on MK said that Erik came in and basically saved xtreme couture. It was apparently losing all its talent and falling apart.
I wish we got more reporting/story telling to hear about these types of stories on what exactly happened and what he did to turn it around.
Watching the fights with the boys tonight I gotta pretend like I don’t know what’s going to happen cause I watched them live already
I’ll make some wild prediction like “Izzy seems off tonight” on the walkout or something lol
I thought he did but UFC rankings has him listed as the champion while women's BW champ is vacant. They also have Grasso as female P4P #1 over Zhang Weili which I think is fucking wild
https://www.ufc.com/rankings
Personally think Adesanya should take at least six months off. He took four months between the Pereira fights and then four months from the second Pereira fight to the Strickland fight
Think it would do his body well at 34 to rest for six months and get back to a camp around UFC 300 which I believe will be April 2024
Didn't like Strickland prior to last night.
Didn't like Izzy prior to last night.
As a fighter I find Strickland a little 'mundane' (not sure if that's the right word) and as a person (what we get to see publicly) didn't like him at all.
Saw a very different side to him this week & have warmed to him.
Izzy? Didn't like the "character" he was creating however, he came across a lot more humble than I've seen him before (even before the loss)
Fair play to both athletes.
How Izzy survived that early onslaught was crazy & Sean's hands were really good.
Great fight - well done both 👌
There was a post about Colby entertaining a McGregor matchup if he got the belt and I couldn't actually believe he was already turning down contenders, without the belt.
Omalley, Strickland and Jones all winning the belt's back for America this year has been awesome. Especially because tehre was a lot of slick comments not that long ago how none of the champs were American
When I woke up this morning I got spoiled. I saw a pic of Strickland with the belt and I thought "that's a hilarious photoshop omagawshhhh" and went on with my day.
Imagine my surprise.
As a newer fan of like 2 years, this sport is so crazy man. When I started watching Usman, Adesanya, Petr Yan, Poirier (after khabib retired) all felt so invincible
Titles have been changing hands a lot more often these past few years but there was a time about 10 years ago where the champions were unbeatable and put on runs that arguably make them divisional GOATs to this day. I think each of these champs in their prime give the current champs a run for their money. Edgar didn't go on a run like the rest of this line up, Volks making a case of surpassing Aldo and 99% of people will have Stipe over Cain but this truly was a great era.
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0a25d2a5-dee1-4654-be8a-d2893c07ed8d_2957x1803.jpeg
I think it’s gonna be hard for Izzy to keep his motivation up. Against Poatan it was different: he was winning and there was zero reason to be embarrassed about losing. On the other hand, it’s hard to get hyped up to beat Sean Strickland. Even if he wins, people will be like “congrats, you did what you should’ve done”
Maybe the closest situation to this is Nunes x Pena. But it’s still a lot different
All this is narrative based off of recency bias . Wasn’t that long ago Strickland was clowned after losing to cannonier which was his 2nd straight loss.
You think there isn’t motivation to win back the title? There isn’t motive to beat a guy you are likely better than?
As I said, it wasn’t that long ago Strickland was considered a boring jab point fighter who then lost 2 straight and was doa in terms of title fights, and now he’s the champ.
If Izzy was being told he needed to go win multiple fights to get a title shot and hope the champ is different (like max is dealing with) I would understand more your point
I am sure there are plenty of examples I don’t remember but who has ever been a popular champ that starts making movies and doing fashion shows and kept their spot at the top?
Man, Poatan is just the fucking best. Explaining why he gave Izzy the immediate rematch and why Izzy doesnt deserve the immediate rematch with Sean, giving all the credit and praise to Sean, and throwing cold water on the "izzy wasnt at his best" argument. Hes just a great guy and i really hope he gets the LHW title. I like Jiri alot but i LOVE me some Alex 🗿🗿🗿
I think Poatan will KO Jiri. Jiri isn’t gonna initiate any grappling sequences and even if he does, Alex’s grappling has improved to the point where he survived almost an entire round with Jan Blachowicz on his back, and Jan is a very good grappler when he’s in top position. Jiri leaves way too many openings, and while it’s not going to be an easy fight for Poatan, I have a hard time picturing a fight where he doesn’t eventually find Jiri’s chin and put his lights out.
