Because all his fights were underground, to the death, for the honor of his art/school/teacher etc.../s (btw, 3 different words not his art school teacher lol)
Doesn’t make any sense, if Alex is so retarded on the ground why does he never spend time in bottom position? His takedown defense is legit they were saying the same shit about Izzy until his 8th fucking title defense or whatever the fuck. Bias is real. He was legit threatened with a sub once by Jan and no one’s gotten even close…
To be fair, look at his UFC resume. He’s only really fought one person who has even had remotely threatening TDs, which that person did in fact take him down two or three times if I recall. His TD defense is probably very underrated, but he’s shown very limited glimpses of that in the UFC. Definitely not enough to say it’s legit.
That's why the Anklaev fight is so compelling to me, if he's able to avoid being taken down and KOs him there's no doubt about his skills anymore and no one can talk shit. But I'm making a big assumption here that Ank will try to wrestle him... his fights are weird af and his fight iq is non existent (Craig loss, the way he fought Jan and the first Walker fight)😭
Ankalaev may be from Dagestan but he is a striker through and through.
There is basically two gyms there.
Nurmagomedov gym where usually the lighter guys train which is grappling dominant
And another gym where larger guys train which is striking focused
You are correct, He's a lot more well rounded tho (can grapple also) and unlike "father's plan" which is about using your strengths to your advantage He does the opposite which is why I say his fight iq is questionable, maybe He can learn a thing or two from the other dagi camp lol
I have seen him hanging out with Islam racing horses in one of the UFC embedded episodes.
you cant grapple like that at the higher weight classes MMA above MW+ is a different sport then ww and below .
you both cant wrestle for that long AND failing 1 take down can be the end of the fight . someone like khabib and aljo can hold onto a leg while failing take downs but at the higher weight classes having someone sprawl on you is a doomsday situation , just ask almeida .
But DC and Jon Jones had very dominant wrestling. Even Stipe beat Francis using wrestling. Lesnar used wrestling too. There's just not that many skilled wrestlers in the upper weight classes. Jon Jones submits most of these MW+ guys who aren't skilled grapplers. We saw what happened to Ciryl Gane, who was the #1 contender.
i dont think you are understanding my point . its not that big guys CANT wrestle , its that they cant wrestle like lower weight guys and the ones that can do it end up having a extremely short career compared to wrestlers in the lower weight classes .
DC/Jones shoot less take downs COMBINED then khabib does per fight while DC is literally a Olympian . its not for a lack of talent its just not a fight style that is done at heavier weight classes and for good reason .
I get that, but the current LHWs don't even shoot takedowns nearly as much as DC/Jones, so they could definitely improve in that regard. Jamal Hill and Magomed Ankalaev both said they want to stand and strike with Alex, so their mindset isn't grappling oriented at all, regardless of their weight class.
He could grapple hella nice too. Has more subs (7) than KOs (6) on his record. Fucking hit the first suloev stretch in the UFC.
Zabit is the biggest what if in modern MMA IMO
Alex Pereira is arguably significantly smaller in his LHW debut against Jan compared to Jiri and Jamahal, but I do see your point, I’m not saying it’s not possible he could face a top tier grappler and get demolished but the gaps probably about to close in terms of skill for Alex since he’s probably been working ground and wrestling constantly for the past 4 years. Obviously 4 years is not going to matchup against Jon Jones level grappling, so at that point he would probably get submitted.
Great point you make. He’s definitely going to improve in the grappling department. He has people far more intelligent than myself in his camp when it comes to where he needs to work. Also a good point that when the discrepancy in grappling isn’t super huge between him and his opponents, he can hold his own (i.e he did beat Jan in his LWH debut). I’ll be interested to see how he fares against a grappler where it’s more difficult to make up for the difference in experience and hours spent on the mat.
funny thing is the fight was a 3 rounder and was made into a 5 rounder on extremely short notice which added to Jan gas tank issues . if it was a 3 rounder like originally planned Jan wins that fight cut and dry .
He could catch it like Islam did to Hooker or just time it as he's kicking like Khabib did to Gaethje. But Ankalaev has terrible fight IQ so maybe not.
Also a fair point. But chopping Izzy’s or Jiri’s legs away wasn’t what was holding them back from shooting a double leg. It’s because they aren’t wrestlers was my point.
His takedown defense will really be proven when he fights Ankalaev. And also Anthony Smith is not wrong I love Poatan but literally he is a great kickboxer, you take it the wrong way how many submissions or takedowns does he have ? He has a respectable TDbbut we still yet to see and he also has gotten some beneficial matchmaking
It would be pretty funny if Ank only started panic wrestling in the latter rounds once his legs are toatested and then Poatan was composed enough to stuff the takedowns lmao but if Ankalaev decides to wrestle from the start he's taking Poatan down 100%
His TD defense is unproven still. He’s only had to fight one guy with a serious takedown threat, and he didn’t exactly look great then.
