Rewatch Alex Pereira vs Jiri Prochazka | FULL FIGHT |

[HHJ]

Good fight, would love to see rematch. Jiri was doing very well offensively. He just had to find out how to deal w kicks next time. Still he did really good and then got a little too sloppy and that's when he got caught

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Good fight, would love to see rematch. Jiri was doing very well offensively. He just had to find out how to deal w kicks next time. Still he did really good and then got a little too sloppy and that's when he got caught

I just don't think Jiri knows how to deal with calculated out-fighters; when Reyes was able to be confident and use his footwork he drew Jiri in and was rocking Jiri's whole shit repeatedly, it's just Jiri is so tough he walked through it.

But those AP leg kicks are a game-changer; the reason Jiri got sloppy was that he had no base and couldn't properly measure the distance/control his feet when blitzing. Watch him against Reyes or Oz when he has his legs he moves with bounce and doesn't just fall forward into the pocket/clinch.

I love Jiri but his leg kick defense is non-existent; he needs to take a gambit approach and try to blitz early before AP gets the reads/timing and takes his legs to pieces.

 

[Fatback96]

This fight had the most intense stare down I've seen in a long time

Too bad they didn’t even include it in the video. What a WASTE

 

[moreorless87]

I just don't think Jiri knows how to deal with calculated out-fighters; when Reyes was able to be confident and use his footwork he drew Jiri in and was rocking Jiri's whole shit repeatedly, it's just Jiri is so tough he walked through it.

But those AP leg kicks are a game-changer; the reason Jiri got sloppy was that he had no base and couldn't properly measure the distance/control his feet when blitzing. Watch him against Reyes or Oz when he has his legs he moves with bounce and doesn't just fall forward into the pocket/clinch.

I love Jiri but his leg kick defense is non-existent; he needs to take a gambit approach and try to blitz early before AP gets the reads/timing and takes his legs to pieces.

Although honestly in that fight I feel Jiri was a bit unlucky not to get the finish early, he was landing bombs on Reyes which were hurting him a bit but not putting him away until he absolutely destroyed him with that elbow.

As you say though I think Alex is a tough match because Jiri depends so much on trying to rush people down rather than defending lowkicks, against Alex he's facing nasty brutal lowkicks which could end a fight in a min or two if he's allowed to really work them BUT he's also facing a really dangerous counter hook which makes bullrushing dangerous.

Rewatching the match I think Jiri did a bit worse than I remember, its competitive and he lands some decent stuff on Alex but doesnt look like he really hurts him whilst the lowkicks in the first round do really have an effect, moreso than I remember. Wouldnt mind seeing it again but I have a feeling Jiri would need to finish to win, 25 mins is a lot to survive those lowkicks.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

Although honestly in that fight I feel Jiri was a bit unlucky not to get the finish early, he was landing bombs on Reyes which were hurting him a bit but not putting him away until he absolutely destroyed him with that elbow.

As you say though I think Alex is a tough match because Jiri depends so much on trying to rush people down rather than defending lowkicks, against Alex he's facing nasty brutal lowkicks which could end a fight in a min or two if he's allowed to really work them BUT he's also facing a really dangerous counter hook which makes bullrushing dangerous.

Rewatching the match I think Jiri did a bit worse than I remember, its competitive and he lands some decent stuff on Alex but doesnt look like he really hurts him whilst the lowkicks in the first round do really have an effect, moreso than I remember. Wouldnt mind seeing it again but I have a feeling Jiri would need to finish to win, 25 mins is a lot to survive those lowkicks.

Jiri started the Reyes fight on-fire but faded to start the second and Reyes got a second wind and started piecing him up, he got rocked before the takedown/upkick (flash KO) sequence, so it wasn't just a "one-off" strike he got touched with, he was getting lit up prior.

Re-watching Jiri did really poorly to start the fight and basically dug himself a hole from which he couldn't climb out - dude basically was crippled on one leg halfway into the first round, you just can't let AP get confident in his low-kicking range because after the 2nd or 3rd one you won't be the same fighter.

Jiri depends so much on being dynamic and surprising guys with his speed/movement for someone that size (very awkward and rushed but still fast and surprising); once that leg is crippled he loses his base to explode and it becomes predictable, on top of him losing power and footwork.

Even though he has the left hook of death you have to be willing to risk it to threaten AP; the way to beat him is by getting in the pocket or wrestling with him, not standing on the edge of kicking range trying to take turns with single techniques.