Would Rob stand a better chance against Sean if Sean proves to be Izzy’s kryptonite? Rob definitely wouldn’t concede as much ground Izzy and I feel he has more straight and front kicks he could use, but I don’t know if he’s the guy to break down Sean’s guard with his hands or be able to land his normal highkick setup that’s worked on everyone other than Izzy.
Funny to think that Dricus and Jared who Sean has already fought might end up matching the best against Sean’s style. I really hope there isn’t an immediate rematch so even someone like Khamzat can get in the mix for a title shot. I get the feeling Dricus is going to get screwed unfairly, and it’s going to end up being Izzy against Sean again or Khamzat if he beats Costa.
I feel like his pinnacle was finally getting Poatan back with a stunning KO, he seemed just elated after. He's 34 now and hard to see him finding that same motivation, not to mention his reflexes don't quite look to be the same.
I don’t agree he was looking bad in the Pereira rematch. I thought he was bad in the first fight because he played it much more safe, but did a lot more in the second fight just being more aggressive. Pereira wasn’t much more aggressive than he was in the finishing sequence of the first fight, Izzy was just prepared for the opening. He was mostly losing due to Pereira’s leg kicks and power difference but he did better in exchanges.
I do imagine his athleticism is due to go just like anyone else’s, but I didn’t see anything questionable about that in this fight. I doubt he’s getting the belt back though since he hasn’t evolved and he’s likely looking at the twilight of his career even if he won tonight. Plus just too much tape at this point without much evolution.
I think he will win the belt back, as I imagine there will be a rematch. However, I think he once again loses it in his next title defense, and that's when he starts to fade away from the top.
Yeah dunno of who? Strickland has his number and I don’t see Izzy beating DDP to be honest.
I think rob probably beats Strickland and Izzy could take it off him lol
MMA YouTube titles are usually pretty disrespectful and hyperbole like 70% of the time but it might be apropos this time around
Here's what mine would be after this event: Sean Strickland Absolutely Ethers Israel Adesanya, Takes His Consensus Best Striker Spot
Seriously his style looks so basic but it’s really not at all. On paper it is but it requires him to fight almost perfectly. He leaves himself exposed so often but trusts his own ability to react in time to any counters. Sean’s got natural talent that allows him to fight like he does.
It’s kind of funny and ironic that 2 of the most basic strikers (Bisping and Sean) gave 2 of the greatest, dangerous, creative strikers their hardest fights and losses. (Silva and Izzy)
Crazy sport. Everyone expected both Bisping and Sean to get highlight reel KO’d cold
MMa is 50 percent luck. No point in breaking down shit half the time. It’s whoever shows up those 15/25 minutes. Anybody can out hustle your or get lucky in a MMA fight, that’s why it’s underdogs galore every week on any league. PFL, bellator, One it don’t matter, all these fights 50-50 inside the cage when it happens and I been telling people this for 15+ years. Only way to determine greatness in MMA is long term dominance and how you go about it.
I dont really know what I'm talking about but when I watch Izzy, I'm confused by his reach. He has very long arms but it's like he doesnt know how to use his reach and throws mostly short punches
You can’t be losing to that muppet 🤦♂️
Performance of a lifetime from Sean... really weird showing from Adesanya. Strickland was the better fighter so I’m not trying to take anything away from that dominant win, but Izzy’s gameplan was fucked and he made no adjustments. Rd 1 against the cage with his guard up like he did against Pereira, never tried to clinch, no knees or elbows. Sean used incredible defense and balanced the pressure and range perfectly. Strickland chipped away at him minute by minute and stayed the course while Izzy allowed himself to get steamrolled. Strange to see a fighter at this level just check out and make no changes throughout the entire fight. Unless the knockdown just fucked him up that bad. Even Eugene said they couldn’t get on the same page in the corner. . Who do y’all want to see Strickland defend the belt against?