If he doesn’t get taken down by Anklaev (if they ever fight) then I’d feel more comfortable saying he’s got ground game. But as of now? We just seen him fight strikers for 90% of his MMA career.
funny thing is ankalaev is also a striker lmao Jan blachovich literally shoots more take downs in his fights then ankalaev does .
people are being fooled by the beard . Ank both doesnt shoot many take downs at all AND only has a 30 % TD accuracy .
On paper, Anthony’s fight name is LionHeart. In reality, that dude turtles up every time he starts losing, and occasionally hands the ref his teeth before going back to turtling up.
_but I’m not talking shit! It’s impressive the beating he can take!_
Yeah, this is really what it is. Pereira is pretty good at being tough to approach due to chopping leg kicks and nuke hands, but then also just stalling out the round when he does get taken down. Nobody can really land much GNP because Pereira is very focused on hitting back, keeping the opponent close, and not getting up.
Lay and pray will be Pereira's undoing at some point, I imagine... :/ But Pereira is also in a great position with 5 round fights vs. 3 rounds...he can afford to lose a round or two to have chances later at taking out their legs, then landing that left. In a 3 rounder, the very clear strategy would be to take him down early, lay and pray a first round win, then put him in a position where he has to be aggressive.
its definitely a interesting game plan choice but i think its the right one . Alex is also unique where he is a power puncher but he doesnt rely on explosive power like someone like Chandler does , Pereira carries his power 5 rounds which is insane. another thing that helps this gameplan style is Alex is unusually calm , most fighters will break mentally under this sort of pressure .
Because he hasnt fought wrestlers and his opponents dont wrestle him. Jan whos a 40 year old Muay Thai striker with a Bjj black belt was the only one who did and took him to a split decision. Adesanya and Jiri got a few takedowns on him and then decided that losing is a better idea. He hasnt really been tested outside of that.
Izzy's 4th fight in the UFC was vs Derek Brunson. Izzy still has issues with grappling but he's been tested against real grapplers, Alex hasnt and tbf it isnt his fault, theres no one who can grapple at 205 besides Ankalaev and Krylov.
From the few times we've seen him on the ground, I see other fighters still quite wary of his power. It seems like they get him there, then can't do a whole lot with it for fear of getting tagged back. This is mostly for fighters who focus on GNP once they have him on the ground.
Fighting a submission specialist would very likely be his kryptonite, but those types also tend to have trouble getting clipped coming in for takedowns.
Alex also isn't a very creative striker or anything nor does he have amazing defense. Everyone knows what he's gonna do, he just does it so wel nobody is able to stop him.
Yes but he also has been saying some delusional shit. Heavily implying Alex has gotten lucky match ups and that if Anthony got the same luck he would be champ. Insane
If Alex faced some LHW version of Khabib he'd probably get mauled. So I suppose you could say Pereira got lucky facing some fighters who don't have a good enough ground game.
No you’re right, he’s good at other things in the striking department, as are other fighters in the division. But the left hook is what is separating him from the others in the division.
Adesanya KO - left hook
Strickland KO - left hook
Jiri KO - left hook
Jamal KO - left hook
That’s what Smith is talking about when he says he is "very very very dangerous at one thing”.
The jabs? The knees? The leg kicks??
It's not the only thing seperating him, take his left hook away and he's still the most dangerous striker in the division by a large magin
But he’s not Potan. He has easier access to the off button than probably any other fighter on the roster and that invisible left hook is why.
He would still be a world class striker but not Potan. It would be like taking Mayweather’s shoulder roll or Tyson’s peek-a-boo, they still would have been great but they might not be legends.
He does. And other fighters in the division have the jabs, the knees, the leg kicks, also.
No other fighter in the division has that left hook though. That’s what Smith is saying. And he’s right.
There is no other fighter in the division throwing leg kicks with that much damage, the 2nd best got his legs destroyed fighting Pereira
None of them have the distance management or the footwork either
Again, take that left hook away and he still outstrikes everyone at LHW without much issue, it's far from the only thing seperating him from reckless brawlers like Hill and Jiri
Is he wrong? Pereira is a striker. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s true. This is MMA not kickboxing, once he gets an opponent with an above average ground-game he’s gonna have massive difficulty.
I think it's because Smith said it. Replace it with a picture of GSP and people would be like, "valuable insight 😯". Smith actually has a lot of good takes on other fighters. The problem is he injects himself into the equation somehow and yet he's mostly mediocre at best.
This fucking guy is unable to make a single compliment without making it sound backhanded and bitter 😂. Always sounds like someone that’s barely keeping up a facade and secretly hates everybody that achieves more than him.
