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Israel Adesanya's UFC 305 Loss Vs. Dricus Du Plessis Blamed On Following 'The Khabib Model' By MMA Analyst
Read to find out why MMA analyst Luke Thomas blames Israel Adesanya’s loss to Dricus Du Plessis on following ‘The Khabib Model.’
MMA analyst Luke Thomas believes Israel Adesanya’s title reign ended abruptly due to him following the ‘Khabib model.’ The YouTuber broke down The Last Stylebender and his recent championship title loss against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 304.
After losing his title to Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya failed to redeem himself in his title fight at UFC 305. This two-fight losing streak had a lot of fans discussing Izzy's potential downfall. Being the analyst that he is, Luke Thomas decided to articulate the former champion’s methods, and decided to call it ‘The Khabib Model.’
With fans speculating about Israel Adesanya never improving his skillset in accordance with the development of the middleweight contenders he was facing, Luke Thomas gave his thoughts on the matter.
He broke down champions’ reign into two categories, one being the Khabib Nurmagomedov model and calling the other the Islam Makhachev model.
According to Thomas, the Khabib model follows a champion who is a master at one martial art and mediocre at the rest. Nurmagomedov, in his prime, dominated his opponents with an unbreakable grappling-heavy fighting style while not possessing commendable levels of striking.
The Islam Makhachev model consists of a champion who is well-rounded in all aspects of MMA. Although the Russian contender is known to be one of the best grapplers in the sport, his striking is also highly applauded from fans and critics alike.
Luke Thomas believes Israel Adesanya falls into the Khabib Nurmagomedov model. Being a veteran kickboxer, Izzy managed to outclass opponents like Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa on the feet.
“You've got one skill set and it’s way better than everybody else and you just lord that over somebody like the Khabib model. Izzy was kind of always on that second model,” said Luke Thomas. Although The Last Stylebender is known to have decent grappling skills, his kickboxing roots had him dominating tough contenders in the middleweight division.
He also cited Israel Adesanya’s submission victory record in order to enhance his point. The Last Stylebender does not have a history of beating his opponents into submission. Most, if not all, of his finishes have been a knockout or TKO.
Comparing Izzy to Jose Aldo, Luke Thomas highlights the reason why the Brazilian contender manages to win fights despite making his debut over a decade ago. He believed the former featherweight champion made the adjustments in order to maintain a sustainable career, unlike Israel Adesanya.
Despite making a few noteworthy criticisms against Israel Adesanya, Luke Thomas believes him to be the second-best middleweight of all time. It does not seem like Izzy’s recent losses against Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis had any effect on his rankings.
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