The results of the Alex/Izzy Saga are misleading

[Snolla]

I see people on this board going off about how Izzy is going to get destroyed but I don't see the proof in the numbers. I watched all the fights a few times:

- Izzy was arguably robbed in a close fight the first time.
- Was winning and almost had Alex out of there in the second until the beautiful KO from Alex.
- Had Alex severely hurt and probably finished but Alex got saved by the bell in the third fight. The stoppage was questionable at the end as well for a 5 round championship fight.

Izzy seems to win a lot of the rounds, hurts Alex, is the better grappler etc.... BUT Alex has the most disgusting KO power I've ever seen in MMA and it never seems to fade in the fights. I don't think Marc should have stopped that fight when he did but I can see why he did.

Great fight. There's a reason they keep running it back. Can't wait.

Inb4 "wINNinG unTIL hE LOst eXcUSE"

 

[GrantB13]

Not questionable. You don’t hang your head down intelligently when a guy is trying to knock you out.

 

[Humongo]

hE wAs wINNinG unTIL hE LOst

 

[Roop Holstry]

Izzy was competitive in all of the fights. He was done in their last fight though… pretty much out on his feet looking at the floor

 

[Pierced7681]

This is actually a really good breakdown of the rivalry. I’d still probably bet on Alex but Izzy is a live dog for sure.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Almost winning..is still losing. No one remembers Chael beating the brakes off of Anderson for 24 minutes , they remember one of the best hail mary submissions of all time...

 

[Will G]

So close, yet so far...

 

[Substance Abuse]

You're giving Izzy props. In before shit storm, pink hair photos, memes and screen shots.

 

[Adamant__]

You're giving Izzy props. In before shit storm, pink hair photos, memes and screen shots.

He kinda rocks the pink hair ngl

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Lol, same narrative was pushed before the 3rd fight. Izzy is 0-3 anyway you want to slice it

 

[Substance Abuse]

He kinda rocks the pink hair ngl

Facts. Not easy to do, lol.

 

[KungFuCow]

When you factor in the "improve by 30% when you become a champ" which was just talked about here a couple of weeks ago, could be a long night for Izzy.

 

[MoneyMcGrabber]

Cope harder, sherbro.

 

[humdizzle]

i dont think izzy can beat alex in the standup. alex is going to keep pressuring and checking kicks. eventually landing the shot.

he needs to employ the wrestling. it banked him 2 rounds in the last fight (TD round 3, and alex was still recovering in round 4).
the first round was very close until the shot at the bell. alex actually landed more.

add to this alex is new to mma and so will be improving at a much faster rate than izzy

 

[MoneyMcGrabber]

Or a short one… staring at the floor or at the lights.

When you factor in the "improve by 30% when you become a champ" which was just talked about here a couple of weeks ago, could be a long night for Izzy.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

I see people on this board going off about how Izzy is going to get destroyed but...

...but Izzy is the Vegas favorite.

Sherdoggers are emotional creatures who don't really believe half of what they say, nor care when they're proven wrong.

 

[KungFuCow]

Or a short one… staring at the floor or at the lights.

There is that.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

I see people on this board going off about how Izzy is going to get destroyed but I don't see the proof in the numbers. I watched all the fights a few times:

- Izzy was arguably robbed in a close fight the first time.
- Was winning and almost had Alex out of there in the second until the beautiful KO from Alex.
- Had Alex severely hurt and probably finished but Alex got saved by the bell in the third fight. The stoppage was questionable at the end as well for a 5 round championship fight.

Izzy seems to win a lot of the rounds, hurts Alex, is the better grappler etc.... BUT Alex has the most disgusting KO power I've ever seen in MMA and it never seems to fade in the fights. I don't think Marc should have stopped that fight when he did but I can see why he did.

Great fight. There's a reason they keep running it back. Can't wait.

Inb4 "wINNinG unTIL hE LOst eXcUSE"

The first fight was just close and you can make arguments for either guy.

The 2nd fight was pretty much the same till Izzy caught him and then threw everything he had at him - Alex got a standing 8. And by the end of that 2nd round Alex had recovered enough to be the one moving forward, and in the 3rd he found Izzy's chin.
The 3rd - the shot landed at the bell and the follow up was after the bell so it's irrelevant. And again by the end of the rest period Alex had recovered and was the one pushing the fight in the 2nd. That fight was also misleading - izzy was winning aesthetics with straight head shots and movement but Alex was putting in the work to the legs and body that directly led to him being able to make that push in the 5th. The fight stats also show Alex out landed Izzy overall.

If Alex was just disgusting KO power then he'd have been exposed in Glory a long time ago. He certainly wouldn't have gone 1-1 with Vakhitov in Glory or being the only 2 division champ in Glory.

 

[jitzmonkey]

Lots of valid points, however all three fights (more importantly the 2nd & 3rd) seemed to be officiated within the rules set of their respective sports (I didn't like that standing 8; but I'm not as familiar with Kick boxing rules as I am MMA.)

The fact that Izzy was winning until he lost shows us that there is a path to victory for him.
Of course it's dependent on him sticking to that path and (here's where I believe that many falter in rematches) making the necessary adjustments.

Pereira was working the legs/body early. I'm guessing it's due to the fact that he's well aware that the former champ is much faster and more agile than he is.
Once he (presumably) believed that he'd hampered Izzy's movement sufficiently (also it was the final round,) he went in for the kill.

My guess is that he'd have started to lay it on thick in the 4th had he not been exhausted from the previous round's grappling in which Izzy made Alex carry both their weight for the majority(?) of the 5 minutes.

Of course, Alex needs to alter his approach to make sure that he's not attempting low % TDs/throws since that's what put him in such a bad position in R3 which IMO contributed to his lethargy in R4.

Personally, I have little problem (as a fan) with the stoppage.
After* quick punch* count it was ~13 glancing and flush (plus a few misses) unanswered (Izzy didn't even attempt to throw back) blows that the former champ was taking mostly with his head down.

While I'd disagree with some of what you said, your opinion has good reasoning, IMO.

 

[daniel san]

I agree except that I think he was done in the third fight when the fight was stopped. Most people don’t seem to understand the difference between winning until losing or that there’s more to a W and an L in your record. Pereira has beaten Adesanya three times, so regardless how you look at it, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Adesanya. That being said, he looked like the better fighter in the third, might have been close to finishing Pereira in the third fight who was saved by the bell, so if I had to pick a winner it would be Adesanya. He’s the more complete fighter and looked better in the third fight, but with Pereira’s KO power, being less skilled technically is not as much of a disadvantage as in most cases.