A murderous storm is approaching the MW division. Izzy should be afraid. Very afraid.

[PatrickBatemanVHS]

Is he talking about retirement; or is that just (reasonable) speculation?

He's only 33. Anderson didn't even become MW champ in the UFC until he was around 31-32. How long do you think Izzy will fight? And how long will all these other wrestlers need to build their resumes? Look how fast Pereira got a shot with under 10 MMA fights and just a few UFC fights.

He said before the Alex fight he’s not gonna be around another 5 years.

 

[jitzmonkey]

Dricus Du Plessis beats them all. Gonna be the first true African champ.

Flying to your colonizer’s flag high, I see.

did you… give the last three your own nicknames

I believe that “The Dagestani Killer,” is a common trope/nickname here on sherdog.

 

[No Skill Gap]

I'm not sure about the others but it is undeniable that MW has lacked strong wrestling or any wrestling for awhile. Both Izzy and Perreira would get absolutely ragdolled and dominated by a top tier wrestler being at MW.

Then again I can't even think of many during Silva's reign either...what are we talking - Sonnen? Weidman I guess sort of? GSP later on for one fight. I can't think of any guys who actually wrestled at 185 lol. Marquardt didn't do it much, eh.

 

[jitzmonkey]

He said before the Alex fight he’s not gonna be around another 5 years.

Thanks, bro!
Izzy’s the man (in cage); but I haven’t been able to listen to his interviews for a while now.

 

[Goutfather]

(You know they fought right?)

damn i can’t believe chmaev did that to islam makhachev. beast.

 

[mkt]

He said before the Alex fight he’s not gonna be around another 5 years.

I'm sure Nickal and some of the others will ready for a title fight (assuming they keep winning) in under 5 years.

 

[mkt]

I'm not sure about the others but it is undeniable that MW has lacked strong wrestling or any wrestling for awhile. Both Izzy and Perreira would get absolutely ragdolled and dominated by a top tier wrestler being at MW.

Then again I can't even think of many during Silva's reign either...what are we talking - Sonnen? Weidman I guess sort of? GSP later on for one fight. I can't think of any guys who actually wrestled at 185 lol. Marquardt didn't do it much, eh.

Chael had great double-legs and was a very sold MMA wrestler outside him being prone to being submitted. Weidman was a more well-rounded MMA wrestler--a bit less explosive than Sonnen but better BJJ. Both were FAR better than any wrestler Izzy has faced.
Hendo was a former Olympian who (unlike Yoel) was still willing to wrestle a bit. His first round with Silva was similar to the Chael-Silva fights. He was also younger at the time than the version of Yoel who fought Izzy and may not have had the knees to wrestle any more.

 

[blocnoir]

Dricus Du Plessis beats them all. Gonna be the first true African champ.

I get why you'd say that for Usman and Izzy, but Francis?

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

Considering how far they all are from a title shot, he has plenty of time to focus on TDD; and getting back up in the scramble.

Dude could drill striking once a week for the next 2 years and still be levels above them on the feet.

If Pereira isn’t making weight anymore, there’s no immediate threat to Izzy’s belt.

I still think Rob can beat him. The fact that Izzy has been beaten by Alex 3 times before Saturday, and twice by stoppage kinda keeps it in mind that a guy you can compete with, you can beat, no matter if you lost even multiple times. There isn't 'having someone's number' if that person finds pockets of success against you

 

[No Skill Gap]

Thanks, bro!
Izzy’s the man (in cage); but I haven’t been able to listen to his interviews for a while now.

I agree, he's insufferable. Extremely hypocritical cringe person. Talks about fucking anime virtues then does the opposite of all his victim crying about being bullied or a displaced native or whatever the fuck.

Him pointing to that kid and playing dead is just who he is. Do I think it's totally wrong? No because the little kid is a cunt brat and did it to him when he was KO'd for some reason. But he was also just a kid. Izzy has never been the bigger man in his life.

