Prime Anderson would matrix Whittaker too

[Koro_11]

Even worse than Adesanya did.

People love this narrative that the latest champ is somehow way more involved than the one from six years ago, but in reality Whitaker is just a poor man’s TRT Vitor, and prime Anderson would clown him bed.

 

[JabToucher]

Imagine what a prime Silva would do to Kevin Gastleum in round 1 or 2 compared to Izzyy fighting him..

 

[SteveColdStone]

I’m quite sure that he would. Whittaker did fight like a moron vs Adesanya though; I think he’s better than what he showed.

 

[Iron Nick]

With that gameplan, i think most people see prime Silva finishing Whittaker in a similar manner.

That being said, Adesanya doesn't need a similar streak as Silva in order to be rightfully perceived as his equal, as the former fights in a middleweight division with significantly more capable fighters.

One can easily make the argument, that Whittaker, Romero and Gastelum are better fighters or at least better strikers than anyone Anderson Silva has faced (remember: Silva did not face TRT-Vitor).

Since people love to romanticize the past though, i will probably be flamed for this comment and receive countless ad hominems.

 

[Chael_Sonnen]

Lmao, Whittaker would have taken his head off.
I love AS, but Whittaker is a different breed.
Izzy was on some JuJu magic when he beat Whittaker, the other thing being he has a better lean-back defense than AS did. AS was more about side to side and ducking head movement. That wouldn't work against Whittaker, if AS tried to do that he would just shoulder him on the way in.

 

[Iron Nick]

Lmao, Whittaker would have taken his head off.
I love AS, but Whittaker is a different breed.
Izzy was on some JuJu magic when he beat Whittaker, the other thing being he has a better lean-back defense than AS did. AS was more about side to side and ducking head movement. That wouldn't work against Whittaker, if AS tried to do that he would just shoulder him on the way in.

Not sure, although i'd have rooted for Rob in this fight.

Maybe better that this thread has been moved away from the heavies though...

People can't handle the fact that Adesanya (although obviously not being as accomplished as Silva yet) does not need a comparable win-streak to surpass, let alone become equal to Silva.
Silva has beaten the vast majority of his opponents in exciting fashion and he could only fight who they'd put in front of him, but in my opinion the 185 division of back then was clearly not as good as it is now.

I also think that Whittaker is a better striker than anyone Silva has ever won against, Romero is a better overall fighter (by skill, not by accomplishments) than anyone Silva has fought against and that Gastelum would beat most of Silva's opponents too.

 

[Kono dio da!]

TS please. Come on now. Sulva's tactics were revolutionary FOR THEIR TIME. I'm sure every fighter has seen thousands of hours of tape on the guy. I'm sure many many fighters have consciously and subconsciously either stolen techniques (whether overtly or subtly) and learnt to counter some of those techniques (passively or actively).
For instance, his tendency to back up into the cage and slip your punches, who the fuck is gonna fall for that? You don't think he'll try calf kicks in a hypothetical matchup? You don't think whittaker would have more raw speed? You don't think that, he would realize that going for silva's head is a fool's errand that his body was more vulnerable? Yes yes I know he head hunted and paid for it in his adesanya match. In his first romero fight he did good work to the body. Silva could still win, but he's not using bullet time on whittaker. I'd pick whittaker but keep an open mind. Mma has evolved.

 

[Koro_11]

With that gameplan, i think most people see prime Silva finishing Whittaker in a similar manner.

That being said, Adesanya doesn't need a similar streak as Silva in order to be rightfully perceived as his equal, as the former fights in a middleweight division with significantly more capable fighters.

One can easily make the argument, that Whittaker, Romero and Gastelum are better fighters or at least better strikers than anyone Anderson Silva has faced (remember: Silva did not face TRT-Vitor).

Since people love to romanticize the past though, i will probably be flamed for this comment and receive countless ad hominems.

Except Anderson looked invincible during his streak in all except the first Chael fight.

I would say Hendo was just as dangerous of a striker as Kelvin, and Silva didn’t struggle with him the way Izzy struggled in that fight.

