🤔 ROBERT WHITTAKER PREDICTS DRICUS DU PLESSIS TO BEAT ISRAEL ADESANYA AT UFC 305

Former UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker predicts Israel Adesanya will have a long night against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305
#UFC #MMA

[@fiachracasey7625]

Rob called it perfectly

[@orlandowilliamson691]

Bro literally 😂 and casual's think they're opinions matter!!😅

[@fiachracasey7625]

@@orlandowilliamson691 Ngl the conventional wisdom was that dricus would lose vs an accurate counter puncher, but I also talked tons of shit to South Africans that Rob could beat ddp anywhere. Casual and expert logic, neither apply to our african king

[@pwslattery]

@@fiachracasey7625 It is hard to imagine Rob finding a path to beating DDP. He would need to give a near-perfect performance for 25 minutes and win by decision somehow, but Dricus will be coming at him with a non-stop barrage of knockout-power punches and takedowns attempts that will probably succeed every time he can grip his wrist around Rob because then he can would just muscle him onto the ground purely by strength advantage. On the ground, DDP has shown he can submit any top-level BJJ grappler and freestyle wrestler - again, probably by strength advantage in large part; not to dismiss his skill-set. Weirdly enough, I actually think Rob might have a better chance winning by submission himself because his grappling pedigree is extremely higher-level than anyone has seen from his UFC performances. His grappling is something he does not seem to integrate into his MMA fighting very well, but there is a serious skill-set he could use to potentially give DDP a more competitive fight than he would be expecting. Rob has probably been shy going for earlier and more frequent takedowns in MMA because he realises that if your opponent can read a takedown attempt before he goes for it …the consequences have a lot more risk than if his opponent just read a striking combination because diving his face into a knee his opponent has thrown is never anything other than fight-ending damage. Rob would need to study up his Judo and practise the upright throw, trip and sweep moves he underutilises to prevent DDP getting a disgusting-looking Osoto-Gari to drop over him like in their previous fight.

[@jordanc9282]

​@orlandowilliamson691 As a mutual spectator, Adesanya landed more strikes in every round, though I thought the rounds were 2-1 DDP before the stoppage. So the take that DDP would win was correct but I wouldn't say it was necessarily from constant pressure like Sean, it was from his completeness with his wrestling and submission ability.

[@jordanc9282]

​@@orlandowilliamson691Adesanya did look dangerous at different moments in the match. So it wasn't complete dominance.

[@VannTheDawn]

He was right, Dricus won when he was going forward, DDP got pieced up whenever he wasn’t pressuring.

[@miguelsagrys3047]

Very good observation. Didn't think of it that way

[@fluzzerr]

Everybody got picked apart by Adesanya in the past because of this. Strickland cracked the code (probably by accident). I think this is the end of Adesanya’s era. The game has evolved, and every fighter in the top 5 he faces now knows what to do.

[@ChatniJay]

@@fluzzerr the code was craked by Kelvin Gastulem it was just Izzys other opponents did not have the ability's or gas tank to implement the game plan

[@fluzzerr]

@@ChatniJay Kelvin was not an example on how to do it. He took so much damage during that fight that his career was basically over.

[@S475-pb2dp]

Tbh, I was winded just watching ddp vs izzy. Like goddamn. They kept an INSANE pace. Ddp getting gassed tf out after one grappling exchange too. It really had me thinking about the superhuman conditioning of khabib and cain velasquez. Those 2 can literally wrestle non-stop for 5 rounds straight, i mean, their cardio must be off the fucking charts.

[@TfortLo-q8m]

I'm glad he arxed that question

[@mucholoko90]

Why do they pronounce it like that? It's weird

[@squallleonhart5743]

LMAO... best question to arxe.

[@jamesrobert4106]

Ebonics from a ridiculous, London, false accent.​@mucholoko90

[@marmalade6681]

@@mucholoko90 Kind of like when people say Nothink and Somethink. No think? or, no thing? Some thing? and.. some people some think and some dont :p

[@brochill1]

well thoughts are things so it makes sense. I enjoy a noice play on words.

[@Uhhh565]

But dricus isn't as defensively responsible as Sean Strickland

[@bentoomet8805]

Izzy has never fought well against someone who will stand in your face. He’s not as good defensively as Sean (as if anyone is) but if he gets hit he’s going to shoot, something Sean never did.

