IT vs Charlie Olives will be at UFC 317.
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If Jack can pull it off and take out both those fuckers. Then Ill make some calls and set up him and McGregor. Nobody will remember who Jon Jones is by November…
That being said, I called Jack beating Bellal so I cant say I was shocked. If he can beat Islam (a very tall order) he will instantly become my new favorite fighter.
*besides my friend & client Mr. McGregor
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I am not sold on IM at 170 at all. It was close in the first Volk fight and Dustin lasted until midday through the 5th. I don’t think he is going to have a fun time with JDM standing and I am not sure if he can get it to the ground consistently. BM is a big, strong 170er and got his face smashed. Not sure if a 155er (albeit it a big one) can last as long as BM did.
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Islam will be much more aggressive than BellalI was. I belive Islam will be a heavy favorite and deservingly so. That being said I want Jack to beat his ass. We both want the same thing, Im perfectly fine being wrong about Islam on this one
But he needs to make his aggression work for him. I seriously doubt he can do much to JDM standing so he’s going to have to get takedowns and make them work for him. He’ll certainly fight a lot better than BM did but BM’s strategy was perhaps the worst I have ever seen in a world title fight. This actually reminds me of Rousey vs Holm. I had Holm a slight favourite going into it. Rousey either wins big and quick or she gets the shit beaten out of her.
Topuria vs Charles is good one. Topuria is the FW GOAT for me. With Islam moving up, Dustin retiring, Max and Justin surely nearing the end, this means new blood in the division with Topuria, Pimblett, Arman etc.
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Jack does a one thing fantastically and others so-so, Islam does everything well. It will be an interesting fight. I will have to go with Islam for three reasons 1. Having trained with Belal, he knows what he does better than Belal 2. I think he decides where the fight goes 3. He will be even stronger with a much easier weight cut.
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Interesting take. I do think Islam does much better against JDM in the striking than some think. Not just Islam’s technique but his vision and timing, and I like the way he uses his round kicks.
I haven’t analyzed their games but the difference might just be distance control, Jack has long arms and uses them well. With what he just did to Belal I fully expect him to punish Islam for his takedown attempts but Islam chains attacks together well and won’t be deterred.
The more I think about it the more interesting that fight becomes.
JDM kind of reminded me of BJ on the feet when it came to avoiding takedowns against Belal. He uses his hands and footwork well to keep distance. Then when his opponent tries to close the space he attacks with close range weapons.
BJ used to attack with short uppercuts at the point of contact with his leg(s), so not only was his sprawl legendary, his preliminary TDD even in open space, was ahead of its time. There are other fighters that have done this but he did it better than anyone and I believe even with how long ago that was, it’s still extremely effective when combined with traditional takedown defense, and nobody really does it.
Solid post and my thoughts pretty much exactly.
Yes, I think Islam is a competent striker and very intelligent this it. However, he is going up against a powerful 170er. I will be interested to see the 2 of them standing next to each other to have a look at the size difference. Volk gave him hell and he’s a career 145er. @Rakoshi made a good point about the weight cut though but will Islam be a legit 170er?
If Islam struggles to get JDM down and he starts to get punished for it, that could swing things and he could go downhill quickly against a guy with the size and power of JDM.
But little guys don’t tend to win striking battles with big guys. That’s just the way it goes. Throwing the terrible game plan aside, BM got his nose and cheek broken and a badly cut lip. He has a good chin or he would have been KOed.
Like I said, I would like to see them standing side-by-side.
We can - and should - throw into that that Volk will no doubt help prepare JDM. He knows everything IM does.
This has fun written all over it. Is this on the same card?
No. Event TBA.
Several guys who have trained with Islam have commented on how strong he is and he was a huge 155. So, I think the easier weight cut will make him even stronger. DC (take it for what it’s worth) says Islam walks around at about 190+. Which is probably much of why he moved up. Lastly, he seldom gets emotional and makes a tactical mistake. Jack just may get him but I still think Islam takes it.
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Yet he struggled massively with Volk in their first fight. I see your points though. It’s fights like this that keep bringing me back to the sport.
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Yup. But Volk is a special one.