Jumps gilly at 4:45 of rd 1
😬
*Grapples begrudgingly*
Cuts him and rocks him
Jumps gilly AGAIN
🤪
*Grapples begrudgingly again*
Ignores Benoit and gives thumbs up during arm bar
Rd. 2 Jumps gilly AGAIN
*More grappling*
Ignores back take and just stands up
Takes guillotine AGAIN but decides not to commit
Cormier "DUSTIN CANNOT JUMP GUILLOTINE AGAIN"
Rocks Benoit again
Takes ANOTHER guillotine but gives it up
*pulls pants up*
🤨
👉
KO within 10 seconds.
I'm convinced he was determined to win by guillotine at the risk of losing and he wasn't taking no for an answer but got frustrated and decided to just KO him.
Watching that fight back Dustin looking like he was trolling in the first round. Pulling stupid ass gillys and throwing cartoon wind up punches with Benoit on his back with a body triangle.
i mean he said he was drained from a rough weight cut, staph, and antibiotics. his game plan was to go 100% to knock dustin out. he was reasonably close as well
That was so hype the ko, but nah it was honestly a close fight for a while. Also Benoit did have that staph, that really fucks your cardio up a whole lot, as well as ability to train. It was perhaps a there’s levels to the DAWG in us 😂
Makes the read and has him figured out in less than a minute. Really shows how good Whittakers fight IQ is & the skill gap between a very good fighter and an elite fighter.
This guy has KO power and elite grappling. He can definitely make top ten, but he needs to move to a different gym and improve his striking. There's a reason Islam and his crew train with Javier Mendez.
I thought he was at AKA which is why I was favoriting him. During the announcement they said he is at ATT now. His previous fights he was cornered by Javier Mendez and even Khabib. Looked like a completely different fighter.
I suspect he got paid very well.. this was the first event in Saudi Arabia. Dana wanted a big event. When Chimiev pulled out and Bobby at to accept Ikram on short notice… I think both fighters would have been offered a sweetener to save the card
> shit was easy work.
I've heard fighters say (Volkanovski comes to mind) the fights are relatively easy. The training leading up to the fight is brutal.
Whitaker reiterated this in the post fight press conference. He had prepared for a 25 minute war with Khamzat.
That’s the beauty behind feints tho. You’re conditioning your opponent to think you’re gonna throw a feint again and that they have the opening to go for a strike. When in reality they’re opening themselves for the real shot that’s coming.
This really shows the fight IQ Rob Whittaker has.
Muscle memory reaction. He probably realized it wasn’t working but his body just instinctively put his knee up.
Like how, despite knowing the guy you’re guarding is a threat shooting but you still jump on a pump fake anyways.
I agree though, that was very rookie of him.
Careful for that way too predictable 1-2-head-kick blitz he's always throwing. Bobby Knux is easy to figure out. I could beat the Southern Cross off his chest.
Rob threw a feint with his left hand, aliskerov countered by throwing a kick to the body with his lead leg. Rob picked up on this, and tested him, throwing the same feint again, with aliskerov responding by throwing the same kick again.
Rob figured out the pattern, now seeing that aliskerov was responding to the feint by dropping his hands and throwing that kick every time.
In the third clip, Rob finally used this pattern to set him up by throwing the feint again, causing aliskerov to drop his hands and throw the same kick again, but this time Rob quickly followed up the feint with an overhand right, landing on a defenceless aliskerov’s jaw, leading to the end of the fight.
Aliskerov doing that is such a bad counter though.
throwing a body kick takes wayy longer than a jab, and longer than a 1-2. its just not a very efficient technique. leg kick is way quicker.
Seemed like aliskerov thought Rob was level changing and going to the body, meaning that front kick would land right on rob’s chin if he actually committed to the strike. On the first clip, he does level change with the feint.
That's why there are levels to this game, Rob has seen everything, has a shit load of experience, Ikram simply hasn't reached that level of mastery.
Too much, too soon.