[@sevencastillo1121]

@@bentoomet8805so true, dricus has very similar energy to prime Kevin Gastélum. And we all remember how close Gastélum got to putting Izzy’s lights out

[@justsomeguywithafewmoregut4600]

@@bentoomet8805 you played yourself. He literally does better against these types for example costa and cannonier. You should've said Sean has an awkward style that izzy couldn't counter. Izzy beats up dricus styles the best

[@justsomeguywithafewmoregut4600]

Like all of the fighters izzy beat are brawlers that push just like dricus (rob,costa,cannonier,Romero etc) Sean just has an awkward style and defense and got the job done.

[@elkakweborouz5015]

@@bentoomet8805we just gonna forget Alex pereira lol

[@ixparadimeix92]

Rob is usually spot on with his assessments-

[@miguelsagrys3047]

Whittaker, Bones and Mighty have excellent fight iq

[@hughesy7351]

@@miguelsagrys3047and volk

[@orlandowilliamson691]

​​@@miguelsagrys3047they really do low key 😂 always right on the money!

[@immubassir]

Whittaker is always right

[@Dlord1PlayStation]

I don't think Sean won by pushing forward and being in his face. Sean didn't actually throw that many strikes. He won because he had the perfect defense vs Adesanya. His stance allowed him to either avoid the leg kicks or check them because he's frequently raising his leg in prediction of one. This stance would make it easier to doubld leg Sean, but Izzy doesn't go for takedowns. Sean only threw out jabs, so Izzy's counter strikes were ineffective. Also, Izzy took a lot of blows in the first round off of one mistake, so that set the tone for the rest of the fight and could have affected his decision-making. Dricus goes for leaping hooks when he presses forward, which is exactly what Izzy wants to counter. Izzy is a stylistic nightmare for Dricus striking wise. But Dricus could mix up grappling to keep Izzy guessing, and he's most likely has a physical strength advantage in the wrestling department. It's a dangerous fight for both of them.

[@kingmoreorless2810]

Finally a guy that actually analyzes fights. Dricus will get countered and knocked out.

[@Sycthe_]

Fucking finally, styles make fights, Sean’s defense is just so perfect for a counter striker, we saw this with costa as well, dricus’ style is genuinely awful for Izzy but that shouldn’t count him out at all

[@toemasmeems]

Sean is one the best pressure fighters and also has defense. But defense alone isn't what made him win against Izzy, it was his constant annoying march towards him which never let Izzy get comfortable with the distance. Robert knows what he's talking about and obviously he didn't break down in depth in a YT short.

[@what4288]

I’m leaning towards DDP via submission tbh

[@oahtnoob]

Excellent analysis!!

[@stride5264]

It is amazing. Izzy hit a couple of bumps in the road, and everyone forgot how good he is.

[@G4MBIT]

A couple of bumps in combat sports is all it takes. It happened to Anderson Silva, Usman, Woodley, etc. if that happened to greats like that, I don’t see why it can’t happen to Izzy as well.

[@ayden8800]

Robbery over Yoel Romero and Whittaker, dominated by Jan and Sean, 48-47 over Jared, and an embarrasingly low ouput fight against Marvin vettori kinda make it feel like we’ve just been drinking izzy’s coolaid this whole time

[@donaldedwards-yu4ui]

@@ayden8800- You must have watched those fights you mentioned from a 1950 upside down black and white TV. Either that, or you suffered from Insomnia then. For you disrespect Izzy like that.

[@ayden8800]

@@donaldedwards-yu4ui I’ll admit razor close decisions aren’t rly robberies but he lost the second Whittaker fight and the Romero fight, and your lying to yourself if you like watching feint leg kick jab jab feint leg kick over and over, his only exciting fights are when his opponents force him to get dirty

[@infernalspy0176]

@@donaldedwards-yu4uidisrespect what 😂. Him throwing low output leg kicks and a few jabs every now and again? Apart from Whittaker, pereira once and costa, what else did he do? All of them being in the first couple of rounds anyway showing he needs his big moment early in the fight or he’s just going to coast to a decision or a loss. Usman was more dominant, volkanovski was more dominant. This guy puts on snoozefest after snoozefest acting like he’s the best striker in the ufc and he clearly can’t finish a fight past the 2nd round. I hope DDP flatlines this fool and the MW division can move on from him

[@agus6115]

has Whittaker really been oxed, though?

[@aldorechiasson]

I thought he lookes pretty good for being axed

[@DrDoom931]

​@@aldorechiassonLol, the reporter asked a question and when he said "I know your probably been asked a lot" but it sounded like oxed.

[@kaiserbayproductions]

@@DrDoom931we got it bro😅 It’s just not how the word “asked” is pronounced.

[@jamesmx7]

​@@kaiserbayproductionsPlaces exist outside America.... Google it, it's true!

[@noahvannote417]

Was wondering that too.

