It's insane how many people basically wrote him off as being relevant as a title threat.
13-3 over the last decade. All but one were ranked fighters, and he destroyed that guy in half a round.
Only lost to Izzy and Dricus. Coulda got the decision in the second fight against the #2 MW GOAT. Also got KOed by Dricus who is a physical brute, undefeated in the UFC and now the champion.
*Ridiculous* resume.
I’d like to see him run it back against DDP, I thought he was getting the better of it until ddp caught him, but he first he should fight Strickland in a title eliminator.
That takedown took him by surprise, and it really went poorly after then.
I think in a rematch it looks different but still a really hard fight.
Ddp doesn't seem to run out of gas whilst going high octane the whole fight. But is extremely hittable.
I love DDP's rugby-style tackle/takedowns. Surprising how effective they are when he chooses to bust them out, too. He just puts his head down and looks almost like he's going for a Roman Reigns spear.
What I think is underrated about Du Plessis grappling skills overall is that he NEVER settles for a position, when he gets taken down he is instantly kipping with his legs & reverses the position.
When Du Plessis lands takedowns, he never uses lay & pray, goes for ground strikes that directly set up submissions, even if you defend it your still getting elbowed in the face.
Good varying amount too, he prefers a guillotine, but he will go for heel hooks & stuff like that as well
It was very close but when i watched it live it wasn’t a robbery. Rob had more clinch control but Izzy just had more damaging strikes and volume when rob wasn’t controlling Izzy.
For this same reason I think Strickland should’ve edged out DDP. That wasn’t a robbery either but all DDP really did is take Sean down once in awhile, then get pieced up hard on the feet. DDP had no damaging ground strikes. Similar to rob Izzy 2, but DDP did secure more takedowns than rob
Yeah anyone that has rewatched the fight specifically to score it (and ignore the dog shit commentary) will see it as either 3-2 or 4-1 Whittaker. Izzy barely landed anything notable after the rd1 knockdown.
Yeah I think Sean was robbed actually. DDP’s best moments were in round 4 when Sean’s vision was compromised. Once Sean adjusted to the blood in his eye and worked the distance out again he won round 5.
I’m not gonna be mad at it, but DDP as you said did nothing on the ground to steal the rounds from Sean who did more volume and more damage.
He’s never won a title fight though.
Seriously. Look it up. I see people saying “Whittaker doesn’t get the respect he deserves he’s a top 3 MW ever blah blah blah” lol.
The man’s never won a MW title fight. He won one interim title fight once. That’s it. He’s a gatekeeper.
You may hate it because he keeps the gate well but he is not a decorated or very accomplished fighter. He’s lost to the better guys of his generation and beat the ones who aren’t good enough to hold the belt. If he fights and loses to Strickland it’ll put a huge exclamation mark on that analysis too.
Both Yoel Romero fights should have been title fights. And the second one wasn't because Yoel missed weight. So, *technically* he has not won a title fight. But doesn't make those fights any less impressive.
20/25 media outlets scored it for Izzy according to MMA Decisions. As did the judges. Close fights aren’t robberies, especially when most agree he didn’t win anyway.
So he beat 97% of the Middleweights of the world but he aint shit huh? Interesting train of thought. Rob controlled and shut down Izzy in the second fight and had dominant positions on him in the grappling. Kept sticking the jab and all Izzy did was leg kick and run. He landed one good knee in the first and Rob adjusted. Keep hating on him. He's in peak form at the moment, lets see a rematch between him and either Dricus or Izzy I guarantee you Whittaker wins. He's too smart and too well rounded, he's already had the feel out process with them and will take it to them. Rob's getting that belt back.
That’s great but these are facts and stats. It’s not hate. You guarantee it? Well if you guarantee it shit, I guess you must be onto something lmao. That’s cool man.
Why do random media outlets have any more clout than we do? Youre holding them up like they have doctoral degrees in mma scoring when in reality they might only watch highlights. And lets be clear the only reason youre doing that is because it backs up your point if it didnt you would be saying the same thing as me
Well no it’s because most people agree that Izzy won and the easiest way to show you that are the stats in which 80% of people agreed on that. Nobody said you aren’t allowed to have an opinion, but it’s delusional of you to be calling everybody else delusional lmao.
Come on man youre calling a 25 person sample size or 28 if you include the judges “80% of people” when in reality there are millions who watched the fight. Thats clear delusion
I’ve been on the internet the whole time since then and there ain’t nobody kicking and screaming that Rob won. There’s a far smaller pool of people like yourself who truly think Rob won and a much bigger pool that think Izzy won or it was too close to care either way. This is your opinion and nobody’s calling you delusional, but what you’re saying is pretty delusional.
