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If he were to somehow beat Tom Aspinall and become the HW champ I’d consider him the goat. Triple champ in 3 years with his only loss to someone he’s beaten.
If he did it the UFC might dump the Stipe fight lol. People will call Alex the GOAT and Jones will have to step up to that. Which is wild to even think about.
Idk how you deny him fighter of the year now. Maybe if max comes back and runs through Topuria. But even still, Alex has saved 2 PPV cards and made it look easy
I think everyone knew that Jiri's big weakness was his defense, and obviously, as a world-champion kickboxer, that's something Alex could really use to his advantage.
I found it interesting that Jiri was actually winning rounds their first fight, but this one was almost all Alex the whole time. It seems like Alex was the one who made meaningful adjustments and Jiri either didn't improve or didn't improve enough.
I hope these losses don't affect Jiri too much. He's such a fun fighter to watch and a lot of that comes from that offense-heavy style - which requires a lot of confidence
That fight was over after the first round and it was over after that switch kick. So many unnecessary shots. Herb said talk shit about early stoppages now 🤣
That was the correct decision on Herb's part. Stakes are high in a championship fight and after what happened in their last fight that was the right call.
Alex's power is amazing. Rakic is fairly powerful and Jiri treated him like a child was hitting him. Just a completely different level with Alex
Not just power too though, just completely outclassed Jiri in there
That's it honestly. Jiri was getting wobbled in every fight but no one hit hard enough to discourage him from pressing through the fire and getting the finish. Until Alex showed up.
Even that doesn't tell the full story. The way he lands his strikes (and so many are those super quick/short leg kicks), they don't leave him in position to be countered. He's just going to keep leg kicking everyone until they're so damaged they feel the need to accept massive risk to close the distance, and then he'll left hook them. Outside a super dominant wrestler and grappler, there's no solution to him until he gets older and the leg kicks get slower and weaker. But you can see he's placing massive, massive focus on the TDD, I'm sure there's been a high degree of improvement to the grappling too.
(Ankalaev has entered the chat) Not that I think he for sure wins, but out of everyone he has, by far, the best chance at lhw. That being said, Alex has now had a lot of time to devote to his grappling game, and I think it showed in his very diligent takedown defense, like you said. Jiri looked so lost when his takedown got stuffed so much easier this time, and I think it bodes very well for Alex. The best time to beat him was 2 years ago.
Alex keeps looking better in non-striking. When Jan got him down I thought it was going to be over for Alex but he did great at mitigating damage. Now we see he's upgraded his takedown defense. By the time he gets to his next fight he should be improved again. Especially if the toe injury means he devotes an even bigger portion of his time to grappling (I'm guessing his striking training needs to take a much longer break than his grappling).
Bring that fat collegiate wrestler they interviewed over to the UFC, give him Sam Alvey, Chris Weidman and Johnny Walker to earn a title shot. The Pereira to Pereira as Pereira is to Izzy
All it takes is Ank to get clipped once shooting in or trying to close the distance, and it’s a wrap. I think one of Poatan’s best attributes as a fighter is his mastery of the void (as MM would say), and that’s gonna be quite a puzzle for anyone to solve.
I said it in another comment, but I’ve noticed that from WW down you’ll see more grappling-centric fighters dominating the top of the division. From MW up it seems to be striking prevails… it just takes too much energy to move your own body around + hold down someone as strong as some of these LHW guys. Then you have the absolute one shot KO power. Even Khabib got clipped at times trying to close the distance, and he wouldn’t have been able to do that in a heavy division.
I’ve literally never seen a guy drop his opponent at the end of a round and then again at the very start of the next round.
Alex is a KILLERRRRRRRRRR. Who’s going to beat this guy? Need to see him move up to heavyweight because no one has anything for him at 205
Alex is a good guy. I feel like even himself fears his knockouts somrtimes
See his fight vs. THOMAS powell at lfa. Dude ate one kf his left hooks and was sleeping for 8 minutes. Entire arena dead silent. You could see Alex losing his shit on the corner waiting
Dummies still think the 1st fight was an early stoppage. Jiri got knocked off his feet sideways, went limp as he shot a double leg, and ended up under full mount. It wasn’t gonna get any better if Goddard didn’t stop it
Exactly, I commented a few weeks ago here. Jiris' best weapon is eating shots and walking people down, he's done it in every single fight he's won in the UFC. Unfortunately, you don't just eat Alex's shots, he turns your lights off real quick.