Vitor just as dangerous as Whittaker if not more.

Anderson didn’t beat anyone like Yoel, but really neither did Izzy. They seriously just went out there and just stared at each other, with Yoel being like 43 and winless in 3 years. I mean if you wanna prop up Izzy it’s probably best to just avoid mentioning that fight altogether.

let’s see how he does against Costa.

 

[Iron Nick]

Except Anderson looked invincible during his streak in all except the first Chael fight.

I do of course give Anderson that he looked super impressive in his wins - that's not my criticisim.
My criticism is that Adesanya's strength of schedule must be taken into consideration when comparing these two!

I would say Hendo was just as dangerous of a striker as Kelvin, and Silva didn’t struggle with him the way Izzy struggled in that fight.

Hendo was a great win and a super dangerous fighter, but he's not as fast and as slick and technical with his boxing as Kelvin is.

Vitor just as dangerous as Whittaker if not more.

I'd maybe agree with you if we were to talk about TRT-Vitor, but the version of Vitor that Anderson faced wasn't TRT-Vitor and i think it's fair to say that there's a significant difference between the two, especially since Vitor relied more on explosiveness than any other striker that i can remember.

Anderson didn’t beat anyone like Yoel, but really neither did Izzy. They seriously just went out there and just stared at each other, with Yoel being like 43 and winless in 3 years. I mean if you wanna prop up Izzy it’s probably best to just avoid mentioning that fight altogether.

Can see your reasoning here - i do think that Silva (and any other elite striker) would have looked equally bad in that fight though.
There's no way to beat Romero that doesn't involve eating tons of heavy strikes and leaving lots of mileage inside that cage or isn't a replique of what Adesanya did.

I think it's also fair to cut Izzy a bit of slack for this, since he had staph going on, which is not exactly ideal.

let’s see how he does against Costa.

Absolutely.

I'm sure he'll pass that test though and people will be back on the Adesanya train again - with the exceptions of his biggest haters, who'll then say that Costa was never any good, lol.

 

[Koro_11]

Absolutely.

I'm sure he'll pass that test though and people will be back on the Adesanya train again - with the exceptions of his biggest haters, who'll then say that Costa was never any good, lol.

I wouldn't be so sure about that one.

The only thing we have to compare them is their Romero fights, and to me Costa looks like the guy who wants it more and isn't just going out there to survive.

Of course Izzy could catch him with some counters, but I can also see him wilt if he starts taking heavy shots. Not an easy fight by any means.

 

[SenseiJim]

Yes if Anderson was using his dick pills. Off ..no.

 

[Chael_Sonnen]

Not sure, although i'd have rooted for Rob in this fight.

Maybe better that this thread has been moved away from the heavies though...

People can't handle the fact that Adesanya (although obviously not being as accomplished as Silva yet) does not need a comparable win-streak to surpass, let alone become equal to Silva.
Silva has beaten the vast majority of his opponents in exciting fashion and he could only fight who they'd put in front of him, but in my opinion the 185 division of back then was clearly not as good as it is now.

I also think that Whittaker is a better striker than anyone Silva has ever won against, Romero is a better overall fighter (by skill, not by accomplishments) than anyone Silva has fought against and that Gastelum would beat most of Silva's opponents too.

I think in general AS is far better than Izzy, but not for this match-up. A 44 year old AS went the distance with Izzy, and didn't look in any danger throughout it.
However, Izzy is a worse match-up for Whittaker than AS is, because Izzy's striking style is different.
185 is looking so damn stacked right now, it is my favorite division bar BW.

 

[Iron Nick]

I think in general AS is far better than Izzy, but not for this match-up. A 44 year old AS went the distance with Izzy, and didn't look in any danger throughout it.
However, Izzy is a worse match-up for Whittaker than AS is, because Izzy's striking style is different.
185 is looking so damn stacked right now, it is my favorite division bar BW.

Yeah i'm okay with that

 

[Chael_Sonnen]

Yeah i'm okay with that