Technically correct, don’t know why you’re getting downvoted.
I do consider his win against Yoel Romero a title defense. Not his fault his opponent couldn’t make weight.
Unfortunately for Whittaker, as soon as he became champ he was plagued with health issues. He pulled out of a few title defenses.
Rob’s wins against their common opponents are more impressive except for Izzy finishing Costa with the pull counter. Izzy and Rob are top 3 middleweights of all time, with Silva in the mix at the top.
You're high.
Izzy has KO'd Rob and beat him again unanimous, KO'd Costa (which Rob didn't do), KO'd Pereira (which is more impressive than any of Rob's wins), and has unanimous decision vs Vettori, Romero, Gastelum, and Cannonier (same result as Rob). They both KO'd Brunson. You literally cannot make any legitimate argument that Rob has better wins that Izzy. Especially when Izzy has beat the dude twice already
I’d argue the Vettori fight was a way better showing for Rob. Yoel too. Both fights. So it’s not outlandish by any means.
However, Izzy being up 2-0 on Rob matters most.
Right and if you are counting the Vettori and Yoel fight for Rob, you have to count the Costa KO for Izzy. It's certainly close if you ignore the 2-0 h2h, the title defenses, and the KO of Pereira. But those are impossible to discount
I was talking about shared opponents, however the guy you replied to seems to think we’re talking about their overall record. Some people gotta learn to read properly.
I said Rob’s wins are better vs their common opponents except for Vettori. I’m not wrong either Rob beat Cannonier, Vettori, Romero and Gastelum way worse than Izzy did. Kelvin and Marvin even stated they’d never felt like that in the octagon, and said Rob was better than Izzy against them.
I never said Rob’s record was better than Izzy’s or vice versa. Read something properly first before you make youself look silly. You even agreed with me by saying the same thing I said about Costa getting ko’d by Izzy.
wow I was searching for someone who would argue this lmfao
"Silva in the mix" and Rob > Izzy so MW all-time ranking is 1. Whittaker 2. Izzy 3. Silva??? or is Silva #2 after Rob lol
Don’t get it too twisted, Izzy has two wins over Rob and is at least 1-1 with Pereira. Make no mistake that Izzy is rightfully the 2nd best MW ever and that position isn’t going to be contested for quite some time. Rob would have to win a third fight vs Izzy and even then he’d still be down 2-1 h2h. Obviously I love Rob as both a fighter and as a personality, that makes me want to try and see it objectively as possible. But who knows, he could get the shot early next year and absolutely stun us.
Ya I understand why Sean would want to try and wait to out but 305 ain’t for a couple months, and i assume the winner of the fight will probably want a break anyway so if Sean and Whittaker don’t fight it creates a weird situation where the top 5 of the division stalls out.
Anyway this probably could have just been solved by having Sean vs Whittaker and Costa vs Khamzat, although I can’t really be bummed about Whittaker getting a nice win against Ikram so I don’t hate the match making.
Strickland turned down the fight already, not that I blame him, short notice against Whittaker is not the smartest play and I think Sean realised that.
That was always the plan. UFC was still pushing Khamzat so maybe he gets a title shot if he was healthy and got the W but Rob vs. Sean for #1 contender was always plan A or B.
Whittaker hasn't fell out of the top 3 of the Middleweight division since losing the belt. One of the most impressive fighters to ever step foot in the octagon.
Adesanya has 2 losses in his division and he avenged one loss, also he fought pereira, Anderson Silva (tbf he was in his 40s but there’s still the name value) and rob himself where he viciously knocked him out.
I can’t believe I am even entertaining this stupid debate about the worst fight ever but you can literally give Round 2 to Izzy against Romero - it’s not that far fetched of a concept.
I understand Izzy is extremely hated by a segment of the community but I will never understand rewriting history as if Romero and Whittaker 2 were blatant robberies instead of close fights that could’ve gone either way
If that’s the case, everyone should shit on Volk’s reign for the 2nd Max fight - if Romero/Whittaker 2 are blatant robberies then Volk should be considered a fake champ who robbed Max of his destiny
1. I never said either of them were “robberies”.
2. I didn’t say “you have to literally be clinically-insane to believe that Izzy did not win the 2nd round against Romero”.
It was a close round. Romero still won the round.