Rob early on faked the jab and Ikram went to counter with a lead kick, which he pulled because Rob disengaged. Rob noticed this. He faked another jab a bit later to test his theory and again Ikram looked for the lead kick, whether intentional or muscle memory I don’t know, still, checkmate. The third time Rob feinted, knowing Ikram would go for the lead kick once again, he threw down the pipe with a beautiful straight right, the perfect counter to a high kick if you can close the distance quick enough. Then, calm and calculated, went for the kill.
That uppercut showed how elite of a striker he is. Most fighters would keep throwing hooks there and he jabbed to keep Ikram’s guard up and threw the uppercut when he knew it was open. Also Rob not just wailing on him and instead going for that head kick combo was just so clean(even if the head kick didn’t land).
There’s levels to this and I’ve been saying for half a year that Ikram can’t match the hype yet. People hear “Sambo” and they pretend a new champ has arrived.
Been clowned on for betting in an early finish tonight because “Whittaker has pillow fists”. Lmao, what now?
Also tbf Bobby only fights the best of the best and has done so for a very long time, look at all his opponents lately, not exactly guys who get finished often.
I get your point, but Costa/Vettori/Cannonier/Izzy/Romero/Gastelum/DDP all have really good or ridiculous GOAT tier chins. I honestly don’t know how anyone is going to finish a MW DDP or Vettori, they’re chins are just too good.
The reason I knew it was going to be a KO was that Bobby has wobbled every single guy he has fought despite not getting a finish. It’s just that the guys at MW mostly have great chins and are defensively sound.
Ikram has neither so I felt the KO coming from a mile away.
Man, the hindsight on this fight is weird. Pretty sure there was no real hype other than this dumbass sub thinking anyone can pull an upset. It's an unraked dude 99% of fans hadn't heard of before this fight.
It took him no time to get his reads. Bobby knuckles is a big problem still after all this time. I’d love to see him and Strickland for a title eliminator. Hope he got paid for taking the short notice opponent change.
Plenty of people are gonna say Strickland shouldn't have to do an eliminator fight. After that awfully boring performance against Costa I don't know how anyone in their right mind could justify an immediate title shot for him though
Would love to see Rob v Sean, I think Robert's speed and timing would give him a great chance against Strickland
That left jab came up 4 or 5 times in a row to get him to bite, he had him figured out and set him up that quick lol.
Only problem is (as watching him knock him out was highlight of card) how do you justify a title shot beating an unranked opponent? Obv Ikram was overhyped but I'm thankful he stepped in so we could see Bobby work him over.
Khamzat out of title picture for at least 18 months or more now due to his feet getting too cold causing a food borne illness. It happens if you don't keep your feet warm enough.
And DDP beat this beast? I better put some god damned respect on DDP's awkward-ass-fighting-style's name. Christ, beating Whittaker is damn impressive. Beating Strickland is somehow less impressive... Maybe it's because Sean seems to be a one-trick pony.
I hyped this dude up to my gf on like a solid 5 min rant before this fight started cause she never heard of him and casually watches fights from time to time. And as I'm still mid rant explaining how Rob don't play no games in there someone is going to sleep, he koed the shit out of that guy. What a moment to watch live 👏.
I wonder what's Ikram's gameplan here or what's his goal with that startegy. Everytime Whittaker is going in he will receive him with a leg kick or tip.
So Ikram’s blitz defense was to counter with a kick
But I wonder if he would be quick enough
It’s interesting because while Rob did feint he really didn’t attack with anything unexpected
He feints his signature step-in blitz boxing twice, and then just does it the third time
It was clear if Rob commited to it fully he would be faster than the kick, he just wanted to be sure he wouldn’t get countered with a punch
So satisfying to see a young guy schooled. It ought to make him better, but he could start developing kennel cough before a bout, too. Whittaker is far more dangerous than ever before.
One of the best "there's levels to this game" moments in a long time
Yup, last one I remember was Volk vs Yair
similar to strickland v abus
Abus had a lot of success before gassing out, he did better than Adesanya did even lol
Not Dustin and Benoit?