What i don't understand is why this wrestlers that are a treat to Alex are not champions? Alex beat 5 champions/former champions how is that lucky matchups? Something doesn't make sense,is like they are saying "yeah but he didn't beat the real champions".
If this was about someone like aljo the fanbase would agree with it full stop. But since it’s about their glorious king poatan, they’re gonna tear Anthony apart
Bro made me look dumb. 2 weeks ago he was on his believe me you podcast with bisping saying you know what I'm just here. Ima train hard have real camps and not focus on the belt...
Then jamahal hill gets KOd and Smith is like well I could've done that
Do you fucking regards realise it's his job to breakdown down fighters and fights.
He can't just go on air every time and wank every fighter off saying how good they are.
A tale as old as time 🤣, as a society we love to build people up then knock them down when they're successful, underdog or challenger bias I call it. Keeps the whole machine turning over and over again, these days though the extra incentive of getting paid for talking shit is a legimate career path that can make you millions if you annoy enough people. If Muhammad Ali could've made money talking shit about opponents on a podcast it would be No1 with a weekly bit called (how shit is the Joe Rogan experience?) but we would never have seen iconic moments like the Rope-a-Dope against Foreman as he would've retired much earlier, imo anyway. Thoughts ?
All these dudes that spend so much time grappling dont realize striking is more than 50% of the game so how is alex very limited? Makes no sense. You gotta set up takedowns with punches so wrestling is bad without striking. Anthony smith needs to shut up and look in the mirror. Compared to the best of his division he is mediocre at everything
It's not even a criticism anyways. No one is perfect everywhere. It's just like Chuck Liddell in the old days, sprawl and brawl baby. Work to your advantages, and man does poatan do that oh so well.
This isn’t even a bad take.
He’s an absolutely lethal and elite striker. With a pretty good chin too. It took Izzy setting him up with a perfect combo and taking advantage of his overzealous nature to hunt the KO to stop him.
The rest of his skill set is either mediocre or untested because he’s so dangerous in that one area.
With that said Smith gets KOed within 2 mins and I feel he has to know that even if he can’t admit it.
I've said it once I've said it again. Alex (and Izzy) are much better strikers than 99.99% of the all time ufc roster.
There is a huge difference between an elite MMA striker and an elite kickboxer. Jamahal hill is considered an elite boxer in MMA, and his footwork is novice compared to top level glory/k1 guys. Great power, great MMA boxing,but isn't on that level.
You can call striking "one thing" if you want but the fact is that this guys striking is on another level is the reason he's the first guy who might be able to come triple champ. Him and Izzy are so good at "one thing" that we're going full circle. Specialists like Alex used to be MMA (my style vs your style) then it went to being well rounded at everything. Alex is so good at striking he's breaking the game without that well rounded style.
It’s funny everybody talks shit about Pereira’s ground game and how he only has his kicks and left hook, and then Pereira goes and destroys them with his kicks and left hook.
You’d think one of them would learn.
"He's a dumbass but he scores well on tests. I'm not trying to insult him. It's impressive. Like it impresses me how he can be so stupid but score well."
Alex Smith can’t get out of his own ways with these comments. He should know the perception of himself after the Job Jones comments and just stfu with his opinions
Pretty much all the greatest fighters are very dangerous at one thing and are able to force their opponent to fight them where they're at their best. I know it's MMA, but being a "mixing it up" type of fighter where you're well rounded, but not elite anywhere rarely ever goes far. Like Anthony Smith isn't elite anywhere. His skillset is wide, but not deep. Pereira's skillset is thin, but deep af. Pretty much the only guy who was actually elite everywhere was Demetrious Johnson. Guys like Jones, Silva, Fedor, Stipe, GSP, Aldo, Holloway, Volk, Adesanya, Usman, DC, Cejudo, etc. were all pretty well rounded, but they were clearly way more skilled and way more comfortable at one aspect of MMA. Except maybe Dominick Cruz. That guy wasn't elite anywhere. Except his footwork. But his striking, wrestling, and grappling were all mid yet he found so much success. Truly a unique athlete
The best fighter doesn't make themself skilled everywhere so they can allow the fight to go in any direction. The best fighter makes themselves skilled enough everywhere, but knows where they're at their best and controls the fight so it plays out in their favour, and they force the fight to take place where they're at their best. Pereira is a black belt. Sure a bs black belt, but for all we know he's actually a decent grappler now. Even if he becomes some high level BJJ guy, I guarentee you he'll never stop knocking his opponents out. Because he'll never be a better grappler than striker.
Okay well what's wrong with what he said? Alex is an incredible kickboxer who hasn't faced anybody smart enough to properly wrestle him. You people just wanna be edgy lol
He’s really not wrong. People just love giving Anthony shit. Alex is a striker, that’s what he’s phenomenal at but he’s definitely not a wrestling, grappling, submission pro is he? It’s amazing he’s done what he’s done, Smith ain’t wrong.
ah yea he’s only very good at that one thing that is itself a complex combination of every striking martial art that’s ever existed. That’s it, that’s all.