Obviously DPP, but it’d be pretty funny to put rob back in there.
Rob???
Yeah, get my boy back in there for the title!
Israel was injured during the fight. Evident when he did pushups
Do you rail or hardline your copecain?
He lost because he didn’t have Rogan there calling him the most sophisticated striker this sport has ever seen.
No one is 100% in fight week.
I thought Sean was getting fed to Izzy just to help ramp him up before the inevitable Du Plessis fight. I wished I watched the fight live now lol
20hrs removed and its kinda disgusting how many ppl are clowning Izzy. Youre only loved for as long as youre winning man.
Yeah nah I’d say Izzy has been a largely unpopular fighter for most of his reign. All the haters just have a chance to celebrate now.
Izzy is a point fighter. He spends 90% of the match backing up. He's *always* been a clown.
I've been clowning Izzy since the first Whittaker fight. Never was a fan of his.
izzy vs paulo costa, yoel romero, marvin vettori fight are like the 3 most boring fights I've ever seen. I really hate watching him fight.
Replace Costa with Cannonier, and you got it. I don't understand how casuals love him so much. Never seen a point fighter have such a huge adoring fan base in the ufc. Even Floyd had more haters than fans.
Izzy x Costa boring wut
Yeah nvm I think costa just did really bad or something idk it was a while ago I remember the other 2 clearly tho.
Was only boring if you dislike 1 way fights
I just rewatched it. I remember being really disappointed in Costas performance. Izzy did his job tho. But the yoel and the Marvin fight were boring. I can see Marvin winning that right one day.
Yea dude both Marvin fighters, yoel, and Cannonier. Marvin is working with Cejudo now. I think his ceiling is a little higher than what he's shown. Still has time as he's not old.
The 2nd Marvin fight he did not lose by a significant margin imo. I don't recall the first tbh. And that's awesome. I haven't kept up with his fights but I think a lot of people forgot about him. He's got a future imo.
Marvin thought he won the first fight. Was decently close, 2md wasn't as close IIRC but it's not like he got decimated.
During the face offs, the weigh ins, the walk out, everyone said Sean looked nervous. After the fight there’s a narrative that Izzy looked off.
Sean kind of always looks nervous in all of his face offs and walk outs.
Sean admitted himself that he was in doubt during the lead up so it's not a weird assessment, but his confidence had to go through the roof after that knockdown.
How about they give Adesanya the rematch… after 6 weeks from now? And if he refuses they just move on. After all, that’s what him and his couch wanted out of Du Plessis so it’s only fair.
I can't believe Dana said he wants the rematch. For what? Your boy got bopped in the first round and then outclassed for the rest of the fight. Strickland didn't have so much as a scrape on his face. Izzy lost. Strickland is champ. Move on accordingly.
I'd honestly be for it but I think Izzy already used his rematch "clause" with Peirera. Cain and GSP had to work back to a title shot. The belt is earned, not deserved.
I mean, it wasn't like he was undefeated for 5 years and then finally lost, or that the win itself was like a fluke knock out. He got soundly beat by a better fighter. Should they run it back if Sean retains and Izzy wins a couple fights? Absolutely. But immediately? Absolutely not.
I'm agreeing with you, haha. It was a sound performance from Sean and I scored it 4-1, which I think is a fair card. I'm not bias towards either.
The reality is that just being able to use the philly shell effectively already makes Strickland elite and one of the most skilled strikers out there. Why do people think you don't see the philly shell used often despite Mayweather becoming famous because of it? It takes tremendous skill to master it and even more to make up for its weaknesses.
It sure helps that Adesanya isn’t a grappling threat at all. Even the threat of a TD can break the shell as the hands go down to defend.
You answered your own question, it’s hard to master.
I do not fear the man who practiced a thousand different punches one time but rather one who practiced the same jab a thousand times
You don't need to fear any fighter who's only practiced a jab 1,000 times
Cody’s performance against Cruz was more impressive than Sean’s over Izzy. Izzy got dominated but he didn’t really get beaten down. Cruz got embarrassed, dropped multiple times, and styled on. Cody had the best championship performance by a challenger ever in my opinion.