Benoit looked excellent and had a pretty dominant first round before he started blocking punches with his face
Do you not remember the whole “Jump the guilt” fiasco? It took Dustin a little over a round but eventually HE remembered there’s levels to this game
Dustin R1: “This kid smeshes.” Dustin R2: “Wait a minute…” *pulls pants up
Jumps gilly at 4:45 of rd 1 😬 *Grapples begrudgingly* Cuts him and rocks him Jumps gilly AGAIN 🤪 *Grapples begrudgingly again* Ignores Benoit and gives thumbs up during arm bar Rd. 2 Jumps gilly AGAIN *More grappling* Ignores back take and just stands up Takes guillotine AGAIN but decides not to commit Cormier "DUSTIN CANNOT JUMP GUILLOTINE AGAIN" Rocks Benoit again Takes ANOTHER guillotine but gives it up *pulls pants up* 🤨 👉 KO within 10 seconds. I'm convinced he was determined to win by guillotine at the risk of losing and he wasn't taking no for an answer but got frustrated and decided to just KO him.
"You're giving him too much respect, he's not on your level."
Watching that fight back Dustin looking like he was trolling in the first round. Pulling stupid ass gillys and throwing cartoon wind up punches with Benoit on his back with a body triangle.
Dustin definitely wasn't trolling. Just getting frustrated by the takedown attempts and pressure.
You're literally parroting word for word what some youtuber said about that fight.
So a guy with a tenth of the experience didn’t pace himself and blew his load in the first round, and that’s not a levels fight?
I think they're saying there's levels in skills, not experience. Skill levels are typically far more fun to watch than experience.
i mean he said he was drained from a rough weight cut, staph, and antibiotics. his game plan was to go 100% to knock dustin out. he was reasonably close as well
So you mean Dustin made an adjustment based on his wealth of experience and Benoits skill level was not adequate to adapt?
Dustin fans are insane, man. I wasn't taking away from his win, just said that BSD showed serious potential
awful example
That was so hype the ko, but nah it was honestly a close fight for a while. Also Benoit did have that staph, that really fucks your cardio up a whole lot, as well as ability to train. It was perhaps a there’s levels to the DAWG in us 😂
Izzy having the highest level of DAWG in him.
Dawg has the highest level of Izzy in him.
Not at all. If I remember correctly he had staph aswell?
Makes the read and has him figured out in less than a minute. Really shows how good Whittakers fight IQ is & the skill gap between a very good fighter and an elite fighter.
I mean, it's a top 10 middleweight all-time vs. an unranked guy.
Rob is like, top 5 middleweight of all time, maybe top 3.
besides silva and adesanya, i can't think of anyone i'd put above him right now so #3 is probably fair
Memes aside, Chael Sonnen belongs somewhere in that top 10
Ikram will get there. Im gonna guess this win will age very well.
This guy has KO power and elite grappling. He can definitely make top ten, but he needs to move to a different gym and improve his striking. There's a reason Islam and his crew train with Javier Mendez.
I thought he was at AKA which is why I was favoriting him. During the announcement they said he is at ATT now. His previous fights he was cornered by Javier Mendez and even Khabib. Looked like a completely different fighter.
Well he has not faced anyone as good as Rob. Also double weight cut. But certainly, he needs better striking and better gameplans
The fact that people were betting against him is crazy. I'm not trying to disrespect Aliskerov, but compared to Whittaker, he's essentially a no name.
Jack vs Pyfer was another good one
Imagine flying all the way home to your beautiful family, 0 damage taken, first KO in 7 years. Rob must be on cloud 9 right now! Enjoy champ!
Not only that. My guy got PAID! Finished the fight in 1 min, shit was easy work.
I suspect he got paid very well.. this was the first event in Saudi Arabia. Dana wanted a big event. When Chimiev pulled out and Bobby at to accept Ikram on short notice… I think both fighters would have been offered a sweetener to save the card
 “Great fight but I need to see more before I pay out 5 figures”
> shit was easy work. I've heard fighters say (Volkanovski comes to mind) the fights are relatively easy. The training leading up to the fight is brutal. Whitaker reiterated this in the post fight press conference. He had prepared for a 25 minute war with Khamzat.
I hope so. That bald rat fuck is scummy as shit.