[@Boaz-rx1rw]

Good 👍 assessment

[@countonme9893]

Well said, good read

[@uyandamakhanya5452]

Good prediction champ

[@rickydamiron8762]

Whittaker’s resume is second to none. Always game

[@yowcephhelm5910]

Second to Adesanya though?

[@tonyp3282]

Yeah but he's soft

[@Thegreatesttoneverlive]

​@@tonyp3282 sure bud 😂😂

[@DiegoPoston]

He’s a great, and extremely likable guy, but he’s quite overhyped. He’s arguably the best mw contender today, but he’s second to quite a few.

[@joenu7s]

@@DiegoPostonbro is a top 5 mw of all time tf you mean overhyped, in the last 10 years he’s only lost to the current and former champion

[@zekethefishgeek8690]

Oxe'd ah'lat...

[@DarrellWilkerson4.6]

What's with african Americans and brits with ahxed and uhxed? 😂

[@alexnaru3854]

He have a lovely face and Smiley 🥹

[@MrGoMario]

How correct he was... Intelligence - The ULTIMATE EVERYTHING

[@viniciusdias5887]

The Reaper is right on the money again.

[@alsheatonism]

Good call.

[@Palaecro]

It's just a matter of whether Dricus can take all the counter shots Izzy is going to throw at him while still damaging Izzy. It'll be a long night for him either way as much as I'd love to see him flatline Izzy I don't see it happening.

[@gatshenindlovu8224]

😂😂😂

[@aidenarkus]

And he wasn't wrong

[@alvine7117]

He called it

[@vagosalomon7543]

Mystic Rob

[@VikramSingh-fc9cz]

He was right 🎉

[@tonykari5124]

AXED .. A LOTTT. .. 😂 DDP WHOOPED DAT ASS. GOT JIZZY THINKING ABOUT RETIREMENT 😂😢😂😂

[@realtalk8462]

Aged well

[@anorginalname805]

17:59 thank you for saying that dricus. I needed to hear that

[@zazimazi9265]

The accuracy in this

[@zudinz55]

Well put together and exactly what happened?. Ddp is smart when to use his wrestling and strike.. So Sean did well taking it to the decision.

[@pwslattery]

It is funny that DDP is among the smartest fighters in the sport when it comes to game-planning (and in general, from what I have seen of him), but no matter what …literally every game-plan is going to involve fighting like a drunken bar-thug brawler for most of the fight, until he magically finishes every opponent without any explanation.

[@DennisFeinsteinCEO]

His foughts on tha fought turned out to be correct

[@giustinoscalise3177]

A fair assessment me thinks, but for sure, Sean is a defensive juggernaut.

[@CarlosSanchez-ip1vs]

Well to be fair Dricus won by the skin of his teeth against Strickland which I still give rounds 1,3 &5 to Sean, but if Dricus can get defensively sound and mix in takedowns and ground control or pound, then he wins against gyno

[@TimothySmith-ln7bh]

Calling him gyno is wild bro

[@CarlosSanchez-ip1vs]

@@TimothySmith-ln7bh I could also call him Dogbender 😂 I think its ok to be out of pocket when it comes to Gynosanya

[@Rowsy91]

@@TimothySmith-ln7bhdog diddler better?

[@RealAfricanDude]

His own coach admitted he lost round 3, but okay.

[@alextomlinson]

The last racebaiter

[@michaelstyler8598]

Whoops he's right

[@nope44589]

it’s going to be a long night. adesanya is done

[@CDDUBS]

Izzy gonna ko him

[@musclesmurf8528]

That's a feeling I assume where's the proof

[@djnel6231]

Great Man. Great answer.

[@millsshumps1968]

Looks like Dricus vs Strickland 2

[@dubbkenobby6542]

Annnnnnd where back here after Rob was right lol.

[@Againstdhawa]

Izzy would not have given DDP same respect this is what happens when you talk smack DDP was humble unfortunately Izzy learnt to smack talk from Maoris and islanders......

[@adamevans7945]

Izzy loves people coming forward. He’s a supernatural counter puncher. The trouble with Strickland was his defence. He’s very hard to hit cleanly. He doesn’t offer much on offence except constant forward movement and a jab. That’s what wins him fights. Driccus uses forward pressure as well but he’s very easy to hit. Izzy will carve him up.

[@Mrkaka376]

Exactly my thoughts, Driscus gets lit up with the counters unless he tries to successfully mix it up.

[@MarioGarcia-de2fj]

And what's the excuse if DDP wins? I honestly don't care who wins but a lot of you guys like to make crazy excuses for your favorite fighter.