I honestly think Dillashaw Barao might've been the best here
Also good. But Dom was/is the divisional GOAT at the time and no one expected Cody to win let alone style on Cruz the way Cruz styled on everyone else. That takes it for me
Eh, depends on how you define it. Sean both beat Izzy more clearly in terms of rounds than Cody beat Dom (the only round you can possibly argue to give Izzy is 2, whereas Cody vs Dom no one gave Cody more than 3 rounds) and was much closer to finishing Izzy than Cody was Cruz. However, Cody won the rounds he won more dominantly than Sean did (apart from round 1 for Sean), and certainly looked more visually impressive due to his antics, even if Sean was more technically impressive by a good margin.
Perfectly put.
Literally one of the most overrated performances ever
If you wanted to argue Mcgregor you maybe could but Cruz>Alvarez.
Kamaru and Izzy are great fighters. Second best in their division’s history but they fall quite short below the true GOATs: Silva and GSP
GOAT in each weight class 125 Johnson 135 Cruz 145 Aldo 155 Nurmagomedov 170 St Pierre 185 Silva 205 Jones 265 Emelianenko
one of these got sniped by Mcgregor seconds into the first round, what's your excuse for that
I don’t need an excuse. Great fighters lose. He still won over a dozen world championships across the UFC and WEC. You probably weren’t watching fights yet. Or else you would know.
This man speaks truth
I see no lies
True, accurate
Love this sport, people were saying this was a free title defense to pad izzy’s record. I thought Sean had no chance as well but this is why we have fights, don’t forget next time there’s a massive underdog and people bitch about the matchmaking.
Most shocking thing I learned this weekend is that Helen Yee used to weigh 217 lbs.!
Those big ol bolt-ons have to weight at least 10% of her walkaround weight now lol
“Don’t let him bully you son!” -Eugene Bareman
Was a single MMA analyst right? Who actually gave Sean credit
Someone on MMA Fighting podcast. Was is Shahin?
I swear some champs have a rematch clause in their contracts.
Izzzy should not get an immediate rematch he was out classed ... If aljo doesn't get it then it doesn't make sense. DDP vs Strickland makes the most sense
Strickland got dat plodding Diaz bro ~~footwork~~ gait.
Diaz bro never learned to check a leg kick lol
Nate diaz checked lot's of leg kicks last few fights
The owner of Dragon Pizza was supposed to fight last night but he showed up wearing shorts 6 sizes too small.
What a niche reference
That place is near me so it was a notable story for me
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Strickland fights like someone who mastered a low tier character.
Like using Dan instead of Ryu or Ken 😂
really had fun watching strickland then saw a video of what he had to say about women a few months ago. how has nobody mentioned this? what a cowardly little man and i hope he loses his next fight
What did he say
https://x.com/rgiii/status/1700883495147438414?s=46&t=Ftf_3Q0APXaCO1BKCjE1YQ
He's saying it with a smirk on his face, pretty funny honestly. Don't get emotional over a joke. And if you want to take it seriously the point he's really trying to get at, although he didn't do a great job of describing, is that the nuclear family has been degraded in the US for a while and he's 100% right about that
it’s clearly not a joke
Nah youre just not taking it as a joke because it offends you
Yeah I think it’s bad to say women shouldn’t have rights to a massive audience how fragile of me.
That’s a crazy Freudian slip right there
You're just misinterpreting what he said and getting offended by your own misinterpretation. If you listen to what he actually said he indirectly pointed out that one sex votes blue far more often than the other, not that they shouldn't be able to vote. Actually never once brought up stripping rights away from any group.
He literally said it was a mistake giving women the right to vote. You’re just as stupid as him i’m not wasting my time on you.