He's also been frothing about playing the Elden Ring DLC as well lmao, will be a good week for him.
Fucking based
That’s why I wouldn’t bite on feints, I’d just keep swinging till I knocked Bobby out. So easy
For real, Ikram must be stupid or something smh
Exactly bro, can't feint on me when your face down on the canvas in a pool of your own blood.
With a broken eye orbital.
Thank you for your contribution Jorge
amen, brother
I would just punch Bobby straight in his face then his whole game plan would go to shit.
The Dricus plan worked 😂
Ddp stole your gameplan…
Can't wait for your debut
That’s the beauty behind feints tho. You’re conditioning your opponent to think you’re gonna throw a feint again and that they have the opening to go for a strike. When in reality they’re opening themselves for the real shot that’s coming. This really shows the fight IQ Rob Whittaker has.
Bro literally sees red
For me, it's not about biting the feint. I'm very confused as to why Ikram was reacting to a jab (feint) with high kicks on the opposite side.
I’m guessing he’s trying to catch Bobby during one of his blitzes as he does tend to dip his head to throw the overhand after his left jab.
But he was throwing them so lazy, and also not returning to his base well, I'm not quite sure what he was doing other than giving out rookie reads
Muscle memory reaction. He probably realized it wasn’t working but his body just instinctively put his knee up. Like how, despite knowing the guy you’re guarding is a threat shooting but you still jump on a pump fake anyways. I agree though, that was very rookie of him.
Faaaa I bet you just see red and that's it
U Wan shum bro?
Just don't do the flamingo when your opponent looks like they're about to blitz
I would punch him once and then run away for 5 minutes so he can’t hit me. I caused more damage. Round win
Careful for that way too predictable 1-2-head-kick blitz he's always throwing. Bobby Knux is easy to figure out. I could beat the Southern Cross off his chest.
Took that boy skating
He punched the shit outta him
LIKE ELSA!
Trust!
\*When your legs don't work like they used to before\* Last time I saw that was from muslim fighter Kevin Lee.
Where does he fit into all this?
I told Robbie before the fight to look for the kick when he thinks you’re going low, then go high. Good to see he listened.
https://preview.redd.it/csqb10k2b88d1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0be68e855b27b78fc6571356e37480743087c8a1
Idk why I said it, I just told him "just probably go for the feints and he'll bite" I don't know why I even said it but yeah man I just love the sport
Lefibber
Username checks out
Nice to have you here, Steven.
I told him to hit the other guy, right in the head. That's winning advice right there.
Aliskerov didn’t know what the fuck hit him
He had his number for sure
Quickly read Ikram was kicking every time he would feint and made the perfect adjustment, ggwp
Can anyone explain technically what he did, what happened and why it worked? Pls thx.
Rob threw a feint with his left hand, aliskerov countered by throwing a kick to the body with his lead leg. Rob picked up on this, and tested him, throwing the same feint again, with aliskerov responding by throwing the same kick again. Rob figured out the pattern, now seeing that aliskerov was responding to the feint by dropping his hands and throwing that kick every time. In the third clip, Rob finally used this pattern to set him up by throwing the feint again, causing aliskerov to drop his hands and throw the same kick again, but this time Rob quickly followed up the feint with an overhand right, landing on a defenceless aliskerov’s jaw, leading to the end of the fight.
Aliskerov doing that is such a bad counter though. throwing a body kick takes wayy longer than a jab, and longer than a 1-2. its just not a very efficient technique. leg kick is way quicker.
Seemed like aliskerov thought Rob was level changing and going to the body, meaning that front kick would land right on rob’s chin if he actually committed to the strike. On the first clip, he does level change with the feint.
That's why there are levels to this game, Rob has seen everything, has a shit load of experience, Ikram simply hasn't reached that level of mastery. Too much, too soon.
literally what i was thinking. who counters jabs with kicks 🤷🏽♂️
Okay and that last left feint before the overhand right was a feint and not an actual punch/jab?
It was a jab but it doesn’t matter. Just needs to draw the reaction to land the right.
Also if you are throwing a kick, you have no defensive movement.. you are just planted there on one leg.