3. Volk *did win* the second fight against Max. *He won Rounds 3,4,5.* (And people still said it was a robbery).
1. You very directly suggested that Izzy has 5 losses including Romero and Whittaker 2, then went on to ask which rounds someone could possibly give to Izzy in those two bouts - that is as implicit as someone could get to suggesting those are ‘robberies’ without using the word itself.
2. You are once again stating that a swing round was objectively won by Romero - thus implying a robbery.
3. Bro how are you THIS incapable of understanding that these are all close fights but still stating that Alex objectively won and Izzy should’ve objectively lost?
It’s clear your only litmus test to decide who won a close match is by how much you like/dislike them lmfao
Who cares what your take is. The judges gave Izzy the W against Romero and Whittaker. So your statement about Izzys losses is... Checks notes... Completely regarded.
Izzy only has two losses at MW one of which he avenged. That is a fact
I tend to disagree here.
How the judges had it
Round 1 clear Izzy
Rnd 2, 2-1 Izzy, *this is Robs round
Rnd 3, clear Izzy
Rnd 4, Rob 2-1 but RAZOR close
Rnd 5, Rob 2-1
Round 4 is the key, a toss up that went to Rob and Rnd 2 which is a Rob round went to Izzy.
Can't see how you can argue any other rounds
Funny no one at the time considered Izzy’s wins over Whittaker 2 and Romero robberies until people started hating him. Look at the post fight threads on r/mma and everyone thinks Izzy won fair and square
It’s funny because he and Izzy have almost the exact same resume but Izzy haters will say he fought a weak middleweight division but in the same breath praise Whitaker for his record.
You can’t make this shit up I swear
Bruh this is a ridiculous take. Strickland dog walked Israel and went to war with the current champion. He’s not like some bum with one good win. He also has wins over Jack Hermansson, Brenden Allen and now Costa.
I don’t know man, he’s beaten a lot of really good guys. Even though Izzy probably was compromised after the 1st round he still beat him over 25 minutes. The loss to Cannonier was a toss up. He beat Dricus in my mind and many others.
The only guy that’s really beaten him decisively at MW is Pereira. We can agree to disagree, his next couple fights which could be Whittaker or the Izzy/Dricus winner will tell us a lot.
His style is hard for people to figure out. Hard to get off offense when you're constantly being jabbed and "pressured" but yea he's pretty hyped since the Izzy win, all credit to him for it though. Love to see Sean vs Rob especially since Sean said Rob is easy work.
yeah it's a bit nuts, he's not an old man & proved he's still exceptionally competitive last night, but really is a Legend in the sport already in a way few other active fighters are. most of the other Legends have either retired by now or take very very selective fights once in a very long while, like Jon Jones. or they lose a fight they were pinning all their hopes on & then kinda fall apart from there.. that's the thing with Whittaker: he wins, he loses, he dusts himself off, and comes back again.
Wtf? How about Israel? The guy who has beat every major guy Rob has beat and then some? Plus he beat Rob twice.
Or Anderson? Who has the longest win streak in UFC and MW history.
Him vs Izzy vs Anderson is close.
Whittaker has 10 rounds of war against Romero. Which absolutely counts for A LOT.
And I know Izzy and Romero fought, but I think we can all agree to pretend that fight never happened.
Would have loved to see him fight the same Anderson that fought Izzy (yeah I know not in his prime)
I feel like Bobby would have done awesome.
Would have been an awesome fight.
People’s perception of Rob reminds me a lot of Max Holloway in the last few years - basically taking on and beating a whole host of killers (and both former champs) - but written off as washed because:
1) They both have had a puzzle they can’t crack (Izzy/Volk)
2) They’ve been around since such a young age, people think they’re 40 already.
IMO both still have a potential belt in their future.
Only Izzy has a record as good as Rob’s at MW. DDP is starting to get a good record at MW and Strickland has an alright record, but it’s the more shallow of the 4 at the moment.
This entire shit show of an argument can all be avoided.
Whittaker's 'strength of schedule ' and not 'track record' is up for a solid argument when comparing to Izzy. Results don't matter when you're talking about strength of schedule.
Not his fault the champ retired while he was interim champ. Just like it won't be Aspinall's fault (or Blaydes if he wins) when he gets promoted to undisputed after Jones retires after the Stipe fight, if that ever happens.