[@bishalgurung590]

@@MarioGarcia-de2fj its an mma fight anything can happen..even ddp could ko izzy but i see slightly more chance of winning to izzy

[@strengthandhonor9334]

This comment aged like milk

[@whatisreddin7367]

yeah how you feeling rn?

[@Bumbaclartios]

Fighters almost always pick the guy that most recently beat them to win for some reason

[@winslowistaken]

cause you dont wanna get beat by a loser yk, you want him the be the best so you can come back and get em

[@Rrrr101-x9l]

‘For some reason’. Mate, it’s pretty obvious why they do

[@noahvannote417]

Ego

[@Bumbaclartios]

@@Rrrr101-x9l oh my bad Mate

[@h4cjohnny603]

I think Rob doesn't like Izzy all that much. He lost to him twice and when Izzy had his entrance dance in the first fight, it definitely bothered Rob

[@renayhill8173]

he would now, he felt it and lost, so true answer.

[@mucholoko90]

Why this journalist (and so many other people) pronounce aKSed instead of aSKed???

[@osayenumchukszed7881]

May be English language is changing 🙄🥱

[@mucholoko90]

@@osayenumchukszed7881 ?

[@DonKey496]

​@@osayenumchukszed7881 Nah, it's just the average IQ in their countrey is dropping rapidly the last few years. It's illegal to be intelligent over there.

[@__anderson__7408]

Informed analysis at its best...The man saw this fight a month earlier and we just got played the copy of thr fight😂😂😂

[@danielwright722]

Perfect response

[@humanioresIT]

Whitaker Is a magician

[@AidenHall-hw5zw]

This aged well

[@fliffleflaffle8100]

It's 'asked'!!!!!

[@bodeabass7284]

Comes to a point, when you've made your statements, then its all about the money after all said and done,,but when it is personal, then shit got real,,,Like this fight right here, ,,

[@rosemarietolentino3218]

If Whitaker thinks DDP can do that I have to respect that. I am rooting for DDP.

[@afrodemon8629]

I haven't seen anyone arks Robert?

[@darrylislam6069]

Hit the nail on the hammer my Aussie mate! Rise up lights (say that face and you’ll be saying something else and in aussie)

[@LordJobby]

"I know you've probably been aksed a lot..."

[@EveK-North]

Yes, Robert has been aucks’d a lot.

[@Rooster....]

**Asked

[@josipmaric4725]

What a fckn gentleman 🤝

[@heathswinson6506]

He was ready for someone to ox this question

[@cyrushomes7512]

I have been OXED a lot too. It's a very treacherous FIELD!

[@joshnevel1504]

Whitaker ftw

[@BARBARYAN.]

Glad I stumbled on this assessment bc now Dricus has officially beaten desanaya! Good call Whittaker.

[@gabrielmarch2892]

He don't have Sean's defense and Izzy longer and uses his distance in every fight I think this fight is Taylor made for Izzy to win

[@joondagoon6774]

Only thing with dricus is that mf is powerful but Izzy is smart

[@gabrielmarch2892]

@@joondagoon6774 your right that's the only way I see him winning but Izzys distance I see keeping him out of harms way.

[@ronmastrio2798]

@@gabrielmarch2892 And Izzy got rocked and choked out.

[@iamlegend3669]

He knew the future

[@1MantisPhoenix]

Yeah going to be a great fight!

[@baller3030]

I’ve never been aksed anything before

[@imakimmy2]

I love Rob. I hope The Champion kicks iz arse.

[@paulrowson7264]

ASKED! AKSED ? 🤯

[@GamerGetsFIT]

Welp.. Bobby Knuckles was right!

[@miskeen8701]

"Arksed" what kind of english was that

[@u142]

british

[@oliverj6280]

Black

[@Anonymously-187]

Jamaican slang used In London. Similar is used in down south USA too.

[@DarrellWilkerson4.6]

Do african Americans not say axed? Or is that different? 😂

[@DemonicAngelKiller]

i still think whittaker got robed in his fight against izzy he was wining that fight but the refs gave it to izzy

[@natemurray02]

smart man right there

[@siphesihlepangwa4796]

You told them Rob

[@marcussomerville]

Whitaker has been winning and Izzy hasn't and yet everyone feels sorry for Izzy. Robert Whitaker has and amazing career in the UFC and is widely respected for his work both in and out of the ring.

[@Ancient-Africa]

MMA maths doesn't work

[@six5256]

Mma math is more fighter vs fighter = winner so winner vs fighter= x. Not stylistic match-ups imo.

[@CornPopWazABadDude]

He's been "ox'd a lot"...?