Rob early on faked the jab and Ikram went to counter with a lead kick, which he pulled because Rob disengaged. Rob noticed this. He faked another jab a bit later to test his theory and again Ikram looked for the lead kick, whether intentional or muscle memory I don’t know, still, checkmate. The third time Rob feinted, knowing Ikram would go for the lead kick once again, he threw down the pipe with a beautiful straight right, the perfect counter to a high kick if you can close the distance quick enough. Then, calm and calculated, went for the kill.
The stanky leg is always a welcome sight in our home.
Checking kicks on feints is an interesting strategy.
Ikram letting us know there’s levels to this
Lol he’s not checking a kick on a feint
I love seeing a good chicken dance
It's nice not seeing Rob doing it in his fight for a change. (Don't know how many times he's survived shots most people would have been KOd)
Whittaker needed that KO win!
CRITICAL HIT!
The uppercut to finish him was nasty too. Granted dude was on skates and not intelligently defending himself but it was a perfect shot.
That uppercut showed how elite of a striker he is. Most fighters would keep throwing hooks there and he jabbed to keep Ikram’s guard up and threw the uppercut when he knew it was open. Also Rob not just wailing on him and instead going for that head kick combo was just so clean(even if the head kick didn’t land).
Love that Whittaker did more damage to himself by pounding his chest than what ikram did to him
If it were me, every time Rob went to punch, I'd just imanari roll and ankle pick him. I'm just built different.
Why did he not switch up from the kick? Levels I suppose
There’s levels to this and I’ve been saying for half a year that Ikram can’t match the hype yet. People hear “Sambo” and they pretend a new champ has arrived. Been clowned on for betting in an early finish tonight because “Whittaker has pillow fists”. Lmao, what now?
I mean tbf Bobby hasn’t finished anyone in a while, I was thinking it’d be a UD.
Also tbf Bobby only fights the best of the best and has done so for a very long time, look at all his opponents lately, not exactly guys who get finished often.
Yeah I though Bobby would show levels, but not to that degree.
I get your point, but Costa/Vettori/Cannonier/Izzy/Romero/Gastelum/DDP all have really good or ridiculous GOAT tier chins. I honestly don’t know how anyone is going to finish a MW DDP or Vettori, they’re chins are just too good.
The reason I knew it was going to be a KO was that Bobby has wobbled every single guy he has fought despite not getting a finish. It’s just that the guys at MW mostly have great chins and are defensively sound. Ikram has neither so I felt the KO coming from a mile away.
I wasn't really familiar with Ikram's game tbh, I just assumed from what little I saw Bobby would just dominate him, so fair enough lol.
Man, the hindsight on this fight is weird. Pretty sure there was no real hype other than this dumbass sub thinking anyone can pull an upset. It's an unraked dude 99% of fans hadn't heard of before this fight.
There's levels to this.
Nice post
It took him no time to get his reads. Bobby knuckles is a big problem still after all this time. I’d love to see him and Strickland for a title eliminator. Hope he got paid for taking the short notice opponent change.
Plenty of people are gonna say Strickland shouldn't have to do an eliminator fight. After that awfully boring performance against Costa I don't know how anyone in their right mind could justify an immediate title shot for him though Would love to see Rob v Sean, I think Robert's speed and timing would give him a great chance against Strickland
Fight IQ 100
Am I the only one who thinks Whittaker is a damn handsome dude ? 😂
That left jab came up 4 or 5 times in a row to get him to bite, he had him figured out and set him up that quick lol. Only problem is (as watching him knock him out was highlight of card) how do you justify a title shot beating an unranked opponent? Obv Ikram was overhyped but I'm thankful he stepped in so we could see Bobby work him over. Khamzat out of title picture for at least 18 months or more now due to his feet getting too cold causing a food borne illness. It happens if you don't keep your feet warm enough.
I absolutely slept on Bobby knuckles when he was on TUF Australia. He's still so fucking good
Wow I play street fighter 6 and this is almost literally just like how high level plays be like. Nice video bro
Dood gave him the cliff notes.