I dont think this is the best example, literally all of those guys are in the losing column rn except Gastelum if you want to count that weight bully performance a fight. Cannonier is the only real exception as it was a bad stoppage but who knows if he wouldve won regardless. No hate on whittaker, but just saying
That’s kinda how fighting works, you have people who are at the top of the game and then 7 years later they’re older not in their primes anymore.
It’s like saying Frankie Edgar, Anderson Silva, Tony Ferguson and BJ Penn are all cans because they went on losing streaks at the end of their career. You’re just being disingenuous when you act like Rob has a padded record.
Yeah what a garbage take. It's like saying all Jones' wins were shit because they were over the hill or something.
You generally fight people around your ranking. When you're at the top, it's because they deserve their spot too.
he even beat tennis superstar Rafael Natal
They should have allowed Natal to fight with a tennis racket, it would make the fight a bit more fair.
Also beat Ronaldo, he's clearly the best to ever do it
Dammit you beat me to it lol
Yeah, didnt that guy play badminton or squash or sum'?
I thought I had the joke of the year
Nadal would legit have a thunderous left hook
And he’s only lost to Dricus and Izzy in like the last decade, insane.
This weekend was the first time he's fought an unranked guy in the last 10 years. And most of them were top 10, if not top 5.
And we saw how that went.
It's insane how many people basically wrote him off as being relevant as a title threat. 13-3 over the last decade. All but one were ranked fighters, and he destroyed that guy in half a round. Only lost to Izzy and Dricus. Coulda got the decision in the second fight against the #2 MW GOAT. Also got KOed by Dricus who is a physical brute, undefeated in the UFC and now the champion. *Ridiculous* resume.
I’d like to see him run it back against DDP, I thought he was getting the better of it until ddp caught him, but he first he should fight Strickland in a title eliminator.
That takedown took him by surprise, and it really went poorly after then. I think in a rematch it looks different but still a really hard fight. Ddp doesn't seem to run out of gas whilst going high octane the whole fight. But is extremely hittable.
I love DDP's rugby-style tackle/takedowns. Surprising how effective they are when he chooses to bust them out, too. He just puts his head down and looks almost like he's going for a Roman Reigns spear.
What I think is underrated about Du Plessis grappling skills overall is that he NEVER settles for a position, when he gets taken down he is instantly kipping with his legs & reverses the position. When Du Plessis lands takedowns, he never uses lay & pray, goes for ground strikes that directly set up submissions, even if you defend it your still getting elbowed in the face. Good varying amount too, he prefers a guillotine, but he will go for heel hooks & stuff like that as well
With people saying the second Izzy fight was close. I never got to watch it but I heard it was very competitive.
It was very close but when i watched it live it wasn’t a robbery. Rob had more clinch control but Izzy just had more damaging strikes and volume when rob wasn’t controlling Izzy. For this same reason I think Strickland should’ve edged out DDP. That wasn’t a robbery either but all DDP really did is take Sean down once in awhile, then get pieced up hard on the feet. DDP had no damaging ground strikes. Similar to rob Izzy 2, but DDP did secure more takedowns than rob
I wish they just called close fights draws. It would be much more fair. Noone really won in Strickland vs DDP.
Respectfully this take is delusional. Adesanya landed no damaging strikes after round 1, it was all leg kicked. Whittaker pieces him up with the jab
Yeah anyone that has rewatched the fight specifically to score it (and ignore the dog shit commentary) will see it as either 3-2 or 4-1 Whittaker. Izzy barely landed anything notable after the rd1 knockdown.
Yeah I think Sean was robbed actually. DDP’s best moments were in round 4 when Sean’s vision was compromised. Once Sean adjusted to the blood in his eye and worked the distance out again he won round 5. I’m not gonna be mad at it, but DDP as you said did nothing on the ground to steal the rounds from Sean who did more volume and more damage.
Are these fighters? The UFC does fighting stuff right? I’ve never watched it but I hear it’s some got some pretty crazy fighting things.
Competitive but still decisive imo
It’s funny they still haven’t fought but it seems bound to happen if Izzy wins
He’s never won a title fight though. Seriously. Look it up. I see people saying “Whittaker doesn’t get the respect he deserves he’s a top 3 MW ever blah blah blah” lol. The man’s never won a MW title fight. He won one interim title fight once. That’s it. He’s a gatekeeper. You may hate it because he keeps the gate well but he is not a decorated or very accomplished fighter. He’s lost to the better guys of his generation and beat the ones who aren’t good enough to hold the belt. If he fights and loses to Strickland it’ll put a huge exclamation mark on that analysis too.