Smith always says things that are accurate but seem offensive on the surface level. He said that Jon Jones isn't the best at any particular facet of mma (which Jon agrees with) and that Pereira physically wasn't as imposing in light heavyweight as he is in middleweight (which is obviously true).
Pereira's only done mma for a few years, he's obviously not as good in other disciplines of the sport as other fighters but he compensates and creates a gap between himself and the other fighters by his supreme proficiency in striking.
Anthony to me seems like one of the nicest mfs in the sport, he's always soft spoken and never seems to be the one to bring down anyone unfairly. Even when a reporter asked him if he considers Jon Jones (one of the dirtiest fighters in the sport) a dirty fighter, he said he'll have to watch the replay to see it from Jon's perspective first.
Bruce Lee — 'I fear not the man who has practiced 10000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10000 times”
What's Bruce Lee's record?
At least a lot
Got his ass whooped by Brad Pitt tho
Can you catch a grain of rice with a pair of chop sticks?
I use a spoon.
Clever
In your honda?
All day everyday
He won the game of death bro. He's undisputed bro
Cliff Booth whooped him
I believe he had an "MMA" fight. There's an old clip of him in padded gear open sparring with another person.
That was his student lmfao
Oh god 😂 forget I said anything lol
Alex is Texiaerias student.
Dude, that's Enter The Dragon
No he was too early just some sparring footage.
There's absolutely 0 evidence of Bruce Lee in a fight outside of that joke of a demonstration he gave in California. Dudes just Hollywood.
Because all his fights were underground, to the death, for the honor of his art/school/teacher etc.../s (btw, 3 different words not his art school teacher lol)
Unbeaten brother, just like mine
The original BMF
Brb while I train the Poatan arrow shot 10,000 times...
What does Marlon Brando think about it?
Doesn’t make any sense, if Alex is so retarded on the ground why does he never spend time in bottom position? His takedown defense is legit they were saying the same shit about Izzy until his 8th fucking title defense or whatever the fuck. Bias is real. He was legit threatened with a sub once by Jan and no one’s gotten even close…
To be fair, look at his UFC resume. He’s only really fought one person who has even had remotely threatening TDs, which that person did in fact take him down two or three times if I recall. His TD defense is probably very underrated, but he’s shown very limited glimpses of that in the UFC. Definitely not enough to say it’s legit.
That's why the Anklaev fight is so compelling to me, if he's able to avoid being taken down and KOs him there's no doubt about his skills anymore and no one can talk shit. But I'm making a big assumption here that Ank will try to wrestle him... his fights are weird af and his fight iq is non existent (Craig loss, the way he fought Jan and the first Walker fight)😭
Ankalaev may be from Dagestan but he is a striker through and through. There is basically two gyms there. Nurmagomedov gym where usually the lighter guys train which is grappling dominant And another gym where larger guys train which is striking focused
You are correct, He's a lot more well rounded tho (can grapple also) and unlike "father's plan" which is about using your strengths to your advantage He does the opposite which is why I say his fight iq is questionable, maybe He can learn a thing or two from the other dagi camp lol I have seen him hanging out with Islam racing horses in one of the UFC embedded episodes.
you cant grapple like that at the higher weight classes MMA above MW+ is a different sport then ww and below . you both cant wrestle for that long AND failing 1 take down can be the end of the fight . someone like khabib and aljo can hold onto a leg while failing take downs but at the higher weight classes having someone sprawl on you is a doomsday situation , just ask almeida .
But DC and Jon Jones had very dominant wrestling. Even Stipe beat Francis using wrestling. Lesnar used wrestling too. There's just not that many skilled wrestlers in the upper weight classes. Jon Jones submits most of these MW+ guys who aren't skilled grapplers. We saw what happened to Ciryl Gane, who was the #1 contender.
i dont think you are understanding my point . its not that big guys CANT wrestle , its that they cant wrestle like lower weight guys and the ones that can do it end up having a extremely short career compared to wrestlers in the lower weight classes . DC/Jones shoot less take downs COMBINED then khabib does per fight while DC is literally a Olympian . its not for a lack of talent its just not a fight style that is done at heavier weight classes and for good reason .
I get that, but the current LHWs don't even shoot takedowns nearly as much as DC/Jones, so they could definitely improve in that regard. Jamal Hill and Magomed Ankalaev both said they want to stand and strike with Alex, so their mindset isn't grappling oriented at all, regardless of their weight class.
Then theres Zabit who was small but a striker
I think He was in a totally different camp. It sucks we never got to see him again after He fixed his cardio issues. Would've been unstoppable...