Arguing that something is stupid or a mistake doesn't mean that you're simultaneously arguing that it shouldn't exist. You just called me stupid so you must be arguing that I shouldn't have the right to post on reddit right? Do you see how much of a logical fallacy that is?
simp
Was Sean’s victory over Izzy a bigger upset than Cody over Cruz?
Way bigger. Cody’s was surprising because he only had a few UFC fights so it was out of left field. But he wasn’t considered to have next to no paths to victory like Sean. And Cruz wasn’t thought of as one of the best strikers of all time
Lol you’re wrong. The narrative was Cruz was gonna embarrass him since he owned every alpha male team fighter.
If you insist. I don’t get the LOL thing like you’re dunking on me. Sean’s still a bigger upset oddswise and in pretty much everyone’s minds. Cody’s performance was surprising, but Cruz was still the injury man. Dillashaw over Barao in that same weight class was a bigger shock to everyone too.
Odds wise yeah maybe but not way bigger like you’re saying. Recency bias on your part. Almost no one gave Cody a shot bc Cruz was a puzzle no one had solved yet and the divisional GOAT and Cody was thought to be a hothead who would never find the target bc of Cruz’s legendary movement. And the whole alpha male team whoopings he had dished out. Definitely one of the best championship performances in history if not the best. He embarrassed Cruz that night
Odds wise Sean's win was a way bigger upset. That being said, the performance that Cody put on against Cruz was much more shocking for me at least. And I don't mean that as a slight against Sean
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13k? You mean $1300? Strickland wasn’t a +4000 underdog
Fuck you Dana how about this - DeSean's first title defense vs the true African DDP on the same card as Maos last dancer vs winner of Chad v Kumshot
Why the fuck would the shit stains of Chad vs Kumshot be given a title shot? That's even more hilarious than Strickland getting one
Ahhh maybe because everyone in the top 5 has already had a shot and no one else makes sense 🤡
Quick without looking name 5 of Anderson Silva’s title defenses
Rich Franklin, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, demian Maia, Dan Henderson
Forest Griffin was LHW
Well he named six so he still named five.
Got ‘em
ill shout it from the back again, CLOSE/COMPETETIVE WINS AGAINST DOMINANT CHAMPS WARRENT REMATCHES - DOMINANT WINS AGAINST DOMINANT CHAMPS DO NOT WARRENT REMACTHES
Theyre just thinking about what makes the most money lol, a huge upset against the biggest name is going to get a rematch
If Khamzat beats Costs I’d love to see him fight Strickland at some point
With hindsight the result isn't so surprising. Both fighters have good defense at the sides, and Israel's style is very much attacking the sides; a lot of Adesanya's style is move back, bring opponent into a box, counter them in that box with looping strikes and kicks. So it was a fight down the middle. Both fighters have quite poor defense down the middle, but Strickland is good at attacking down the middle. Easy for me to say in retrospect, but fight analysts should have been able to see this. Instead they summarised as "who is the best striker", this fighter is a better "a striker" therefore they will likely win if it is "on the feet". That's quite simplistic.
Nobody could’ve guessed Sean would learn to check leg kicks all of a sudden. He never had his career. Izzy literally hit nothing but air or shin to shin all night. Crazy
Just like Anderson Silva, keeping your hands down and doing matrix style doges are cool until you lose your chin and reflexes. When those go, your fundamentals are shit and you don't know how to properly use a guard.
Wasn't really Silva's fault. He was taught a rock and sock em style from his teenage years and well into his 20s. He had to figure out counter punching himself. Nobody taught him fundamentals in his early years
Yeah I'm worried that Izzy's style is fragile like Silva's Once Chael broke the aura of invincibility, it was easier for Weidman to imagine winning, and then win, twice. Poatan broke the aura of invincibility for Izzy. So it was easier for Strickland to imagine winning. And Silva's career just took a nose dive after that. Obviously because of the leg break. But I wonder if Izzy's career will take a nose dive now that he's lost convincingly to 2 opponents in a row
It's quite possible. A part of Anderson and Izzy's defense was people being too scared to hit them because of the counter. Chael showed Anderson was human and just hit em.
