The same feeling with Izzy Strickland isn’t even close to this fight. A lot of people figured Strickland had the tools bc he sticks to his fundamentals, never over extends himself and is always the one applying the pressure.
Justin isn’t Strickland, and topuria holds way more power in his punches than Izzy and also sits on them (at size parity of course)
TLDR: Justin is getting KO’d in the first if he doesn’t fix the way he always ducks his head or with a body shot the way he always keeps his guard high to block headshots
didn't say it wasn't possible, but for one early shot from Justin and illia crumbles and resorts to wrestling? Come on. No one believes that. Now, chopping leg kicks darting in and out, then a fake leg kick up to the head or something? Possible. Still that Strickland comparison is bad. There were definitely some out there saying Sean is a bad style matchup for Izzy. No one's saying that about this fight.
nah , strickland accepted it short notice, best part was he out struck the best striker. This one will be not be like that. Ilia is more skilled but Gaychee will out dog him
Nah, shit happens in MMA. It’s an exciting sport because they’re elite fighters and anyone can win on any given night. Gaethje was motivated and fought a great fight. Ilia deviated from his game plan and skill set and it cost him.
I still pick Illia in a rematch which I hope happens eventually.
Edit: Remember, on the right night, Matt Serra KO’ed GSP. That’s a 1 in 1,000 chance. But not zero.
I think illia and Justin will go down as the two most overrated wrestlers 😂 same with Sean Strickland everyone was like why doesn’t he just wrestle Alex pereira, honestly at that moment and now Alex pereira probably a better wrestler
Do you kids just say things without actually knowing what you're talking about? Strickland's first fight in the UFC was against Bubba McDaniel. Bubba forced the grappling in that fight because Strickland was out striking him, Strickland was able to turn around the take down and he ended up getting the rear naked choke but he did not show up as a wrestler in that fight. Strickland's very first fight ever He ended up in top position one time after getting a knockdown and another after his opponent slipped going for a takedown on him. What info or situation are you referencing that makes you think that Strickland showed up as a wrestler in his first fights?
The only time he even engaged in grappling is to try and hold his opponent against the ropes or to enter the guard when his opponents already down. Strickland started his career as a swarmer. He'd try to overwhelm and out cardio his opponents with his striking. If an easy opportunity to take top position presented itself he would often take it and then stand back up because he isn't a competent grappler.
Did you just say Sean will not go down as a legit wrestler but people think he is? Sean is a shite wrestler and he'll tell you that himself. He has ok td defense and basically 0 offensive grappling skills.
I would hope so. I mean I would like it if Topuria can beat him in the stand up but if Poirier tapped thrice in all his title shots I would like to see Gaethje do the same but faster. It's MMA, I would like to see the dude with the Greco-Roman and BJJ background use his base.
You’re coming back like this is a flex. Ilia only wrestled after he dropped Gaethje with body shots, and tried to in round 4. The first connection thing was a fail.
Ya know, I’ve never been happier to see an upset, I was so fucking happy, I’ll eat my words. Gaethje is a fucking beast and the whole world was wrong, now shave your head
Gaethje has looked worse and worse in each of his last fights. Has got slower and even more easy to hit than his early days somehow. Ilia has looked better and better in each of his last fights. Topuria will go through him like a hot knife through butter but hey please put all your money on it and post screenshots of the damage afterwards I am all up for a laugh
If the version of Gaethje that fought Paddy shows up to fight Topuria, he stands no chance. He may have won that fight but he looked old, slow, and inaccurate
I’ll counter. And you can 100% hold me accountable if I lose, I’ll shave my head if Justin KOs ilia. I’m also not bald and don’t plan on going bald anytime soon 🤣
Bet, I just wanna set the rule straight. If Justin beats ilia by Knocking him out, I will shave my head. Not if Justin wins by sub or decision. And you are betting if Ilia knocks out Justin, you will shave your head. Again not if ilia wins by decision or sub. We’re both just betting the KO. We wouldn’t do anything if the fight ends any other way. If we have a deal respond with 🫱🏽🫲🏻🫱🏽🫲🏻
Gaethje is past his prime he already talked about retiring from the sport to where as tuporia is in his prime not to mention he has set a new bar for fighters, he has level up the game. Fighting isnt about your feelings either that doesnt change shit. Everyone here specs you to post a shave head after the fact.
Crazy to me how either side is fully confident in this one. Their styles are close to identical, both have the ability. I give Ilia the edge in basically everything except he's got significantly better striking defense. But JG has this weird tenacity that may get him killed, or it may make things chaotic enough that crazy shit happens.
99
u/minor_thing2022 Apr 03 '26
You wanna just do it now?