Costa performance theories

[jeff7b9]

My theory is that Israel does some voodoo stuff that makes his opponents do stupid stuff or follow stupid gameplans. Either that or he is the greatest striker MMA has ever seen.

he has EXCELLENT feints and broken rhythm.

he is always moving and always popping by little feints and READING the reactions.

 

[CroCopsLHK]

Different level.

You can't carry all that extra weight & expect to be fast. Costa is powerful but slow.

Speed beats power.

That was my theory on how the co main would turn out. But Jan was stronger AND faster than Dom.

 

[chinarice]

Costa had no answer for Izzy's offense and for a good portion of the fight, it just involved footwork and leg kicks.

He was afraid to throw and it was obvious when he threw his own leg kicks. He was afraid to get countered.

 

[90 50]

Bad gameplan, stay with the girl you brought to the dance.

he fought nothing like himself, as did Izzy’s recent opponents and he should have seen how badly that worked for them.

back to the gym, get another solid two finish wins and try again

that or customs took his açaí when he got off the plane...

 

[Steroids**]

Costa chose a gameplan that didn't get him to the championship. That and izzy is faster and pretty damn precise. Costa would have done much better if he kept to his usual gameplan. It would have been a war and a harder fight for izzy. But nope..

 

[MIC]

Costa took a shit on the bus

 

[MescalineDreams]

Adesanya is probably the best striker in UFC and many predicted he will move and counter strike Costa into a win but...

Costa did almost nothing, so, what happened?

My theory is Costa has not the cardio to go full brawler like he does in 3 round fights so he and his team had the plan to fight in a very energy saving state for the first 2 rounds to unleash the full power in the last 3 rounds...

That makes sense but in the first 2 rounds Izzy made enough harm in the legs, body and a cut that make Costa hesitant and worried, he lost confidence and got caught.

Izzy is a fantastic fighter, the best striker in UFC, undisputed champion and the favorite, but I think Costa would have done much more in a 3 round fight (or with an oxygen tube maybe lol)

Or do you really think Izzy is in a whole different level compared to Costa ? Because the common opponents they have and their results are not that different

Costa tried

He hit air every time he attempted anything

Izzy was also faster with his feet, head and his reactions.

On top of that, he absolutely demolished his legs from the first second of the fight.

You can put on a poker face all you want but consistently eating kicks like that for an entire round will absolutely cripple your movement, ability to mount a normal offense and make you extremely hesitant to throw.

Fighters like Izzy have so many weapons and give you a million things to think about every time you attempt to pull the trigger. Many Jones fights are like this as well.

Truly a nightmare style matchup for someone who is pure offense and threatens primarily with his hands.

Fighting someone on that level will definitely make you hesitant as well. If he was to have any chance whatsoever, he needed to not give him that much respect.

 

[sdpdude9]

Several factors.

1. Costa was looking to pace himself early on.

2. Costa did not have the footwork to cut Izzy off and he couldn’t get to him, which is why he taunted, trying to get Adesanya to exchange and close the distance for him.

3. Leg was compromised early, this further hindered his ability to cut off Adesanya and close the distance.

4. Not wanting to be first due to counter fears. He was extremely hesitant to lead the dance because he feared the counters.

5. Adesanya was just plain faster than him he couldn’t find him.

 

[morrisondafalln]

Izzy. Leg kicked him into oblivion. Doing two things.

1. Allowing him to keep his hands up. So he couldnt get hit in the face. (Izzy didnt drop his hands below his face once)

2. Taking costas power away from him. Izy throws 15 25 leg kicks only most of the round. Taking away costas ability to be able to generate any power once he decided to throw a punch in the subsequent rounds.

 

[DebtCollectorMMA]

He pulled a Homero.

 

[jeff7b9]

Izzy was more than happy to chop up that lead leg if Costa's plan was indeed to pace himself, he would have been better off trying to be aggressive and pushing the pace.

He let Izzy have too much freedom and failed to crowd him in a way that wouldn't leave him open to a counter. He just stood at mid range and that's usually where Adesanya is at his best, and he works his feints, question mark kicks, his Jab and the leg kicks.

Im curious, knowing how this went...


What if Costa just went berserker, Vitor Belfort, Rumble Johnson type approach?

round 1 or 2 KO or bust.
Balls to the wall, if it doesn’t work, quit.


That would appear his only chance but he still would have to find an answer for the huge speed discrepancy and huge reach disadvantage.

 

[Cuttyrock]

cause his fans thought if you rush him you will win

 

[Sosua]

I thought Costa's cardio has looked good (or certainly good for someone with his muscle mass).

It's possible he froze a little or maybe just took too long to get going and by then those leg kicks had him damaged?

Kind of like Eddie vs Conor, got nailed early and gameplan got lost from there.

 

[PurpleStorm]

Izzy is in a whole different level compared to Costa

Appreciate your thoughts. Above is the part I feel is most simple and true. Still enjoy watching Costa. At least he brought an exciting fight imo. At the highest levels unfortunately his coaches might have him fight even more cautiously, like Romero did versus Izzy.

 

[Fioretti]

The leg kicks immediately fucked any plans he had. There were 3 nasty welts almost immediately. It slowed him down and made him second guess trying to close the distance.

He also looked like he just froze up and threw nothing but super telegraphed right kicks. It was hard to watch.

 

[drbolony]

Never that good.

 

[FaTaL FaTaL]

costas gameplan was to strike with a guy with over 70 kickboxing matches

 

[stacrafty]

Adesanya is probably the best striker in UFC and many predicted he will move and counter strike Costa into a win but...

Costa did almost nothing, so, what happened?

My theory is Costa has not the cardio to go full brawler like he does in 3 round fights so he and his team had the plan to fight in a very energy saving state for the first 2 rounds to unleash the full power in the last 3 rounds...

That makes sense but in the first 2 rounds Izzy made enough harm in the legs, body and a cut that make Costa hesitant and worried, he lost confidence and got caught.

Izzy is a fantastic fighter, the best striker in UFC, undisputed champion and the favorite, but I think Costa would have done much more in a 3 round fight (or with an oxygen tube maybe lol)

Or do you really think Izzy is in a whole different level compared to Costa ? Because the common opponents they have and their results are not that different

LOL your'e talking from theory, have you ever trained or sparred?

Try sparring with someone who is longer, has more weapons, is more accurate, has better timing, is faster, and controls the distance who is better than you.... It doesn't matter if you are the "natty Goat", you will begin to question everything you do. You know you need to blitz in, but you can't pick the timing, every time you think you see an opening, you get hit. And F, leg kicks hurt.

The 0.01% on here who have had actually sparred will know what I'm talking about.

Costa is a good fighter, but theres levels and Izzy is on a whole another level.

 

[Derbemag]

Romero broken him.

 

[BangBang]

No fecking clue that was his problem.

s’ok, he’s just bang average.