Standout striker Israel Adesanya debuts UFC 221

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SensoriaUtopia

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Always been a bad news first, get the good news 2nd type of guy.

The bad news. This is one of the shittiest weakest PPV maybe in UFC history, with a raised price of 65 in HD to boot. But, one of the few bright spots is the debut of this superb striker. I have never seen him fight live, but seems to have some kind of fine potential. 11 wins, all by stoppage of ko to tko, holy shit LOL. All within 2 rounds. Ironically he lost his first ammy fight dec, but all ass kickings going forward. Besides the main event and Mark Hunt, I am most looking forward to seeing this incredible striker shine.


View: https://youtu.be/aRkVkWw6fo8


How UFC newcomer Israel Adesanya went from bullied kid to human highlight reel


View: https://youtu.be/GJH9hH3XX0k














 

sparkuri

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Alex Periera handled him twice, last time by KO at Glory last March, then taunted him like he does to so many others.





Still, he gets a favorable matchup in Rob Wilkinson. who last lost to TKO by the only real big name fighter he's faced in Siyar Bahadurzada.
Rob will likely be looking to play standup to td and sub.


 

SensoriaUtopia

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Alex Periera handled him twice, last time by KO at Glory last March, then taunted him like he does to so many others.





Still, he gets a favorable matchup in Rob Wilkinson. who last lost to TKO by the only real big name fighter he's faced in Siyar Bahadurzada.
Rob will likely be looking to play standup to td and sub.


Looks like they where going back and forth and Israel was landing the cleaner blows but then the other guy got him good.

As long as Adesanya has solid TDD he will fuck up Rob Wilkinson.

I love seeing elite strikers fighter in MMA, the more the better
 

regular john

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Alex Periera handled him twice, last time by KO at Glory last March, then taunted him like he does to so many others.
Glory of Heroes doesn't have anything to do with the most well known, dutch kickboxing promotion Glory. it is a chinese org that puts events in very inconsistent fashion - sometimes they're pretty good, sometimes they're trash. And does Pereira have a history of taunting his opponents?

I'm not sure if I captured the right tone from you but if it is what I think it is then I agree with you. Don't mean to rain on SensoriaUtopia @SensoriaUtopia 's parade but Adesanya is not that good. He is pretty good, and his style does cater to mma but I doubt he has enough grappling skills to be jumping into the ufc. if his opponents has the slightest takedown ability and positional control then I think he wrestlefucks Adesanya.
 

sparkuri

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And does Pereira have a history of taunting his opponents?

I'm not sure if I captured the right tone from you but if it is what I think it is then I agree with you. Don't mean to rain on SensoriaUtopia @SensoriaUtopia 's parade but Adesanya is not that good. He is pretty good, and his style does cater to mma but I doubt he has enough grappling skills to be jumping into the ufc. if his opponents has the slightest takedown ability and positional control then I think he wrestlefucks Adesanya.
Regarding taunting history, that belongs to Adesanya, but Pereira had the last laugh in their last fight, which was a good one as SensoriaUtopia @SensoriaUtopia mentioned.
I agree, if Richard gets the clinch to TD, it's likely over.
 

SensoriaUtopia

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Glory of Heroes doesn't have anything to do with the most well known, dutch kickboxing promotion Glory. it is a chinese org that puts events in very inconsistent fashion - sometimes they're pretty good, sometimes they're trash. And does Pereira have a history of taunting his opponents?

I'm not sure if I captured the right tone from you but if it is what I think it is then I agree with you. Don't mean to rain on SensoriaUtopia @SensoriaUtopia 's parade but Adesanya is not that good. He is pretty good, and his style does cater to mma but I doubt he has enough grappling skills to be jumping into the ufc. if his opponents has the slightest takedown ability and positional control then I think he wrestlefucks Adesanya.


Nice knowledge drop. TY
 

SuperPig

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So during the weigh ins just now he went to tear his shirt off but the collar was too strong and he couldn't get it so he just gave up quickly and took it off. Pretty funny.
 

BrunoMcGyver

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Dec 30, 2015
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This fight is only one of two I plan to watch tomorrow. He seems to have a bit of a Michael Page vibe about him, a good addition to the UFC imo
 

SensoriaUtopia

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I had a feeling even before his debut that he was gonna be real freaking good, his highlight vids are impressive, this kid is the real deal.

Possible champ within the next 18 months also
 

SensoriaUtopia

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Glory of Heroes doesn't have anything to do with the most well known, dutch kickboxing promotion Glory. it is a chinese org that puts events in very inconsistent fashion - sometimes they're pretty good, sometimes they're trash. And does Pereira have a history of taunting his opponents?