He loves shonnen anime and just displays zero "hero" traits despite doing all this cringe shit. He reminds me of OBJ from the NFL a bit, possibly gay narcissist. Loves the attention, gonna do a 20 minute walkout dance or dress up like the undertaker and then put on a snoozefest.

He's a great fighter, #2 MW ever clearly. Not gonna put him over Anderson. But as I said above, when has he fought any good wrestlers? Whittaker should have wrestled him and didn't. Vettori is a journeyman and gave him a bit of trouble. Jan isn't even a wrestler, dominated him there on the ground even if he was 205. I think Khamzat would murder Izzy unless he tried to stand like he did with Burns like a moron. Izzy's ground game sucks.

 

[No Skill Gap]

Chael had great double-legs and was a very sold MMA wrestler outside him being prone to being submitted. Weidman was a more well-rounded MMA wrestler--a bit less explosive than Sonnen but better BJJ. Both were FAR better than any wrestler Izzy has faced.
Hendo was a former Olympian who (unlike Yoel) was still willing to wrestle a bit. His first round with Silva was similar to the Chael-Silva fights. He was also younger at the time than the version of Yoel who fought Izzy and may not have had the knees to wrestle any more.

Romero and Henderson basically just wrestle boxed and stopped using their wrestling for the most part hence why I didn't even mention them. It seems like at MW, for some reason, historically there is a lack of good+ wrestlers unlike WW for example.

I've said this in the past as a criticism for Anderson Silva's legacy. I think intelligent people can apply it to Izzy's as well.

The fact that Izzy went up to 205 to fight a weak champion in Jan, and then was promptly wrestle-fucked and lost due to a gulf of grappling ability (not just TDD, but white belt level BJJ) says it all.

 

[TriangleMonkey]

I wanna see the gingers battle

Pfyfer vs Nickal

 

[mkt]

Romero and Henderson basically just wrestle boxed and stopped using their wrestling for the most part hence why I didn't even mention them. It seems like at MW, for some reason, historically there is a lack of good+ wrestlers unlike WW for example.

I've said this in the past as a criticism for Anderson Silva's legacy. I think intelligent people can apply it to Izzy's as well.

The fact that Izzy went up to 205 to fight a weak champion in Jan, and then was promptly wrestle-fucked and lost due to a gulf of grappling ability (not just TDD, but white belt level BJJ) says it all.

Except that prime Chael and Weidman were good MW wrestlers, FAR better than Izzy's best wresting opponent (Brunson) who also lost to a 40+ year old, ex-champ Anderson. My point is the eras are quite different and Izzy hasn't faced the grapplers that Anderson did. Izzy also has no offensive submission game so he wouldn't be submitting Chael or Hendo like Anderson did. Most likely Chael would 50-45 him, and do it easier than Jan (not a good wrestler) did.

 

[jitzmonkey]

I still think Rob can beat him. The fact that Izzy has been beaten by Alex 3 times before Saturday, and twice by stoppage kinda keeps it in mind that a guy you can compete with, you can beat, no matter if you lost even multiple times. There isn't 'having someone's number' if that person finds pockets of success against you

Alex did what Usman did in the Colby rematch.
He didn't keep it "high and tight."

While it was a different scenario in that Usman got tired while Alex got KOd, both could've gotten a 3rd or 4th round KO had they been more conservative.

Re everything else: I don't know if Robbie has what it takes; although you're spot on about "having someone's number." So it's definitely a possibility.
Adesanya needs to work on is TDD.
The problem is that Khamzat will happily walk into Izzy's hands probably only slightly better than the way Costa did.

We'll have to wait and see how Khamzat's chin fairs (which could go well) against top MWs.
Either way, it's gonna be fun!

Very Ggod and reasonable analysis on your part, though.

I agree, he's insufferable. Extremely hypocritical cringe person. Talks about fucking anime virtues then does the opposite of all his victim crying about being bullied or a displaced native or whatever the fuck.