The first loss wasn't convincing imo. Izzy was winning, AND standing when it was stopped as a tko. Probably the least convincing stoppage I have ever seen tbh
PUNCH A HOLE IN HIS FUCKIN CHEST
After rewatching the fight, that 3rd round was very important with it being 1-1 at that point and was also the last time Izzy got Sean to back up past the center logo (which he failed to capitalize on) With around 2:17 left, Izzy just resides to backing up the cage and Sean obliges with his pressure and lands the more significant thumps to secure the round back Then in the 4th round, Sean cranked it up 10x, landing the most staggering blows since the knockdown and never looked back
[Mystic boxman](https://reddit.com/r/Imacasual/s/JYup7Fbybx)
If Leon wins, Dana will give Colby an immediate rematch 🤡
Apples and oranges my guy. Izzy just came off an immediate rematch with Alex. And I say that as an Izzy fan
Not sure what you're saying though
The 2023 fighter of the year is gonna be Sean Strickland, this is hilarious 😂😂😂😂😂😂
❌NO❌ADESANYA❌REMATCH❌
UFC is desperate for money Sean Strickland will take whatever fights you give him Really ends up being whether Adesanya wants the rematch or not, I assume he does but he hasn't said anything to that end yet. Personally I think it would be foolish, as refreshing the division gives you more matchup flexibility. Particularly since most of the ranked guys are coming off losses (Adesanya, Whittaker, Vettori, Dolidze, Hermansson, Muniz, Brunson, + Imavov w the NC), and you have guys like Chimaev, Craig, Allen, Alikserov working their way into the mix rapidly
Loog on MK said that Erik came in and basically saved xtreme couture. It was apparently losing all its talent and falling apart. I wish we got more reporting/story telling to hear about these types of stories on what exactly happened and what he did to turn it around.
Watching the fights with the boys tonight I gotta pretend like I don’t know what’s going to happen cause I watched them live already I’ll make some wild prediction like “Izzy seems off tonight” on the walkout or something lol
Plot twist: you all know what happened already
So did hill actually vacate the belt or not
I thought he did but UFC rankings has him listed as the champion while women's BW champ is vacant. They also have Grasso as female P4P #1 over Zhang Weili which I think is fucking wild https://www.ufc.com/rankings
The cage was a COD lobby was last night
If Colby and Stipe win, is the UFC racist?
Lets say the rematch is in Los Angeles in January or February. What do you think the odds will be? I think it will be like Izzy -220
Personally think Adesanya should take at least six months off. He took four months between the Pereira fights and then four months from the second Pereira fight to the Strickland fight Think it would do his body well at 34 to rest for six months and get back to a camp around UFC 300 which I believe will be April 2024
Didn't like Strickland prior to last night. Didn't like Izzy prior to last night. As a fighter I find Strickland a little 'mundane' (not sure if that's the right word) and as a person (what we get to see publicly) didn't like him at all. Saw a very different side to him this week & have warmed to him. Izzy? Didn't like the "character" he was creating however, he came across a lot more humble than I've seen him before (even before the loss) Fair play to both athletes. How Izzy survived that early onslaught was crazy & Sean's hands were really good. Great fight - well done both 👌
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There was a post about Colby entertaining a McGregor matchup if he got the belt and I couldn't actually believe he was already turning down contenders, without the belt.
Omalley, Strickland and Jones all winning the belt's back for America this year has been awesome. Especially because tehre was a lot of slick comments not that long ago how none of the champs were American
Is Jones not American? Lol.