I'm not sure if I captured the right tone from you but if it is what I think it is then I agree with you. Don't mean to rain on SensoriaUtopia @SensoriaUtopia 's parade but Adesanya is not that good. He is pretty good, and his style does cater to mma but I doubt he has enough grappling skills to be jumping into the ufc. if his opponents has the slightest takedown ability and positional control then I think he wrestlefucks Adesanya.

You still think he is not that good? I say he will be champ of the UFC mw division by 2020.
 

SensoriaUtopia

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He gave Brad Tavares a whipping.

Still some holes in his game though. But very promising.

There is no MW on the UFC roster that does not have some holes in his game, the closest thing to a MW with no holes is Gegard, who is now in Bellator.

This guy is the best striker at MW in the UFC, maybe in MMA. He is a better striker than Robert, offense is just as good if not better and his striking defense is better than Robert. He also has above average TD defense, he has shown it during his 3 fights. Even if he does get taken down, he's active as fuck on the ground. He also can at least threaten with sub attempts, not saying he is Maia on the Mat but he can threaten wtih attempts.

I dont' see how anyone in the UFC right now can stop him from winning the belt, and he's getting better each day. The only guy that could is Gegard, due to his all around game, but he is in Bellator because WME is fucked up.

Tavares is very well rounded, this was a great fight for Adesanya to show his true MMA game.
 

regular john

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You still think he is not that good? I say he will be champ of the UFC mw division by 2020.
I didn't watch last night. Maybe he's showing his grappling is good enough to get by? I'd have to check it out but I didn't even know there was an ufc card last night.

What I meant by "he's not that good " is that he isn't anything special in the striking world. if he is the second coming then what about Alex Pereira who KOed recently and is the Glory champion in his weightclass or Artur Kyshenko who beat Pereira before that or the hundreds of guys who fight against much better competition in much more stacked divisions?

Maybe Adesanya was the right guy to transition to mma but just because he's tuning up some wrestlers it doesn't make him a striking god.
 

SensoriaUtopia

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I didn't watch last night. Maybe he's showing his grappling is good enough to get by? I'd have to check it out but I didn't even know there was an ufc card last night.

What I meant by "he's not that good " is that he isn't anything special in the striking world. if he is the second coming then what about Alex Pereira who KOed recently and is the Glory champion in his weightclass or Artur Kyshenko who beat Pereira before that or the hundreds of guys who fight against much better competition in much more stacked divisions?

Maybe Adesanya was the right guy to transition to mma but just because he's tuning up some wrestlers it doesn't make him a striking god.

I think you are comparing apples to oranges. Adesanya is probably not the best MW kickboxer in the world, but in terms of MMA, he seems like right now the best pure MMA striker at 185 in all the sport. WHo else in MMA at 185 is a better MMA striker? Best MW striker in the UFC is Robert Whitaker probably , Adesanya to me is clearly a better striker by a slight margin, especially in terms of his head movement and striking defense.

Also, go and watch the fight from last night, it is worth it. The guy has a complete MMA game, he's not just a striker. Andy Souwer is a heck of a kickboxer, but he's almost nothing in MMA, notice he has no good MMA wins. It's one thing to strike in just a striking fight, way harder to be an elite striker in a true fight, which MMA is almost essentially is.

Adesanya has good td defense, and can threaten with subs, we are talking a possible future champ here.
 

Tiiimmmaaayyy

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Ok. I’m on board. I don’t want to be, but i am. Skinny Jon Jones is the real deal. He tuned up Tavares with ease. He looks really strong and is able to keep the fight at the distance and pace of his choosing. He’s gonna be a problem.
 

Ted Williams' head

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There is no MW on the UFC roster that does not have some holes in his game, the closest thing to a MW with no holes is Gegard, who is now in Bellator.

This guy is the best striker at MW in the UFC, maybe in MMA. He is a better striker than Robert, offense is just as good if not better and his striking defense is better than Robert. He also has above average TD defense, he has shown it during his 3 fights. Even if he does get taken down, he's active as fuck on the ground. He also can at least threaten with sub attempts, not saying he is Maia on the Mat but he can threaten wtih attempts.

I dont' see how anyone in the UFC right now can stop him from winning the belt, and he's getting better each day. The only guy that could is Gegard, due to his all around game, but he is in Bellator because WME is fucked up.

Tavares is very well rounded, this was a great fight for Adesanya to show his true MMA game.
To say you can't see how anyone can stop him from winning the belt... lol. He has three fights in the UFC, one of which was a close split decision against a fellow unranked fighter, and you're anointing him the future champ already? It's amazing how fast some MMA fans will drink the Kool Aid.

