Taken from MMA Show #132 w/Joaquin Buckley:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2egbRFvKZCKjUzeGGeghE3?si=1623b8a26bf741e8

What are your thoughts on that fight this weekend?

My thoughts on it, bro, is way different from everybody else's, you know what I mean?

Because people call me crazy all the time, but I think it's going to be like the same fight that we've seen Yoel and Izzy with.

Where you got 2 people just staring each other down, you know, not trying to make that move because, you know, they both had the capabilities of knocking each other out.

Or Francis Ngannou versus Derrick Lewis, you know

So, and with everything, the hype being behind this fight too, you know, Izzy is going, hopefully, like I said, if he don't apply his emotions into it, like he hasn't done with every other fight, I feel like he's going to do enough to win, but I feel like Alex Pereira is not going to be able to apply that pressure on Izzy just because he won't have the energy to sustain that for 5 rounds.

of the fact that he's cutting so much weight.

And then plus, we don't see Alex Pereira move a lot anyway.

You only seen with Bruno Silva, where he pushed him up against the cage a lot.

I be seeing guys and I be like, this is why they winning these fights, you

I know that you're not a kickboxer, not a heavy striker, because he more of a grappler.

But Bruno Silva got good power, you know what I'm saying?

So he able to wing some of them punches, because a lot of times, like Bruno Silva be getting his ass whacked.

Jordan Wright was touching Bruno Silva, but then, you know, Jordan Wright just got caught.

him, got caught, and it don't take that much in the four-iron slugs.

And that's why this Pereira fight is so interesting though, because Pereira has that

He just need that 1 shot, but the thing about Izzy, he is patient, and he would, well, We're not gonna call it boring, but he will strategically break you down all night long for 25 minutes But the part if he got it if he got to touch that leg all day He don't touch it.

Yeah, you know if you ain't gonna do nothing about it if you're not gonna answer back That's what he's gonna do, But I feel like in my heart, you know what I mean, that Alex Pereira unfortunately doesn't have the actual ability to fight Izzy the way he needs to win.

But I just think between both of them, it's gonna be a boring fight.

It's not gonna be as exciting as people think it might be.

And that's the thing, Izzy needs that type of exciting fight right now.

We can say Paul Acosta, but that was so, how long, 2020?

So we've been expecting this from the champ because he's so pulverized outside the cage, with the French tits, the pearl necklace, you know what I mean?

Doing all these little videos and and dancing and all that just show me stuff But we want to see that showcase in the cage as well.

You know and that's my biggest thing I'm impressed by Izzy, and I'm a fan of Izzy first off, but I feel like if you don't bring the fight to him, he's not gonna bring it to you.

I mean, people forget that there was quite a few fights where Anderson Silva did the same thing.

He laid Talos Latis, remember that fight?

And I'm like, boy, Damian was mad about that 1, you hear me?

But At the same time, that's the way he won.

Because why would I engage with you knowing what you trying to do?

So like I said, with that being said, I'm not mad at Izzy because he gonna do whatever it takes to keep that belt.

Alex Pereira wants that, but the thing is though, I don't think His ability is gonna beat her in order to take it away from you know And they just gonna be standing right in front of it and it's gonna be a kickboxing bout and they were like Oh, what other ones were kickboxing, but you already seen from Izzy Well, I was a little bit more emotional in those other fights and that's why I lost But then you see the strategic Izzy now.

I don't I don't see Alistair beating him.

Yeah, I take into account what you're saying about the 5 rounds and the weight cut because that is a big factor That's a big factor.

Because Alex is so big, but without the wrestling threat, because Izzy's not really a guy who takes anybody down.

I'm about to say, yeah, who out there wrestling?

So everybody think, like, oh, Izzy gonna turn into a wrestler.

You only fight the way you train, you know?

And not saying you don't work on that element of wrestling, but I don't see Izzy, like, shooting a jab, shooting a cross, shooting a hook, and double leg.

But the thing is, though, now you gotta engage with, and that boy a sniper.

Alex Pereira, can we pull up that, if you don't mind?

With Alex Pereira, with him shooting, like, you know what I'm saying, sniping with the arrows.

bro man, That's crazy because my biggest thing is though like Al Perez the same type of beast to write he's a trap Mm-hmm.

He waits all day and once you expose yourself or you come close enough He hits like Sean Strickland

Yeah, Sean Strickland right in front of him.

Oh, but it wouldn't even just stand right in front he was marching him down with his hands down.

Well, yeah, he keeps his hands like, he has a very strange style.

And it ain't 1 of those special little arrows either, like bow and arrows.

Like, it's 1 of them he just made in the house.