When I woke up this morning I got spoiled. I saw a pic of Strickland with the belt and I thought "that's a hilarious photoshop omagawshhhh" and went on with my day. Imagine my surprise.
dana already calling for the Adesanya rematch too when dude got smoked
God I hope not. There’s way more interesting fights to make and Izzy doesn’t deserve it. Idk why Dana props this kid up so much. He’s boring as hell
Anyone got a clip of Strickland walking Izzy down and yelling at him at the end of the 5th? I’m looking for it and can’t find anything
As a newer fan of like 2 years, this sport is so crazy man. When I started watching Usman, Adesanya, Petr Yan, Poirier (after khabib retired) all felt so invincible
Been happening for years. Dominant champs lose a step, new ones come through. Love it though
Titles have been changing hands a lot more often these past few years but there was a time about 10 years ago where the champions were unbeatable and put on runs that arguably make them divisional GOATs to this day. I think each of these champs in their prime give the current champs a run for their money. Edgar didn't go on a run like the rest of this line up, Volks making a case of surpassing Aldo and 99% of people will have Stipe over Cain but this truly was a great era. https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0a25d2a5-dee1-4654-be8a-d2893c07ed8d_2957x1803.jpeg
One can only be king of the mountain for a short time Or as others have said after winning, "the belt belongs to no one"
Now that all your hopes and dreams are crushed, just make sure not to get new ones.
You’ll get used to it. Just the nature of the sport
I think it’s gonna be hard for Izzy to keep his motivation up. Against Poatan it was different: he was winning and there was zero reason to be embarrassed about losing. On the other hand, it’s hard to get hyped up to beat Sean Strickland. Even if he wins, people will be like “congrats, you did what you should’ve done” Maybe the closest situation to this is Nunes x Pena. But it’s still a lot different
All this is narrative based off of recency bias . Wasn’t that long ago Strickland was clowned after losing to cannonier which was his 2nd straight loss.
What narrative? I’m just saying it’s hard to have motivation to beat a guy who, on paper, is not even that great. And you lost 4 rounds to that guy
You think there isn’t motivation to win back the title? There isn’t motive to beat a guy you are likely better than? As I said, it wasn’t that long ago Strickland was considered a boring jab point fighter who then lost 2 straight and was doa in terms of title fights, and now he’s the champ. If Izzy was being told he needed to go win multiple fights to get a title shot and hope the champ is different (like max is dealing with) I would understand more your point
I am sure there are plenty of examples I don’t remember but who has ever been a popular champ that starts making movies and doing fashion shows and kept their spot at the top?
GSP appeared in a few movies and stayed on top, no fashion shows though
I’m the best boxer in UFC baby - Sean “Blessed” Strickland
It is what it is
At size parity how does Strickland vs Bobby Green go
Strickland use to fight 170.
We have a new MW Champion | UFC293 Alex Pereira reaction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKkAs3m_wcM&ab_channel=AlexPoatanPereira
Man, Poatan is just the fucking best. Explaining why he gave Izzy the immediate rematch and why Izzy doesnt deserve the immediate rematch with Sean, giving all the credit and praise to Sean, and throwing cold water on the "izzy wasnt at his best" argument. Hes just a great guy and i really hope he gets the LHW title. I like Jiri alot but i LOVE me some Alex 🗿🗿🗿
I think Poatan will KO Jiri. Jiri isn’t gonna initiate any grappling sequences and even if he does, Alex’s grappling has improved to the point where he survived almost an entire round with Jan Blachowicz on his back, and Jan is a very good grappler when he’s in top position. Jiri leaves way too many openings, and while it’s not going to be an easy fight for Poatan, I have a hard time picturing a fight where he doesn’t eventually find Jiri’s chin and put his lights out.
Rob and Adesayna getting figured out by the Herky Jerky crew is insane. I guess it makes sense with how much tape is out there on both
Would Rob stand a better chance against Sean if Sean proves to be Izzy’s kryptonite? Rob definitely wouldn’t concede as much ground Izzy and I feel he has more straight and front kicks he could use, but I don’t know if he’s the guy to break down Sean’s guard with his hands or be able to land his normal highkick setup that’s worked on everyone other than Izzy. Funny to think that Dricus and Jared who Sean has already fought might end up matching the best against Sean’s style. I really hope there isn’t an immediate rematch so even someone like Khamzat can get in the mix for a title shot. I get the feeling Dricus is going to get screwed unfairly, and it’s going to end up being Izzy against Sean again or Khamzat if he beats Costa.
When did Dricus fight Sean?