He had a solid performance against a division journeyman. He showed improved takedown defence, good stamina and a lot of weapons striking, which wasn't a surprise. He also had some issues maintaining distance and got caught with some lunging punching and ran into a bunch of stiff jabs. Didn't cost him against Tavares, who is not known as a KO puncher, but there are a lot of heavy hitters at 185.

He had a good fight and went 5 rounds against a guy Whitaker demolished in 45 seconds. He's a hot prospect but he has a lot more improving to do if he wants to compete with the top 5 imo.
 

SensoriaUtopia

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To say you can't see how anyone can stop him from winning the belt... lol. He has three fights in the UFC, one of which was a close split decision against a fellow unranked fighter, and you're anointing him the future champ already? It's amazing how fast some MMA fans will drink the Kool Aid.

He had a solid performance against a division journeyman. He showed improved takedown defence, good stamina and a lot of weapons striking, which wasn't a surprise. He also had some issues maintaining distance and got caught with some lunging punching and ran into a bunch of stiff jabs. Didn't cost him against Tavares, who is not known as a KO puncher, but there are a lot of heavy hitters at 185.

He had a good fight and went 5 rounds against a guy Whitaker demolished in 45 seconds. He's a hot prospect but he has a lot more improving to do if he wants to compete with the top 5 imo.

Hey it is my subjective opinion, but the UFC MW division is not nearly as deep as it was about a year ago, and he matches up great wtih the top guys. It's really that simple. MMA is all about matchups, and the way he beat Tavares over 5 rounds showed me much more than a quick ko would.

When I look at the top 15 guys in the UFC, there is literally 1 guy I see that presents a bad matchup for Adesanya, and that is Jacare due his insanely elite grappling, Weidman to a lesser degree as well, possibly Yoel.

Literally every single other guy in the top 15 in the UFC I right now would pick Adesanya to beat them. UFC MW division is not all that great honestly. Started to get deep a year ago, still has good quality in the top 15 but a notch below a year ago for a few reasons.
 

SensoriaUtopia

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Ok. I’m on board. I don’t want to be, but i am. Skinny Jon Jones is the real deal. He tuned up Tavares with ease. He looks really strong and is able to keep the fight at the distance and pace of his choosing. He’s gonna be a problem.

Truth
 

regular john

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I think you are comparing apples to oranges. Adesanya is probably not the best MW kickboxer in the world, but in terms of MMA, he seems like right now the best pure MMA striker at 185 in all the sport. WHo else in MMA at 185 is a better MMA striker? Best MW striker in the UFC is Robert Whitaker probably , Adesanya to me is clearly a better striker by a slight margin, especially in terms of his head movement and striking defense.

Also, go and watch the fight from last night, it is worth it. The guy has a complete MMA game, he's not just a striker. Andy Souwer is a heck of a kickboxer, but he's almost nothing in MMA, notice he has no good MMA wins. It's one thing to strike in just a striking fight, way harder to be an elite striker in a true fight, which MMA is almost essentially is.

Adesanya has good td defense, and can threaten with subs, we are talking a possible future champ here.
I'm not comparing apples to oranges. He definitely isn't the best MW kickboxer in the world, perhaps not top five - and MW is a weak division.

I'm not even stating an opinion on his mma status, just pointing out that he's a mid level striker unlike part of the mma crowd may be led to believe. it's a pet peeve of mine and very annoying for someone who follows muay thai and kickboxing when a guy is heralded as the second coming and you know there are literally hundreds of guys more proven and accomplished than him.
 

SensoriaUtopia

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I'm not comparing apples to oranges. He definitely isn't the best MW kickboxer in the world, perhaps not top five - and MW is a weak division.

I'm not even stating an opinion on his mma status, just pointing out that he's a mid level striker unlike part of the mma crowd may be led to believe. it's a pet peeve of mine and very annoying for someone who follows muay thai and kickboxing when a guy is heralded as the second coming and you know there are literally hundreds of guys more proven and accomplished than him.

You still are not listening to what I am saying. This is not kickboxing it is MMA, its one thing to be a great kickboxer, but 99% of those kickboxers are not able to come into mma nd be good strikers because everything else sucks. So they cannot use their striking. Adesanya is able to be a great MMA striker, better than the few guys who are better at him in pure kickboxing. I am way more impressed by Adesanay, who can actaully bring his striking into MMA, than a kickboxer that could be a bit better than him in just kickboxing but would not be able to use that same level in MMA.

There is not a single MW on the entire UFC roster that is a better mma striker at MW than Adesanya, you cannot name even 1. Robert is the closest but I give the edge to Adesanya in terms of overall striking with defense included.

Plus the guy has very good TDD, meaning he can actually implment his striking. you seem to only focus on this as if we are talking a kickboxing match, last time I checked this is MMA.