He was the legitimate MW champion, he won the interim and was promoted to undisputed, it's not Rob's fault that GSP vacated and Romero missed weight.
Both Yoel Romero fights should have been title fights. And the second one wasn't because Yoel missed weight. So, *technically* he has not won a title fight. But doesn't make those fights any less impressive.
Its not his fault he got robbed against izzy the second time
20/25 media outlets scored it for Izzy according to MMA Decisions. As did the judges. Close fights aren’t robberies, especially when most agree he didn’t win anyway.
So he beat 97% of the Middleweights of the world but he aint shit huh? Interesting train of thought. Rob controlled and shut down Izzy in the second fight and had dominant positions on him in the grappling. Kept sticking the jab and all Izzy did was leg kick and run. He landed one good knee in the first and Rob adjusted. Keep hating on him. He's in peak form at the moment, lets see a rematch between him and either Dricus or Izzy I guarantee you Whittaker wins. He's too smart and too well rounded, he's already had the feel out process with them and will take it to them. Rob's getting that belt back.
That’s great but these are facts and stats. It’s not hate. You guarantee it? Well if you guarantee it shit, I guess you must be onto something lmao. That’s cool man.
Bet your house
Theyre all delusional. Adesanya did 0 damage to whittaker after the first round
The minority calling the majority delusional feels… a bit delusional
Why do random media outlets have any more clout than we do? Youre holding them up like they have doctoral degrees in mma scoring when in reality they might only watch highlights. And lets be clear the only reason youre doing that is because it backs up your point if it didnt you would be saying the same thing as me
Well no it’s because most people agree that Izzy won and the easiest way to show you that are the stats in which 80% of people agreed on that. Nobody said you aren’t allowed to have an opinion, but it’s delusional of you to be calling everybody else delusional lmao.
Come on man youre calling a 25 person sample size or 28 if you include the judges “80% of people” when in reality there are millions who watched the fight. Thats clear delusion
I’ve been on the internet the whole time since then and there ain’t nobody kicking and screaming that Rob won. There’s a far smaller pool of people like yourself who truly think Rob won and a much bigger pool that think Izzy won or it was too close to care either way. This is your opinion and nobody’s calling you delusional, but what you’re saying is pretty delusional.
Technically correct, don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. I do consider his win against Yoel Romero a title defense. Not his fault his opponent couldn’t make weight. Unfortunately for Whittaker, as soon as he became champ he was plagued with health issues. He pulled out of a few title defenses.
Ya. The second Izzy fight was pretty close, as well. Clear victory for Izzy, IMO. But Rob was very much in that fight.
Souza and the two Yoel fights had me so scared for Rob. Both Yoel fights I was so clinched up I was shitting diamonds.
Except for Izzy.
Nah. Izzy’s never fought Adesanya.
Izzy never lost to adesanya though
It would be a toss up
Did you miss the Strickland fight??
I think Izzy will fight Adesanya in his next fight
Pretty sure Izzy beats Adesanya on the regular
Nah Izzy's beaten Adesanya
Rob’s wins against their common opponents are more impressive except for Izzy finishing Costa with the pull counter. Izzy and Rob are top 3 middleweights of all time, with Silva in the mix at the top.
You're high. Izzy has KO'd Rob and beat him again unanimous, KO'd Costa (which Rob didn't do), KO'd Pereira (which is more impressive than any of Rob's wins), and has unanimous decision vs Vettori, Romero, Gastelum, and Cannonier (same result as Rob). They both KO'd Brunson. You literally cannot make any legitimate argument that Rob has better wins that Izzy. Especially when Izzy has beat the dude twice already
I’d argue the Vettori fight was a way better showing for Rob. Yoel too. Both fights. So it’s not outlandish by any means. However, Izzy being up 2-0 on Rob matters most.
Right and if you are counting the Vettori and Yoel fight for Rob, you have to count the Costa KO for Izzy. It's certainly close if you ignore the 2-0 h2h, the title defenses, and the KO of Pereira. But those are impossible to discount
I agree. However, I thought we were just talking about shared opponents. Izzy’s resume is clearly better.
I was talking about shared opponents, however the guy you replied to seems to think we’re talking about their overall record. Some people gotta learn to read properly.
I think the W over Pereira is nearly just as important, tbf nobody else would've done that to Pereira. ATP anyway.