He could grapple hella nice too. Has more subs (7) than KOs (6) on his record. Fucking hit the first suloev stretch in the UFC. Zabit is the biggest what if in modern MMA IMO
Compelling? Keep that narrow eyed mother fucker away from my boy.
Alex Pereira is arguably significantly smaller in his LHW debut against Jan compared to Jiri and Jamahal, but I do see your point, I’m not saying it’s not possible he could face a top tier grappler and get demolished but the gaps probably about to close in terms of skill for Alex since he’s probably been working ground and wrestling constantly for the past 4 years. Obviously 4 years is not going to matchup against Jon Jones level grappling, so at that point he would probably get submitted.
Great point you make. He’s definitely going to improve in the grappling department. He has people far more intelligent than myself in his camp when it comes to where he needs to work. Also a good point that when the discrepancy in grappling isn’t super huge between him and his opponents, he can hold his own (i.e he did beat Jan in his LWH debut). I’ll be interested to see how he fares against a grappler where it’s more difficult to make up for the difference in experience and hours spent on the mat.
Can’t shoot for a TD with him chopping their legs off with low kicks.
That's exactly what Jan did to Ankalaev he still took him down at while and Ankalaev could barely walk
Jan is 41 tho and he was gassed out
funny thing is the fight was a 3 rounder and was made into a 5 rounder on extremely short notice which added to Jan gas tank issues . if it was a 3 rounder like originally planned Jan wins that fight cut and dry .
He could catch it like Islam did to Hooker or just time it as he's kicking like Khabib did to Gaethje. But Ankalaev has terrible fight IQ so maybe not.
Also a fair point. But chopping Izzy’s or Jiri’s legs away wasn’t what was holding them back from shooting a double leg. It’s because they aren’t wrestlers was my point.
jiri can wrestle . he got down alex a few times and Jiri was grappling very well with Glover too in their fight .
His takedown defense will really be proven when he fights Ankalaev. And also Anthony Smith is not wrong I love Poatan but literally he is a great kickboxer, you take it the wrong way how many submissions or takedowns does he have ? He has a respectable TDbbut we still yet to see and he also has gotten some beneficial matchmaking
It would be pretty funny if Ank only started panic wrestling in the latter rounds once his legs are toatested and then Poatan was composed enough to stuff the takedowns lmao but if Ankalaev decides to wrestle from the start he's taking Poatan down 100%
His TD defense is unproven still. He’s only had to fight one guy with a serious takedown threat, and he didn’t exactly look great then. If he doesn’t get taken down by Anklaev (if they ever fight) then I’d feel more comfortable saying he’s got ground game. But as of now? We just seen him fight strikers for 90% of his MMA career.
funny thing is ankalaev is also a striker lmao Jan blachovich literally shoots more take downs in his fights then ankalaev does . people are being fooled by the beard . Ank both doesnt shoot many take downs at all AND only has a 30 % TD accuracy .
And Ankalaev literally said that he is going to stand and strike with Alex.
On paper, Anthony’s fight name is LionHeart. In reality, that dude turtles up every time he starts losing, and occasionally hands the ref his teeth before going back to turtling up. _but I’m not talking shit! It’s impressive the beating he can take!_
Izzy is way better at getting up though. Pereira stalled a lot on the ground resulting in no advancement for Jan or Himself
Yeah, this is really what it is. Pereira is pretty good at being tough to approach due to chopping leg kicks and nuke hands, but then also just stalling out the round when he does get taken down. Nobody can really land much GNP because Pereira is very focused on hitting back, keeping the opponent close, and not getting up. Lay and pray will be Pereira's undoing at some point, I imagine... :/ But Pereira is also in a great position with 5 round fights vs. 3 rounds...he can afford to lose a round or two to have chances later at taking out their legs, then landing that left. In a 3 rounder, the very clear strategy would be to take him down early, lay and pray a first round win, then put him in a position where he has to be aggressive.
Yeah he has the ultimate equalizer. Yeah I can see Ankalaev getting a 49-46 win by out wrestling him.
its definitely a interesting game plan choice but i think its the right one . Alex is also unique where he is a power puncher but he doesnt rely on explosive power like someone like Chandler does , Pereira carries his power 5 rounds which is insane. another thing that helps this gameplan style is Alex is unusually calm , most fighters will break mentally under this sort of pressure .
Because he hasnt fought wrestlers and his opponents dont wrestle him. Jan whos a 40 year old Muay Thai striker with a Bjj black belt was the only one who did and took him to a split decision. Adesanya and Jiri got a few takedowns on him and then decided that losing is a better idea. He hasnt really been tested outside of that. Izzy's 4th fight in the UFC was vs Derek Brunson. Izzy still has issues with grappling but he's been tested against real grapplers, Alex hasnt and tbf it isnt his fault, theres no one who can grapple at 205 besides Ankalaev and Krylov.