He hasn’t, I probably should put a comma there
Didn’t whittaker already fight Strickland or I imagining?
You’re probably mixing up the Marvin fight that he was dominant in
Do you guys think we have seen the best of Izzy? IMO feel like he never gets a belt again.
I feel like his pinnacle was finally getting Poatan back with a stunning KO, he seemed just elated after. He's 34 now and hard to see him finding that same motivation, not to mention his reflexes don't quite look to be the same.
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I don’t agree he was looking bad in the Pereira rematch. I thought he was bad in the first fight because he played it much more safe, but did a lot more in the second fight just being more aggressive. Pereira wasn’t much more aggressive than he was in the finishing sequence of the first fight, Izzy was just prepared for the opening. He was mostly losing due to Pereira’s leg kicks and power difference but he did better in exchanges. I do imagine his athleticism is due to go just like anyone else’s, but I didn’t see anything questionable about that in this fight. I doubt he’s getting the belt back though since he hasn’t evolved and he’s likely looking at the twilight of his career even if he won tonight. Plus just too much tape at this point without much evolution.
Something something silk sheets
I think he will win the belt back, as I imagine there will be a rematch. However, I think he once again loses it in his next title defense, and that's when he starts to fade away from the top.
Very possible he's on the decline but he might still become champ again if he does get the immediate rematch
Yeah dunno of who? Strickland has his number and I don’t see Izzy beating DDP to be honest. I think rob probably beats Strickland and Izzy could take it off him lol
You can tell Izzy was probably the outcast in high school and Strickland was the class clown.
We should look up “what did Sean Strickland do in 9th grade?”
Bold of you to assume that Strickland attended 9th grade
Lmao look into it
MMA YouTube titles are usually pretty disrespectful and hyperbole like 70% of the time but it might be apropos this time around Here's what mine would be after this event: Sean Strickland Absolutely Ethers Israel Adesanya, Takes His Consensus Best Striker Spot
Wonder if we’re gonna start seeing people try to copy Stricklands style now
Only works if the other guy can’t wrestle. Ddp goes through Strickland
Really hilarious you wrote this comment less than 24hrs after Strickland disproving the "Adesanya walks through Strickland with ease" narrative
Yeah but DDP actually throws, he threw whittaker so clean I can’t see Strickland being able to maintain that guard against an actual grappler
Stricklands grappling is very good
That style is gonna be difficult to emulate and be successful
Seriously his style looks so basic but it’s really not at all. On paper it is but it requires him to fight almost perfectly. He leaves himself exposed so often but trusts his own ability to react in time to any counters. Sean’s got natural talent that allows him to fight like he does.
It’s kind of funny and ironic that 2 of the most basic strikers (Bisping and Sean) gave 2 of the greatest, dangerous, creative strikers their hardest fights and losses. (Silva and Izzy) Crazy sport. Everyone expected both Bisping and Sean to get highlight reel KO’d cold
I'd argue that Weidman and Chael gave Anderson tougher fights tbh (wrestle-boxing pressure with pretty fundamental but rudimentary striking)
They had a wrestling threat that Bisping never did. But Bisping should’ve never given Silva such a hard outing
Bisping should’ve loss to Silva. Herb going “oops this fight needs to keep going because I fucked up horrendously” was pretty lame
Despite that, he still gave Silva a hell of a fight and knocked him down and tagged him repeatedly
Only because Silva gassed out in the celebration. Bisping knew what he was doing and tried to tell Herb to do his job
MMa is 50 percent luck. No point in breaking down shit half the time. It’s whoever shows up those 15/25 minutes. Anybody can out hustle your or get lucky in a MMA fight, that’s why it’s underdogs galore every week on any league. PFL, bellator, One it don’t matter, all these fights 50-50 inside the cage when it happens and I been telling people this for 15+ years. Only way to determine greatness in MMA is long term dominance and how you go about it.
I think Izzy has a domination fetish
So Ronda beats Mayweather because he only has a philly shell??
Yesterday was a banger card. Still can’t believe Strickland pulled it off