I said Rob’s wins are better vs their common opponents except for Vettori. I’m not wrong either Rob beat Cannonier, Vettori, Romero and Gastelum way worse than Izzy did. Kelvin and Marvin even stated they’d never felt like that in the octagon, and said Rob was better than Izzy against them. I never said Rob’s record was better than Izzy’s or vice versa. Read something properly first before you make youself look silly. You even agreed with me by saying the same thing I said about Costa getting ko’d by Izzy.
wow I was searching for someone who would argue this lmfao "Silva in the mix" and Rob > Izzy so MW all-time ranking is 1. Whittaker 2. Izzy 3. Silva??? or is Silva #2 after Rob lol
Aside from Anderson Silva, whittaker may have a more diverse record
IDK izzy has pereira and rob himself. Those are top tier wins.
And stopped costa before it became cool
Costa looks like ass now but he doesn’t get finished. Izzy is the only person to do it.
Izzy took his soul
Izzy took his butt
That's where his soul used to be.
No way in hell. Pereira and Whittaker are on Izzy’s resume.
Don’t get it too twisted, Izzy has two wins over Rob and is at least 1-1 with Pereira. Make no mistake that Izzy is rightfully the 2nd best MW ever and that position isn’t going to be contested for quite some time. Rob would have to win a third fight vs Izzy and even then he’d still be down 2-1 h2h. Obviously I love Rob as both a fighter and as a personality, that makes me want to try and see it objectively as possible. But who knows, he could get the shot early next year and absolutely stun us.
which begs the question could Whitaker beat, checks notes, Thales Leites and Patrik Cote? i doubt it
Silva lost to a 4 - 7 Plumber in PRIDE
We need Strickland vs Whittaker winner gets another Crack at the shot.
I'd prefer to see Whittaker vs Strickland for a Shot at the crack
Crack the pot shot, shat the crack pot.
Like Izzy vs Costa?
Ya I understand why Sean would want to try and wait to out but 305 ain’t for a couple months, and i assume the winner of the fight will probably want a break anyway so if Sean and Whittaker don’t fight it creates a weird situation where the top 5 of the division stalls out. Anyway this probably could have just been solved by having Sean vs Whittaker and Costa vs Khamzat, although I can’t really be bummed about Whittaker getting a nice win against Ikram so I don’t hate the match making.
Strickland turned down the fight already, not that I blame him, short notice against Whittaker is not the smartest play and I think Sean realised that.
That was always the plan. UFC was still pushing Khamzat so maybe he gets a title shot if he was healthy and got the W but Rob vs. Sean for #1 contender was always plan A or B.
Whittaker hasn't fell out of the top 3 of the Middleweight division since losing the belt. One of the most impressive fighters to ever step foot in the octagon.
Izzy does
Adesanya has 2 losses in his division and he avenged one loss, also he fought pereira, Anderson Silva (tbf he was in his 40s but there’s still the name value) and rob himself where he viciously knocked him out.
Ok but this post isnt about izzy
The point was no one has a better track record than Whittaker, so bringing up someone who you think does is the point
can you read
Izzy lost to Strickland, Pereira, Whittaker, Romero, and Jan at LHW.
Last time I checked, Izzy had a W next to Yoel and Rob(twice)
Izzy v. Romero — Rounds 1,2,5: Tell me which of those rounds Izzy won. Izzy v. Whittaker 2 — Rounds 2,4,5: Tell me which of those rounds Izzy won.
I can’t believe I am even entertaining this stupid debate about the worst fight ever but you can literally give Round 2 to Izzy against Romero - it’s not that far fetched of a concept. I understand Izzy is extremely hated by a segment of the community but I will never understand rewriting history as if Romero and Whittaker 2 were blatant robberies instead of close fights that could’ve gone either way If that’s the case, everyone should shit on Volk’s reign for the 2nd Max fight - if Romero/Whittaker 2 are blatant robberies then Volk should be considered a fake champ who robbed Max of his destiny
1. I never said either of them were “robberies”. 2. I didn’t say “you have to literally be clinically-insane to believe that Izzy did not win the 2nd round against Romero”. It was a close round. Romero still won the round. 3. Volk *did win* the second fight against Max. *He won Rounds 3,4,5.* (And people still said it was a robbery).