Him pointing to that kid and playing dead is just who he is. Do I think it's totally wrong? No because the little kid is a cunt brat and did it to him when he was KO'd for some reason. But he was also just a kid. Izzy has never been the bigger man in his life.

He loves shonnen anime and just displays zero "hero" traits despite doing all this cringe shit. He reminds me of OBJ from the NFL a bit, possibly gay narcissist. Loves the attention, gonna do a 20 minute walkout dance or dress up like the undertaker and then put on a snoozefest.

He's a great fighter, #2 MW ever clearly. Not gonna put him over Anderson. But as I said above, when has he fought any good wrestlers? Whittaker should have wrestled him and didn't. Vettori is a journeyman and gave him a bit of trouble. Jan isn't even a wrestler, dominated him there on the ground even if he was 205. I think Khamzat would murder Izzy unless he tried to stand like he did with Burns like a moron. Izzy's ground game sucks.

My wife saw the smoke from the towers on 9/11 (from Baruch on 25th St.
I had some friends (not close anymore) who moved there from Detroit and were working in Tower 2 but got out.
Every NYer, Jerseyite, etc... at minimum knew someone who knew that lost their life that day.
I've have a couple of friends/acquaintances who have breathing problems from the dust, etc...

So it was that comment that broke the camel's back so to speak for me.

I'll tune in every time to watch him fight, though!

 

[BonyAcaiNogueiraBrothers]

I get why you'd say that for Usman and Izzy, but Francis?

Francis never trained and fought out of Africa.

Dricus was born in Africa, raised in Africa, and trained in Africa.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

The last two are likely to melt usada cups..


Bo Nickels doesnt even know what an arm triangle is...

And Khamzat has to get through a few MWs first and that may be a problem....Costa says Hi

Shara's already passed 3 USADA tests.

 

[michhmoggan]

A DANGEROUS storm of fighters is approaching the MW division. And the fighters we're used to seeing e.g. whittaker, vettori, strickland, costa, etc will all be wiped out. You thought Potent was a threat? Ha... just wait until you see what's in store...

Khamzat 'Borz' Chimaev (12-0-0)
Khamzat needs no introduction. He already proved he the real deal when he fought burns recklessly and still won. his dagestani-style wrestling is relentless and he has KO power. He is very likely to be the new MW champ by the end of the year.

Bo 'Dagestani Killer' Nickal (4-0-0)
3x NCAA champion with with world-class wrestling. He lost only to the best of the best when it comes to wrestling. Beat 2 Dagestanis in freestyle wresting and has the skillset to neuatralize the Dagestani threat thats been taking over the UFC. He is still green but give him a couple of years and trust me he will be fighting Khamzat for the belt and ragdolling Izzy out of the divison.

'Shara Bullet' aka 'Demon Khabib' (11-0-0)
Finishing all but 1 of his fights, Sharabutdin Magomedov is an aggressive striker with insane KO potential. Demon Khabib is such a badass that he chooses to fight at MW when he can easily make weight for welterweight. Very unique fighting style and plenty of endurance. @Hellowhosthat knows everything about this guy including his blood type and the color of his underwear.

Ikram 'The Anti-Khamzat' Aliskerov (13-1-0)
This guy is a beast. Subbed his opponent in DWCS in 2 minutes to secure a UFC contract. World combat sambo champion and his sole loss was to no one other than Khamzat. He completely neautralized all of Khamzat's takedown before getting caught with a nasty uppercut. This is perhaps the only guy capable of beating Khamzat.

Why you didn't put conor in the list? Are you a khabib lover?

 

[CJrider]

Calling the guy Khamzat knocked the F out the "Anti Khamzat" is absolutely hilarious. Don't get me wrong, I understand he's a great grappler, world sambo champ etc, but could you think of a dumber nickname for a guy who got flatlined inside of half a round?