[@garvkala7325]

Always bang on point Whittaker

[@EmilioDangote-uu1mm]

Yeah, I really doubt in my boy man Izzy is not just another guy and he was hurt before the before the Strickland fight

[@sektorify]

That’s some fancy arithmetic

[@ChristopherRensburg]

How fancy genius?

[@delmar1514]

Is anyone gonna talk about how often Izzy was fighting and how rested he now is? 100% fresh! Strickland got the tail end of a Champion fighting at record pace. Oh, didn’t Izzy sleep Alex?! Whittaker looking salty, STILL! Even after all these years.

[@rosemarietolentino3218]

???

[@JonathanCodes-ol1cm]

If he picked Izzy you would say he’s salty to DDP, they asked for a prediction and he gave it.

[@DrayDrayn]

Izzy fans. Always low iq😂

[@ayeme9246]

How is Rob salty?.. lol

[@lathithantsadu]

He's REALLY RESTED NOW😂

[@Anythingwilldo296]

The determination to say the word asked in the wrong way is a level stupidity I can’t comprehend

[@onelle.o]

I did enjoy this one. God bless your efforts Izzy! Let’s go. R2 KO

[@CorrBlimey.]

Sounds like AJ asking the question. LoL

[@drazenstefanovic6122]

Funny how he never won against izzy and izzy will now loose 5in a row easy ASAP Robert vs izzy

[@joshnicholson6194]

He needs Dricus to win, otherwise there are at least two fights to get through before a title. If DDP wins, he can argue for a title shot, at least after Sean, if Izzy wins, Rob will have to fight DDP, and then the winner of Sean and Izzy for the belt. Makes sense he would go this way, in his head, he wants this (also Izzy picked him to lose to DDP).

[@TomJJ37]

Israel has literally been the most active and smartest fighter since Anderson Silva's run at the top. But just like Anderson everyone hits their peak. However I do believe Israel has it in him to have another at least short run.... BUT! We all saw at the last presser how emotional he was, he even went to tears. That could end up working against him in this fight being mixed with wanting to show everyone his "last fight doesn't define him"

[@Mikemanly]

The Māori boy whom is the Warrior in Australia ✊️

[@princehmg]

Aksed? Foughts? Faat? Wtf is that?

[@singino1975]

I mean MMA math got Izzy sleepin DDP

[@TheTakbok]

Word

[@TechCrawl]

Sean vs Whitaker pls

[@tristandanish]

The crazy thing is, I feel people could have beaten him if they had applied pressure instead of staying cautious and getting countered or sniped for not moving enough. Just a personal opinion

[@ThriveHealth-ep7cj]

Dricus is the definition of street fighter 😂

[@ven_one]

Asked Not "aksed."

[@diabq]

Hopefully Dricuss wins but with that being said it will all comedown to one thing is Israel still hungry. If he is then it will probably be different outcome. Whoever wins kudos to him! I hope we have fight of the night!

[@AP-zq6hv]

Sean was so effective vs izzy due to his defense izzy is one of the best counter punchers the UFC has ever seen and DDP gets pretty wild defensively when pressing fwd throwing big hooks which I believe is the best punch for izzy to counter.... but let's all be real MMA math just doesn't work it's not a real thing lol

[@michaelcisneros8896]

Styles makes fights that's all I will say

[@leonjpaul5524]

"Ahksed" ?? 😂

[@Hesh44]

Izzy is a mean counter striker just look at his fight with Alex.. if dricus can't overwhelm him he's going to get picked apart.

[@lightningFFXIlI]

Robs always been an Izzy hater. His opinion doesn’t matter

[@bounty1402]

not really. Rob said Izzy is a master in managing the distancing

[@beautifulsydney]

Rob doesn't like Izzy But he always says Izzy is so good So yeah he is honest about Izzy skill set

[@ChipFreeSpace]

I think the fans hate izzy more than Rob ever could

[@lihiko3891]

Rob was spot on

[@ChipFreeSpace]

@@lihiko3891 facts

[@DouglasBitts]

Whitaker talking about what dricus did to Strickland in a fight that dricus lost , cmon look at his face

[@edgardiaz3669]

Appearances can be deceiving, most of the damage Sean did was in the first round.

[@robertleadwood]

​@brokennativ379 ikr, by judging criteria ddp won the fight and made sean fight he's way and man handled him. Him landing a non stop jab om dricus eye doesn't give you a free win, your not gonna Coast a title fight and ddp although goofy looking actually gets finishes and will always try to win while sean will happily wait 25 minutes for a decision win.

[@z48843]

Aksed….

[@Sixthbro-oz1oo]

Wow bobbies was on point

[@MIStrZZZ]

imagine aksing a question