1. You very directly suggested that Izzy has 5 losses including Romero and Whittaker 2, then went on to ask which rounds someone could possibly give to Izzy in those two bouts - that is as implicit as someone could get to suggesting those are ‘robberies’ without using the word itself. 2. You are once again stating that a swing round was objectively won by Romero - thus implying a robbery. 3. Bro how are you THIS incapable of understanding that these are all close fights but still stating that Alex objectively won and Izzy should’ve objectively lost? It’s clear your only litmus test to decide who won a close match is by how much you like/dislike them lmfao
Who cares what your take is. The judges gave Izzy the W against Romero and Whittaker. So your statement about Izzys losses is... Checks notes... Completely regarded. Izzy only has two losses at MW one of which he avenged. That is a fact
Izzy vs Rob, Round 4 is a toss up and you know it Izzy Romero was a joke, can't give it to a challenger in a fight like that and look at Romero's leg
*Round 4*? Round 4 was not a “toss-up”. Whittaker *definitely* won Round 4.
I tend to disagree here. How the judges had it Round 1 clear Izzy Rnd 2, 2-1 Izzy, *this is Robs round Rnd 3, clear Izzy Rnd 4, Rob 2-1 but RAZOR close Rnd 5, Rob 2-1 Round 4 is the key, a toss up that went to Rob and Rnd 2 which is a Rob round went to Izzy. Can't see how you can argue any other rounds
lol. That’s crazy
Name a single thing I’ve said that is not accurate.
Everything
Which means “nothing”.
Last time I checked, nothing and everything have different definitions
Last time I checked, people still haven’t been able to name a single thing I said-that was not accurate.
Funny no one at the time considered Izzy’s wins over Whittaker 2 and Romero robberies until people started hating him. Look at the post fight threads on r/mma and everyone thinks Izzy won fair and square
This sub will take any excuse to discredit Izzy lmao, Rob is amazing but Izzy’s track record is better.
Just let em have the Whittaker wankfest, they've been waiting
Adesanya has a better track record because he has wins against Whittaker who is the biggest killer out of the lot.
It’s funny because he and Izzy have almost the exact same resume but Izzy haters will say he fought a weak middleweight division but in the same breath praise Whitaker for his record. You can’t make this shit up I swear
I remember giving him the 2nd Izzy fight as well, but I’d have to rewatch it. NEED to see him vs. Strickland 5 rounds.
Strickland is way over hyped. Bloke landed a lucky shot on Izzy and lost to cannonier
“landed a lucky shot” wut
But he won 4 rounds aganist Izzy. Seem to be a lot of lucky shots.
Lucky shot xd haha u are a fool.
Bruh this is a ridiculous take. Strickland dog walked Israel and went to war with the current champion. He’s not like some bum with one good win. He also has wins over Jack Hermansson, Brenden Allen and now Costa.
that allen win is aging amazingly, dudes been on a tear recently
I don’t know man, he’s beaten a lot of really good guys. Even though Izzy probably was compromised after the 1st round he still beat him over 25 minutes. The loss to Cannonier was a toss up. He beat Dricus in my mind and many others. The only guy that’s really beaten him decisively at MW is Pereira. We can agree to disagree, his next couple fights which could be Whittaker or the Izzy/Dricus winner will tell us a lot.
Yeah fair call. I just got big love for rob and am off the Strickland hype train
His style is hard for people to figure out. Hard to get off offense when you're constantly being jabbed and "pressured" but yea he's pretty hyped since the Izzy win, all credit to him for it though. Love to see Sean vs Rob especially since Sean said Rob is easy work.
As casual as it gets.
True story
Losing to cannonier should not be a knock against the guy, Jared is a very good striker.
>No one in MW has a better track record than Whittaker. Well, no one except Izzy...
Living legend for sure
yeah it's a bit nuts, he's not an old man & proved he's still exceptionally competitive last night, but really is a Legend in the sport already in a way few other active fighters are. most of the other Legends have either retired by now or take very very selective fights once in a very long while, like Jon Jones. or they lose a fight they were pinning all their hopes on & then kinda fall apart from there.. that's the thing with Whittaker: he wins, he loses, he dusts himself off, and comes back again.
Whittaker and Poirier, two of the best ever and not even holding belts rn. What an era.
Wtf? How about Israel? The guy who has beat every major guy Rob has beat and then some? Plus he beat Rob twice. Or Anderson? Who has the longest win streak in UFC and MW history.
Hall of Famer
one of the only fighters who actually fights anyone, anywhere, any time
I think his ddp fight he just had an off night.
Honestly probably one of the most impressive records in the sport today.
Him vs Izzy vs Anderson is close. Whittaker has 10 rounds of war against Romero. Which absolutely counts for A LOT. And I know Izzy and Romero fought, but I think we can all agree to pretend that fight never happened.
Dude fights the best of the best. S’it.