 

[HHJ]

I mean i thought Jiri had the fight well in,until the final exchange, got a bit too overconfident and dropped his discipline. That is where he got caught. Got a little too reckless. Before that,he was kind of keeping his cool in the exchanges and backing Poatan up. Landing shots that most arent able to get against him.

 

[LeBron]

This fight had the most intense stare down I've seen in a long time

What about this?

 

[shunyata]

That left hook was nasty. its crazy how he can generate that much power in awkward/unbalanced positions

Yeah, on rewatch I hard disagree with the commentary team about that being a possible early stoppage.

Jiri went limp at the end, his arms drooped, and he rolled back.

He wasn't "pulling mount", he was flash ko'd and woke up when his back hit the mat.

 

[HHJ]

Yeah, on rewatch I hard disagree with the commentary team about that being a possible early stoppage.

Jiri went limp at the end, his arms drooped, and he rolled back.

He wasn't "pulling mount", he was flash ko'd and woke up when his back hit the mat.

I mean I cant fault the ref after he saw Jiri go limp. Once that happens, he has to do his job.

 

[VinceArch]

I wouldn't mind a rematch down the road. Jiri will most likely be back as a contender when he smashes Rakjic.

 

[moreorless87]

Jiri started the Reyes fight on-fire but faded to start the second and Reyes got a second wind and started piecing him up, he got rocked before the takedown/upkick (flash KO) sequence, so it wasn't just a "one-off" strike he got touched with, he was getting lit up prior.

Re-watching Jiri did really poorly to start the fight and basically dug himself a hole from which he couldn't climb out - dude basically was crippled on one leg halfway into the first round, you just can't let AP get confident in his low-kicking range because after the 2nd or 3rd one you won't be the same fighter.

Jiri depends so much on being dynamic and surprising guys with his speed/movement for someone that size (very awkward and rushed but still fast and surprising); once that leg is crippled he loses his base to explode and it becomes predictable, on top of him losing power and footwork.

Even though he has the left hook of death you have to be willing to risk it to threaten AP; the way to beat him is by getting in the pocket or wrestling with him, not standing on the edge of kicking range trying to take turns with single techniques.

I do think with what he landed on Reyes in the 1st round though you would normally have expected to finish a fight, as with Volkan I think there was a bit of bad luck there that he didnt end it earlier and both times essentially needed to land an almost perfect KO shot to put his opponent away.

I would say with Alex look you can't really look to something like the Bruno Silva fight to judge how to fight him today, at that stage his grappling was more limited and he was easier to get on the defensive by the threat of it.

 

[method115]

The leg kick that took Jiri off his feet got the crowd’s attention, for sure.

It you don’t come into a fight against Alex with an actual gameplan to avoid getting hobbled. You’re pretty much fucked already, imo. If you can’t check like Jan.. You need to KO/Submit Alex. And do it within 10 minutes. Or it can become a major issue.

Hill’s team better be ready for that.

I think the issue is getting ready for it is a lot harder than you would think. Even Izzy had trouble in the rematch and it was part of the reason he lost the last fight.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

I think the issue is getting ready for it is a lot harder than you would think. Even Izzy had trouble in the rematch and it was part of the reason he lost the last fight.

I don't think you can truly "get ready for it" in the sense that you can't learn how to effectively check calf kicks from arguably the best calf kicker we've ever seen in a year.

In fact, it just might be impossible - you can't just decide to become Jose Aldo/Jan B., those fighters were molded by unique fighting journey's. No matter how much a fighter might try to learn these techniques many times they still won't be able to effectively implement them in a fight (at least consistently against a high-level low-kicker).

But that doesn't mean you have to focus on just checking them - it's an MMA fight, not a pure stand-up fight, so the key is really to look at the situations where guys can utilize calf-kicks and how to avoid/counter those situations.

The opening for calf-kicks typically comes from sitting just outside the edge of boxing range and having no blend of bounce/feints. Essentially you are just sitting inside the edge of kicking range (where only low-kicks are available unless someone takes a big step forward) daring each other to throw first.

In those situations the fighter being offensive can momentarily distract to create an opening to crack that low kick before most opponents can typically react. So the key is to really avoid being at that range without having some sort of movement and offensive threat - you stay further outside to make them come to you and you can collapse the pocket on your terms, you use a throwaway strike to collapse the pocket yourself, you feint level changes as you pressure to discourage low-kicks, etc.

Now all of these strategies have their own risks, but for me personally I'd rather do anything than sit on the edge of boxing range against an elite calf-kicker. It's basically a guaranteed way to lose slowly, so you might as well take a different approach since they'll all have a higher probability of victory.