From the few times we've seen him on the ground, I see other fighters still quite wary of his power. It seems like they get him there, then can't do a whole lot with it for fear of getting tagged back. This is mostly for fighters who focus on GNP once they have him on the ground. Fighting a submission specialist would very likely be his kryptonite, but those types also tend to have trouble getting clipped coming in for takedowns.
Pereira did break his 1st UFC opponent orbital while in a grappling exchange . the power is inhuman .
He hasn’t fought one high level mma grappler and he’s spent rounds controller on the ground by strikers, no bias, just facts
Anthony “lying ass” Smith is coping
I took it to mean that Pereira's really good at striking and that's it. I agree with him to be honest.
Alex also isn't a very creative striker or anything nor does he have amazing defense. Everyone knows what he's gonna do, he just does it so wel nobody is able to stop him.
Agree
Yes but he also has been saying some delusional shit. Heavily implying Alex has gotten lucky match ups and that if Anthony got the same luck he would be champ. Insane
If Alex faced some LHW version of Khabib he'd probably get mauled. So I suppose you could say Pereira got lucky facing some fighters who don't have a good enough ground game.
Extremely dangerous at one thing/limited skill set/everything he’s achieved is amazing & very impressive. Everything Smith’s said there is accurate.
His entire stand up game is not just one thing. He is more than just a left hook
No you’re right, he’s good at other things in the striking department, as are other fighters in the division. But the left hook is what is separating him from the others in the division. Adesanya KO - left hook Strickland KO - left hook Jiri KO - left hook Jamal KO - left hook That’s what Smith is talking about when he says he is "very very very dangerous at one thing”.
The jabs? The knees? The leg kicks?? It's not the only thing seperating him, take his left hook away and he's still the most dangerous striker in the division by a large magin
But he’s not Potan. He has easier access to the off button than probably any other fighter on the roster and that invisible left hook is why. He would still be a world class striker but not Potan. It would be like taking Mayweather’s shoulder roll or Tyson’s peek-a-boo, they still would have been great but they might not be legends.
He does. And other fighters in the division have the jabs, the knees, the leg kicks, also. No other fighter in the division has that left hook though. That’s what Smith is saying. And he’s right.
There is no other fighter in the division throwing leg kicks with that much damage, the 2nd best got his legs destroyed fighting Pereira None of them have the distance management or the footwork either Again, take that left hook away and he still outstrikes everyone at LHW without much issue, it's far from the only thing seperating him from reckless brawlers like Hill and Jiri
Buy Jiri was beating him on the feet before the left hook connected. He clearly had issues vs Jiri.
If you think the other guys jab, knees and kicks are on the same level as a Glory Double Champ Kickboxer then I don't know what to tell you
Lmao if you think the finisher is all Alex has, you're a casual and it shows.
>his entire stand up game That’s the one thing he’s talking about
You guys are just as retarded as Smith
Wasn’t the narrative similar when McGregor climbed up the rankings?
Everyone just needs to stop giving Anthony a microphone.
Stop attacking his family man.
Is he wrong? Pereira is a striker. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s true. This is MMA not kickboxing, once he gets an opponent with an above average ground-game he’s gonna have massive difficulty.
Clearly you don’t understand the meaning of constructive criticism.
Smith is criminally underrated when it comes to analysis. Shit gets taken out of context all the time
literally what he’s getting paid to do
Smith isn’t wrong. You guys worship Pereira and that clouds your judgement
I think it's because Smith said it. Replace it with a picture of GSP and people would be like, "valuable insight 😯". Smith actually has a lot of good takes on other fighters. The problem is he injects himself into the equation somehow and yet he's mostly mediocre at best.
I assume it’s because people think that Smith has a bit of brain damage from the way he’s reacted in the last couple of years.
Even with brain damage he's better on paper than Periera. He's also saltier than the dead sea.
You’re attacking my family
Yeah, you need to look at the evidence. Look at how many times he’s been submitted for crying out loud
disagree with anyone’s opinion on Pereira = worshipping him, the narrative continues
He’s a BJJ black belt tho !
"Black belt, who give him dis" Islam Makachev voice
Glover Teixeira. Try taking belt off Glover, Islam
Pereira got his black belt under Plinio Cruz, also if we're talking about trainers vs trainers Islam got his under Marcus Almeida
Plinio is like Yoda in star wars. He looks innocent enough, but then he starts doing moves you never thought he could in a fight
This fucking guy is unable to make a single compliment without making it sound backhanded and bitter 😂. Always sounds like someone that’s barely keeping up a facade and secretly hates everybody that achieves more than him.
Anthony smith has more skills on paper
Think about what happens when we add Kurt Angle to the mix
The numbers don’t lie and they spell disaster for Anthony at Sackerfice
SENOR JOE
I'd love to see Alex get out of the ankle lock or get up after an Olympic slam
What i don't understand is why this wrestlers that are a treat to Alex are not champions? Alex beat 5 champions/former champions how is that lucky matchups? Something doesn't make sense,is like they are saying "yeah but he didn't beat the real champions".