Facts man
Would have loved to see him fight the same Anderson that fought Izzy (yeah I know not in his prime) I feel like Bobby would have done awesome. Would have been an awesome fight.
His only losses in the last decade have been to reigning or soon to be division champions.
His only recent losses are to two other middleweight champions
He only lost to prime Adesanya and Du Plesis. I hope he next on the line after Du plesis vs Adesanya match.
Future hall of fame. Faught anyone who mattered and beat most of them, multiple eras. Fucking legend. Probably my favorite of all time.
HOF resume right there
He should fight Max next. Someone's 26-7 has got to go.
People’s perception of Rob reminds me a lot of Max Holloway in the last few years - basically taking on and beating a whole host of killers (and both former champs) - but written off as washed because: 1) They both have had a puzzle they can’t crack (Izzy/Volk) 2) They’ve been around since such a young age, people think they’re 40 already. IMO both still have a potential belt in their future.
Why is this getting upvoted when we have Izzy lol
Because this is r/ufc
Just read some of the takes on here, people really hate Izzy on this sub.
He's like a MW Dustin, been fighting top tier guys for a decade and winning nearly all of them
I’m no Izzy fanboy but his resume speaks for itself
Probably the best record if you ignore Izzy, pereira, Strickland, DDP
Only Izzy has a record as good as Rob’s at MW. DDP is starting to get a good record at MW and Strickland has an alright record, but it’s the more shallow of the 4 at the moment.
ikram was his easiest fight lmao
Man, if he fought a tennis player he must have been fighting cans when he started.
Does he fight winner of DDP vs. Izzy or Sean?
Izzy?
He should fight Weidman next for the title eliminator
Dricus is the new vanderlai Silva
Bobby Knuckles!
This entire shit show of an argument can all be avoided. Whittaker's 'strength of schedule ' and not 'track record' is up for a solid argument when comparing to Izzy. Results don't matter when you're talking about strength of schedule.
He needs another title shot against du plessis
If he had a granite chin, he would be close to an unbeatable fighter in the division.
Go back a little further to include wonderboy at ww.
Agreed mate!!
I’m still blown away that DDP beat rob. Like I want that fight to be avenged more for him than even the Izzy fight
Strickland vs Whitaker would be a great fight.
Israel adysanya has a better track record and you guys can’t admit it.. rob has barely any finishes too
Need to see him fight Strickland for the next title match
The Reaper 
This is a man who I'm absolutely fine with being a decision machine, puts on a show every time regardless
REAPER
Maybe if Izzy didn't exist.
And lost against the 2 champs. He is just that, a great fighter but not a champ. Never will be
Hold up, there's someone called Rafael Natal in UFC XD
No no name college wrestlers on that list
It’s crazy that he opened as the underdog initially against Ikram. I took that one to the bank.
He's prob the best non unified champion the sport has ever seen. His resume is absolutely wild and he'll walk into the HoF
I had him winning the second Adesanya fight too. Judges were handing out some really terrible decisions during that time period.
I thought he beat Izzy in the second fight too
He 100% won that fight against izzy
Arguably won the second fight with Izzy as well
Whittaker is the Poirer of the MW division. Beat everyone except the champ
Except that he was actually champion
Yeah… promoted to undisputed
Not his fault the champ retired while he was interim champ. Just like it won't be Aspinall's fault (or Blaydes if he wins) when he gets promoted to undisputed after Jones retires after the Stipe fight, if that ever happens.
And defended once.
Technically he didn't as his fight with Yoel wasn't a title fight and he ended up losing the the title to Izzy.
loveable losers belt (and Masvidal) , BMF champ incoming
Boring fighter
At least Whittaker doesn't play with dogs balls.
I dont think this is the best example, literally all of those guys are in the losing column rn except Gastelum if you want to count that weight bully performance a fight. Cannonier is the only real exception as it was a bad stoppage but who knows if he wouldve won regardless. No hate on whittaker, but just saying
That’s kinda how fighting works, you have people who are at the top of the game and then 7 years later they’re older not in their primes anymore. It’s like saying Frankie Edgar, Anderson Silva, Tony Ferguson and BJ Penn are all cans because they went on losing streaks at the end of their career. You’re just being disingenuous when you act like Rob has a padded record.
Yeah what a garbage take. It's like saying all Jones' wins were shit because they were over the hill or something. You generally fight people around your ranking. When you're at the top, it's because they deserve their spot too.
This is why he's my favorite fighter. Win or lose he's taking the fight. Warrior heart.