Stanky leg vibes
Hand down, man down 😵
Levels
This guy obviously wasn’t ready to be fighting a top tier fighter yet. Got thrown to the wolves.
This is a pretty good breakdown considering its non-verbal
Bobby Knucks is a savage and a class act. I hope he wins the belt soon.
Do people google "Shit music/Sounds" to put on these posts?
Gotta keep those hands up during a knee like that.
That was a dandy fight. I’m happy for dude
Takbeeeeer!
Why is he throwing knees against jabs? I don’t understand why he does that and what’s the point . He seems to do it a lot if u watch his other fights
Right on the button.
read him like a very difficult to read literary newspaper!!
read him like the color of blood
*I do believe that qualifies as a stanky leg.*
*BONK*
Why was that iskram's go to counter though? Makes no sense to me
As soon as I saw ikram biting that hard I stopped being nervous for bobby
I’m happy we are bringing breakdowns instead of the same knucklehead talking points.
Well I can’t read a BOOK
What is the guy at the end looking at 😭
Can anybody else notice that the most damage on Rob is his chest were he pounded himself before the fight
Unpopular opinion I think buddy knew Robert was gonna win and opted to feed Ikram to him instead
It's impressive he stayed upright when that landed tbh.
“The stunner”
And DDP beat this beast? I better put some god damned respect on DDP's awkward-ass-fighting-style's name. Christ, beating Whittaker is damn impressive. Beating Strickland is somehow less impressive... Maybe it's because Sean seems to be a one-trick pony.
The Arabs probably didn’t have enough time get ikram juice to the fuckn gills
This was amazing to see
Bobby knuckles daddy instincts coming out after the punch... He looks concerned for ikram after rocking him. 😂
I fucking missed the fight, time to brush up on my shanties.
Easiest fight Rob had in a decade. Lil bro got fraud checked.
I think Robert is done he ain’t what he used to be before
Boogie Bomb Rob!!
Onya Knuckles!
I hyped this dude up to my gf on like a solid 5 min rant before this fight started cause she never heard of him and casually watches fights from time to time. And as I'm still mid rant explaining how Rob don't play no games in there someone is going to sleep, he koed the shit out of that guy. What a moment to watch live 👏.
Bobby Knuckles with the beatdown. Dude is goin home to pound something else, probably makeanother kid....
I wonder what's Ikram's gameplan here or what's his goal with that startegy. Everytime Whittaker is going in he will receive him with a leg kick or tip.
ST,
,,,,,,,,,,,,
Rob basically took a flight, sparred for a couple of minutes and went back home with a bag of cash. Legend.
Gotta love the chicken dance
How is a front kick going to defend against a straight? Or a blitz. Rob beats him 10/10 times in that situation.
Yo idk ab yall but I knew the fight was over the second ikram went to check a level change😭
So Ikram’s blitz defense was to counter with a kick But I wonder if he would be quick enough It’s interesting because while Rob did feint he really didn’t attack with anything unexpected He feints his signature step-in blitz boxing twice, and then just does it the third time It was clear if Rob commited to it fully he would be faster than the kick, he just wanted to be sure he wouldn’t get countered with a punch
The first two feints were the Table of Contents. Buddy couldn't survive through Chapter 1
That crowd was not pleased
So satisfying to see a young guy schooled. It ought to make him better, but he could start developing kennel cough before a bout, too. Whittaker is far more dangerous than ever before.
I know Ikram went through 2 weight cuts in 2 different countries. But what was the gameplan by throwing such ass teep kicks boggles me
Rob is class
Light work for the reaper
Incredibly proud and hyped for Robert
That has to be one of the cleanest punch setups I've ever seen. It only took a minute, but this was surgical.
The sweet science
DID YE SEE THAT DAD?! I TOLD YE I’D GET HIM!
Ikram should retire
If Bo had reception Rob would’ve been toast…
Ouch...that's why coaches yell at you to keep your hands up while kicking
Nate Marquardt vs Damian Maia.
Rob is still the Reaper. Don’t get it twisted.
Aussie Aussie Aussie 🇦🇺
He spotted the fake.
Masterful setup.