That's a much harder bow to shoot than what I shoot.

I don't know, you know, what kind of preparation he's done in terms of getting himself lighter for a five-round fight and making sure that the cut is not as bad.

And he look like he killing himself to make that weight.

He certainly is losing a lot of weight to make that weight.

He killing himself to get to that weight.

But you see Izzy doing all this press, doing all this stuff.

Now, to be honest with you, I'd be like, it's a positive thing, but at the same time, I ain't never seen him do this much work before, or preparation for a fight, where it comes to like- You mean press?

This is the most I pay attention to these fighters all the time because they in the weight class, right?

So I pay close attention to what they do all the time and especially is because he's a champ, You know so besides it just being ESPN plus you know he got his own YouTube channel and everything like that And I mean like I feel like he didn't amp it up even more and there's nothing wrong with it That's either showing me that you have a lot of confidence You know about yourself, and you able to Take this fight and when say not so serious, but not as serious because you got you doing other stuff on top of this, right?

Asper is only focusing on training and fighting right now.

There ain't no press for him for real for you know I mean, so he's taking it into initiative I'm talking about Izzy to promote this fight as best as he can so you also taking away from your training at the end of the day right so that's but I feel like he think he's good enough to do what he's gonna do in order to take a take time away from his training

but isn't that just what the UFC obligates him to do because he's selling the fight and he has pay-per-view points.

feel like- And he also is the only 1 that speaks English.

But I feel like a lot of stuff he's been doing on his own as well.

Which I don't mind it because you gotta promote the fight.

You gotta do whatever you gotta do in order to get people to buy in, you know?

And to be honest with you, it's not that hard of a buy-in because even with Alex Ferrer not being able to speak English, he's the only person that beat him.

So my thing is, why is Abzalel trying so hard?

Like this is the 1 that, if I wasn't a MMA head, and I was just like, whatever, just watching this stuff, I'm like, oh, okay, that'd be interesting to watch.

Dude that already knocked him out, this dude is undefeated in MMA, but still could be a close fight I'll watch it you know but Izzy is going about his way and like I said I don't know what's going on in his head but I feel like he's not trying to think about the fight itself even though it is the press conference and all this other stuff he's trying to get himself more calm right he want to be around more people I forget who that's another fighter that talked about that and the reason why he always stayed you know in the press and in interviews because it took him away from the fight you know they all right to be in the light I forget what I

the more you do other stuff you could just have fun and it loosens you up

And you ain't got to actually focus on the actual mission itself.

You know, you just go to the mission, you know.

So I don't know, it's 2 ways to go about it, you know?

And I feel like if Izzy goes out, like I said, emotional, he will get caught, you know?

So I feel like he needs to keep doing, like even when he play around, like, oh, I might just kick his leg and just jab him the whole fight.

Because at the same time, that's how you been winning your fights this whole time.


Speaker 0: The Joe Rogan Experience. What are your thoughts on that fight this weekend? Because that's a big fight.

Speaker 1: My thoughts on it, bro, is way different from everybody else's, you know what I mean? Because people call me crazy all the time, but I think it's going to be like the same fight that we've seen Yoel and Izzy with. Where you got 2 people just staring each other down, you know, not trying to make that move because, you know, they both had the capabilities of knocking each other out. Or Francis Ngannou versus Derrick Lewis, you know

Speaker 0: what I mean?

Speaker 1: So, and with everything, the hype being behind this fight too, you know, Izzy is going, hopefully, like I said, if he don't apply his emotions into it, like he hasn't done with every other fight, I feel like he's going to do enough to win, but I feel like Alex Pereira is not going to be able to apply that pressure on Izzy just because he won't have the energy to sustain that for 5 rounds. Remember, this is a 5 round. Right, because

Speaker 0: of the fact that he's cutting so much weight.

Speaker 1: Thank you. You know what I mean? And then plus, we don't see Alex Pereira move a lot anyway. Right. In his fights.

You only seen with Bruno Silva, where he pushed him up against the cage a lot. And that was a good fight

Speaker 0: to watch.

Speaker 1: That's a

Speaker 0: very good fight to watch.

Speaker 1: He got

Speaker 0: hit in that fight.

Speaker 1: Or got touched up real good.

Speaker 0: Bruno Silva's a very good striker.

Speaker 1: Man, big facts, you know. Well, I don't know what to say. But I get what you're saying. He got good power. He's in your weight class.

Yeah, I know, yeah, yeah. I be seeing guys and I be like, this is why they winning these fights, you

Speaker 0: know what

Speaker 1: I mean? So I know that you're not a boxer. I know that you're not a kickboxer, not a heavy striker, because he more of a grappler. But Bruno Silva got good power, you know what I'm saying? So he able to wing some of them punches, because a lot of times, like Bruno Silva be getting his ass whacked.