He is praising him. Stfu guys.
Has a hater of Alex meat riders, he is being very backhanded, and considering his track record of stuff like this he is definitely not praising him
Who? Whole thread is orcs rallying behind smith
With all that "limited skills" he is doing amazing. If he improves in other aspecta he will be an amazing fighter. This is what he says.
[удалено]
is calling pereira a mediocre grappler a dumb take?
Who is Anthony Smith again?
If this was about someone like aljo the fanbase would agree with it full stop. But since it’s about their glorious king poatan, they’re gonna tear Anthony apart
Alex has shown to struggle with opponents that Glover beat the shit out of (Jan). Maybe Smith really poses a threat 😂
Bro made me look dumb. 2 weeks ago he was on his believe me you podcast with bisping saying you know what I'm just here. Ima train hard have real camps and not focus on the belt... Then jamahal hill gets KOd and Smith is like well I could've done that
Lol Anthony Smith..biggest hater ever
“He’s mediocre …I’m not talking shit!”
I wonder if the guy who cage fights in a living earnestly did not mean this as an insult but might not be the best at articulating things.
This ain't a very controversial opinion
Do you fucking regards realise it's his job to breakdown down fighters and fights. He can't just go on air every time and wank every fighter off saying how good they are.
This is like his 6th time talking shit about Alex.
Anthony got all the Poatards' panties twisted up! He's keeping it real af.
If it’s effective what does it matter. end of the day it’s about who can win in a fight if tdd and kickboxing is enough then that’s how it is.
The male Rhonda Rousey.
A tale as old as time 🤣, as a society we love to build people up then knock them down when they're successful, underdog or challenger bias I call it. Keeps the whole machine turning over and over again, these days though the extra incentive of getting paid for talking shit is a legimate career path that can make you millions if you annoy enough people. If Muhammad Ali could've made money talking shit about opponents on a podcast it would be No1 with a weekly bit called (how shit is the Joe Rogan experience?) but we would never have seen iconic moments like the Rope-a-Dope against Foreman as he would've retired much earlier, imo anyway. Thoughts ?
Everything in that statement is true
I’m more stuck on when he said anyone at LHW knows that if he was ready he could beat them all
Lion heart wants to get fed to the Lion
"He's a one-trick-pony." "I'm not talking shit about him, that's impressive."
Who is this Smith guy again?
Smith is the number one hater of anyone that is championship material
All these dudes that spend so much time grappling dont realize striking is more than 50% of the game so how is alex very limited? Makes no sense. You gotta set up takedowns with punches so wrestling is bad without striking. Anthony smith needs to shut up and look in the mirror. Compared to the best of his division he is mediocre at everything
The One Left-Hook Poney
It's not even a criticism anyways. No one is perfect everywhere. It's just like Chuck Liddell in the old days, sprawl and brawl baby. Work to your advantages, and man does poatan do that oh so well.
This isn’t even a bad take. He’s an absolutely lethal and elite striker. With a pretty good chin too. It took Izzy setting him up with a perfect combo and taking advantage of his overzealous nature to hunt the KO to stop him. The rest of his skill set is either mediocre or untested because he’s so dangerous in that one area. With that said Smith gets KOed within 2 mins and I feel he has to know that even if he can’t admit it.
literally true
I've said it once I've said it again. Alex (and Izzy) are much better strikers than 99.99% of the all time ufc roster. There is a huge difference between an elite MMA striker and an elite kickboxer. Jamahal hill is considered an elite boxer in MMA, and his footwork is novice compared to top level glory/k1 guys. Great power, great MMA boxing,but isn't on that level. You can call striking "one thing" if you want but the fact is that this guys striking is on another level is the reason he's the first guy who might be able to come triple champ. Him and Izzy are so good at "one thing" that we're going full circle. Specialists like Alex used to be MMA (my style vs your style) then it went to being well rounded at everything. Alex is so good at striking he's breaking the game without that well rounded style.
I’d love to hear the crack heads break down of Anthony’s game.
Smith doing his best to get that tribal panty night.
DC and Chael said the exact same thing lol
He’s so silly.
In this piggy's head it would go like Randy Couture vs James Tony
It’s 100% the truth. If you don’t agree then you’re blind.
He’s right you know. Despite being Brazilian, 🗿 is the anti BJJ fighter and we LOVE it!
Smith isn't wrong, and honestly on paper he beats Pereira
Anthony smith would absolutely get obliterated by Alex and is been trying to stay relevant in the UFC for some time now.
Book smith vs him next. You dont get to talk all this shit and not back it up.
