Hoping Bobby Knuckles doesn't get knocked out again. I expect a controlled game plan from him this time; lots of clinching and grappling hopefully.
There is just something about Izzy...he has all the skills but he puts on some real boring fights. He is too tentative for how skilled he is. He should have put Whittaker down. I scored it 48-47 Adesanya. It felt like a sparring session. I was fine with 49-46 Izzy but I also would have been okay with 48-47 Whittaker. I think Bobby should have tried more takedowns. Even though Izzy was getting up from them; they were still landing and still counting for him. In any of the rounds he landed takedowns in, if he would have landed one more he probably wins that fight. Two judges had it 48-47 Izzy. Another secured takedown probably flips those two rounds to Whittaker.
Results Israel Adesanya def. Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) Tai Tuivasa def. Derrick Lewis via knockout (elbow) – Round 2, 1:40 Jared Cannonier def. Derek Brunson via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 4:29 Renato Moicano def. Alexander Hernandez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:23 Bobby Green def. Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Andrei Arlovski def. Jared Vanderaa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Casey O’Neill def. Roxanne Modafferi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Kyler Phillips def. Marcelo Rojo via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 1:48 Carlos Ulberg def. Fabio Cherant via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Ronnie Lawrence def. Mana Martinez via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28) Jacob Malkoun def. AJ Dobson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Sergey Morozov via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:34 Jeremiah Wells def. Blood Diamond via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:38 Maxim Grishin def. William Knight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)