Even Jordan Wright was touching him. Jordan Wright was touching Bruno Silva, but then, you know, Jordan Wright just got caught. He stood

Speaker 0: in front

Speaker 1: of him. Just stood, exactly, stood in

Speaker 0: front of

Speaker 1: him, got caught, and it don't take that much in the four-iron slugs.

Speaker 0: And that's why this Pereira fight is so interesting though, because Pereira has that

Speaker 1: ridiculous power. He just need that 1 shot, but the thing about Izzy, he is patient, and he would, well, We're not gonna call it boring, but he will strategically break you down all night long for 25 minutes But the part if he got it if he got to touch that leg all day He don't touch it. Yeah, you know if you ain't gonna do nothing about it if you're not gonna answer back That's what he's gonna do, But I feel like in my heart, you know what I mean, that Alex Pereira unfortunately doesn't have the actual ability to fight Izzy the way he needs to win.

Speaker 0: For 5

Speaker 1: rounds. For 5 rounds.

Speaker 0: Because he's so big.

Speaker 1: Yeah, that's 1 of the reasons. But I just think between both of them, it's gonna be a boring fight. It's not gonna be as exciting as people think it might be. And that's the thing, Izzy needs that type of exciting fight right now. Because of the Jared-Kananir fight.

We can say Paul Acosta, but that was so, how long, 2020? You know what I'm saying? So we've been expecting this from the champ because he's so pulverized outside the cage, with the French tits, the pearl necklace, you know what I mean? Doing all these little videos and and dancing and all that just show me stuff But we want to see that showcase in the cage as well. You know and that's my biggest thing I'm impressed by Izzy, and I'm a fan of Izzy first off, but I feel like if you don't bring the fight to him, he's not gonna bring it to you.

That make sense?

Speaker 0: Yes, I feel what you're saying.

Speaker 1: So like he's willing to dance. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, big facts.

Speaker 0: I mean, people forget that there was quite a few fights where Anderson Silva did the same thing. He laid Talos Latis, remember that fight?

Speaker 1: Yes,

Speaker 0: yes. There was many fights where he laid back

Speaker 1: and

Speaker 0: waited for guys to

Speaker 1: come at Anderson. Even better was Damian Mayer. Yes. And you know what I'm saying? And I'm like, boy, Damian was mad about that 1, you hear me?

But At the same time, that's the way he won. You know? Because why would I engage with you knowing what you trying to do? You understand? So like I said, with that being said, I'm not mad at Izzy because he gonna do whatever it takes to keep that belt.

That's the money. You know? Alex Pereira wants that, but the thing is though, I don't think His ability is gonna beat her in order to take it away from you know And they just gonna be standing right in front of it and it's gonna be a kickboxing bout and they were like Oh, what other ones were kickboxing, but you already seen from Izzy Well, I was a little bit more emotional in those other fights and that's why I lost But then you see the strategic Izzy now. I don't I don't see Alistair beating him. Interesting.

Very interesting.

Speaker 0: Yeah, I take into account what you're saying about the 5 rounds and the weight cut because that is a big factor That's a big factor. That's the hugest factor, yeah. Because Alex is so big, but without the wrestling threat, because Izzy's not really a guy who takes anybody down.

Speaker 1: I'm about to say, yeah, who out there wrestling? Right. So everybody think, like, oh, Izzy gonna turn into a wrestler. No, he ain't. No.

You only fight the way you train, you know? And not saying you don't work on that element of wrestling, but I don't see Izzy, like, shooting a jab, shooting a cross, shooting a hook, and double leg. No. That's not gonna happen.

Speaker 0: I mean, if it does, I'll be stunned.

Speaker 1: Oh, I'll be shocked. I'm sure he

Speaker 0: can

Speaker 1: do it. I'll be shocked. But the thing is, though, now you gotta engage with, and that boy a sniper. Alex Pereira, can we pull up that, if you don't mind? Please.

With Alex Pereira, with him shooting, like, you know what I'm saying, sniping with the arrows.

Speaker 0: Yeah when he shot the soccer ball,

Speaker 1: bro man, That's crazy because my biggest thing is though like Al Perez the same type of beast to write he's a trap Mm-hmm. He waits all day and once you expose yourself or you come close enough He hits like Sean Strickland

Speaker 0: Yeah, Sean Strickland right in front of him.

Speaker 1: Oh, but it wouldn't even just stand right in front he was marching him down with his hands down.