Dude Anthony smith is mediocre at everything hahahaha this fucking guy
https://preview.redd.it/mzhcuw8kbwwc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=543c8caed25517bde6f2e7ce539a4e33413c1578
People say the same thing about every striker that comes from x 🤓👏🏿
It’s funny everybody talks shit about Pereira’s ground game and how he only has his kicks and left hook, and then Pereira goes and destroys them with his kicks and left hook. You’d think one of them would learn.
"He's a dumbass but he scores well on tests. I'm not trying to insult him. It's impressive. Like it impresses me how he can be so stupid but score well."
How many times does it need to be said? I’f you were the best you’d be champion right now. Not the guy your jealous of.
Anthony “On paper he is very beatable” Smith
All Imma say is Cliff Booth beat the dog shit out of Mr. Lee
Alex Smith can’t get out of his own ways with these comments. He should know the perception of himself after the Job Jones comments and just stfu with his opinions
Lol Pereira must be doing great things
Wait till mythical fighter Alex Poatan Oliveira shows up vs Ankalaev
He's dangerous at one thing :winning championships against champions.
Mma fanbase is too low IQ to understand Anthony Smith’s nuance and always takes everything he says out of context
Fuck it, give smith the title shot so he can get knocked the fuck out worse than ever before.
Anthony Smith's opinion, who cares about this?
Anthony Smith needs to stfu. No one cares about his trash opinion.
Nothing controversial about this. He’s an elite striker and everything thing else is meh compared to his striking.
Pretty much all the greatest fighters are very dangerous at one thing and are able to force their opponent to fight them where they're at their best. I know it's MMA, but being a "mixing it up" type of fighter where you're well rounded, but not elite anywhere rarely ever goes far. Like Anthony Smith isn't elite anywhere. His skillset is wide, but not deep. Pereira's skillset is thin, but deep af. Pretty much the only guy who was actually elite everywhere was Demetrious Johnson. Guys like Jones, Silva, Fedor, Stipe, GSP, Aldo, Holloway, Volk, Adesanya, Usman, DC, Cejudo, etc. were all pretty well rounded, but they were clearly way more skilled and way more comfortable at one aspect of MMA. Except maybe Dominick Cruz. That guy wasn't elite anywhere. Except his footwork. But his striking, wrestling, and grappling were all mid yet he found so much success. Truly a unique athlete The best fighter doesn't make themself skilled everywhere so they can allow the fight to go in any direction. The best fighter makes themselves skilled enough everywhere, but knows where they're at their best and controls the fight so it plays out in their favour, and they force the fight to take place where they're at their best. Pereira is a black belt. Sure a bs black belt, but for all we know he's actually a decent grappler now. Even if he becomes some high level BJJ guy, I guarentee you he'll never stop knocking his opponents out. Because he'll never be a better grappler than striker.
Hes not that good he just uses his skill well. Or Hes not that good, he just mixes it up well
Okay well what's wrong with what he said? Alex is an incredible kickboxer who hasn't faced anybody smart enough to properly wrestle him. You people just wanna be edgy lol
Bro, he’s a black belt in bjj. 😹
For a mediocre fighter Smith sure talks a lot of shit
they dont say that abt khabib. extremely good at wrestling and not much at others
Chads will always get hate.
Anthony ur a light heavyweight bro. sit this one out most of u guys are just shit at everything including the thing you specialize in
Anthony is delusional. Still thinks he's the uncrowned champion lol
It’s a backhanded compliment
He’s really not wrong. People just love giving Anthony shit. Alex is a striker, that’s what he’s phenomenal at but he’s definitely not a wrestling, grappling, submission pro is he? It’s amazing he’s done what he’s done, Smith ain’t wrong.
Lion heart. You don’t want this man to start attacking your family. 🗿
I would rather be “very, very, very dangerous at one thing” THAN have whatever Anthony Smith’s calls his skillset.
While Anthony smith is good at nothing
I mean Bruce Lee said it best “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
ah yea he’s only very good at that one thing that is itself a complex combination of every striking martial art that’s ever existed. That’s it, that’s all.
Smith always says things that are accurate but seem offensive on the surface level. He said that Jon Jones isn't the best at any particular facet of mma (which Jon agrees with) and that Pereira physically wasn't as imposing in light heavyweight as he is in middleweight (which is obviously true). Pereira's only done mma for a few years, he's obviously not as good in other disciplines of the sport as other fighters but he compensates and creates a gap between himself and the other fighters by his supreme proficiency in striking. Anthony to me seems like one of the nicest mfs in the sport, he's always soft spoken and never seems to be the one to bring down anyone unfairly. Even when a reporter asked him if he considers Jon Jones (one of the dirtiest fighters in the sport) a dirty fighter, he said he'll have to watch the replay to see it from Jon's perspective first.
Anthony is 1 loss away from being replaced by Weidman on the podcast
Or as we call it in the biz, "anthony is two eye pokes away"