Speaker 0: Well, yeah, he keeps his hands like, he has a very strange style.

Speaker 1: Yeah. I ain't gonna lie, this was cold.

Speaker 0: It's pretty bad ass.

Speaker 1: This was cold, man. And it ain't 1 of those special little arrows either, like bow and arrows. Like, it's 1 of them he just made in the house.

Speaker 0: Well, that's a recurve bow.

Speaker 1: He grabbed a stick and grabbed a string.

Speaker 0: Yeah, that's a recurve bow. That's a much harder bow to shoot than what I shoot. I shoot a compound bow. Man. That takes real skill.

Yeah, look at him. That roar that he has is terrifying. Yeah. I'm very excited about this fight, man. I don't know, you know, what kind of preparation he's done in terms of getting himself lighter for a five-round fight and making sure that the cut is not as bad.

I don't know, but he looks shredded

Speaker 1: already. He looks shredded, man. And he look like he killing himself to make that weight. That's all I'm gonna say.

Speaker 0: He certainly is losing a lot of weight to make that weight.

Speaker 1: He killing himself to get to that weight. But like I said, and

Speaker 0: Izzy- But he's done it many, many times.

Speaker 1: But you see Izzy doing all this press, doing all this stuff. Now, to be honest with you, I'd be like, it's a positive thing, but at the same time, I ain't never seen him do this much work before, or preparation for a fight, where it comes to like- You mean press? Yeah, press, yeah, Yeah.

Speaker 0: Yeah, but they make you do that. I mean, this is nice and square garden

Speaker 1: This is the most I pay attention to these fighters all the time because they in the weight class, right? I want to be these guys right? I want to take their belt, right? So I pay close attention to what they do all the time and especially is because he's a champ, You know so besides it just being ESPN plus you know he got his own YouTube channel and everything like that And I mean like I feel like he didn't amp it up even more and there's nothing wrong with it That's either showing me that you have a lot of confidence You know about yourself, and you able to Take this fight and when say not so serious, but not as serious because you got you doing other stuff on top of this, right? Asper is only focusing on training and fighting right now.

There ain't no press for him for real for you know I mean, so he's taking it into initiative I'm talking about Izzy to promote this fight as best as he can so you also taking away from your training at the end of the day right so that's but I feel like he think he's good enough to do what he's gonna do in order to take a take time away from his training

Speaker 0: but isn't that just what the UFC obligates him to do because he's selling the fight and he has pay-per-view points.

Speaker 1: Not with everything.

Speaker 0: But he has pay-per-view points.

Speaker 1: I feel you, but I

Speaker 0: feel like- And he also is the only 1 that speaks English. Alex doesn't speak English. Yeah, yeah,

Speaker 1: true, true story. So that makes it difficult. But I feel like a lot of stuff he's been doing on his own as well. Doing extra stuff, you know? Which I don't mind it because you gotta promote the fight.

You gotta do whatever you gotta do in order to get people to buy in, you know? And to be honest with you, it's not that hard of a buy-in because even with Alex Ferrer not being able to speak English, he's the only person that beat him. Only person that knocked him out, you

Speaker 0: know

Speaker 1: what I'm saying? So that's an easy sell on itself. So my thing is, why is Abzalel trying so hard? You know what I mean? Like this is the 1 that, if I wasn't a MMA head, and I was just like, whatever, just watching this stuff, I'm like, oh, okay, that'd be interesting to watch.

Dude that already knocked him out, this dude is undefeated in MMA, but still could be a close fight I'll watch it you know but Izzy is going about his way and like I said I don't know what's going on in his head but I feel like he's not trying to think about the fight itself even though it is the press conference and all this other stuff he's trying to get himself more calm right he want to be around more people I forget who that's another fighter that talked about that and the reason why he always stayed you know in the press and in interviews because it took him away from the fight you know they all right to be in the light I forget what I

Speaker 0: know you're saying so

Speaker 1: you know

Speaker 0: the more you do other stuff you could just have fun and it loosens you up

Speaker 1: and talk to people.

Speaker 0: Yeah, yeah,

Speaker 1: yeah, big fact, you know. Exactly. And you ain't got to actually focus on the actual mission itself. You know, you just go to the mission, you know. So I don't know, it's 2 ways to go about it, you know?

And I feel like if Izzy goes out, like I said, emotional, he will get caught, you know? So I feel like he needs to keep doing, like even when he play around, like, oh, I might just kick his leg and just jab him the whole fight. Do that. Even with him joking, do that, You know? Because at the same time, that's how you been winning your fights this whole time.

A lot of them. A lot of them.

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Previewing the Stylebender vs. Alex Pereira Fight