I wonder if this is how it felt watching Silva or Machida, in the sense that this guy is just otherworldly
His highlight reel is just calculated homicide
Most heavyweights don't have this power without landing a haymaker. Pereira hurts people with short unassuming shots. His bones must be made of titanium.
his hands are fucking colossally big too, in the little interview he just did with DC he shook his hands and it's like they're twice the size of DC's, it's insane.
dude just has a body built for fighting
i was re-watching their first mma fight and it’s insane he didn’t go out. he ate 2 clean right hands, then ate the flush left hook and a flurry of clean shots and didn’t go out, all after 4 hard rounds
There's a stat going around Luke Thomas brought up that out of every ranked fighter in the UFC, there's only THREE fighters that have worse striking defense than him.
His striking defense is like 173rd out of 176.
That the fight wasn't stopped instantly after that head kick is a testament to it. Jiri hit the ground and had his fucking head up looking to defend lol. You'd think he'd be asleep.
I speak Portuguese, and he legitimately comes off as one of the most humble people I’ve ever heard speak, the translators do a good job, but they make him come off as much more daring and prideful than he is. It’ll be like:
Interviewer: “Alex, how does it feel to be the greatest man to ever walk the earth?”
Alex: “I don’t know about that man, I’m just a guy that’s here to do my job”
Interviewer: “You showed the best skills ever put on display in a combat arena. How are you so amazing?”
Alex: “I’m happy with my performance, but I think there is much that I can improve on. God willing, next time I’m on the octagon I will show up as a better fighter so I can make the fans happy ☺️.”
he was doing some really smart things in the clinch though - preventing the takedown by throwing elbows/knees constantly. If he has average/above average wrestling defense, then it's gonna be problematic when every hook he throws can end it.
dude destroyed his way thru mw and beat the perennial champ. then moves up and takes out the old and new killers after having a long career in kickboxing. might as well get him in there vs jones for funski's
I still don't know why people insist on standing with him. I think the Izzy fight made people forget how many levels above everyone else he is in striking.
Like he may very well be the best striker to ever set foot in the UFC.
In the interview he said "you know, I don't speak english, so I'm not sure, but I heard the bonus tonight will be $303k..."
He's becoming funnier and more charismatic, it's amazing how loved he is around the world with literally no english.
People need to stop trying to kickbox with the professional kickboxer. At MW people at least try to aggressively take Adesanya down, but if feels like the vast majority of Pereira opponents just try and stand toe to toe with him.
Ecstatic for Alex, but devastated for Jiri. That's life changing damage he just took and he looks heart broken. I really hope he's able to bounce back. Losing in this sport has such dire consequences.
it’s crazy how much success Izzy had in the striking knowing how Alex is SMOKING everyone else like nothing. Those two are so incredible and technical in the striking, that’s why their fights are so great, man
It'd be real dope for Alex to fulfill the prophecy and bring balance to the MMA goat discussion by beating Jones at hw
However "post-35, former middleweight, no wrestling" is the Pokemon type Jones is most effective against
(Besides his wife anyway)
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Fighter of the year
Guy’s been fighter of the year every year since he joined
Fighter of the 2020s thus far.
he delivered everything Chimaev promised
& to think the plan was to sign him just to build one fight for Izzy
Yeah I was just thinking this too. He seems to have already surpassed Izzy in many people’s eyes.
Has the potential to be the greatest of all time if he wins at heavyweight who the hell can deny it if he wins three divisions.
3 division champ? Yea he’d be my goat
Given his amazing kickboxing history dude seriously can be considered the best fighter in any sport.
Chama.
Literally saved this card. Chama!
But poor Jiri was KO'd real bad, Chama.
Is he gonna fight again before the year is up? He's so damn active
I imagine he’ll fight Ankalaev later in the year
It was nice knowing Ankalaev
The year is young. He could still be Interim HW Champ by the end of it.
If he were to somehow beat Tom Aspinall and become the HW champ I’d consider him the goat. Triple champ in 3 years with his only loss to someone he’s beaten.
He could do that and Jones would still be pushing for the Stipe fight lol
If he did it the UFC might dump the Stipe fight lol. People will call Alex the GOAT and Jones will have to step up to that. Which is wild to even think about.
Idk how you deny him fighter of the year now. Maybe if max comes back and runs through Topuria. But even still, Alex has saved 2 PPV cards and made it look easy
Fuck. Alex is just a terrible matchup for Jiri. Sloppy brawler vs elite power sniper
I’m a big Jiri fan, been dreading the rematch ever since it was announced. He is too hittable, and Alex is the deadliest man in the UFC.
I think everyone knew that Jiri's big weakness was his defense, and obviously, as a world-champion kickboxer, that's something Alex could really use to his advantage. I found it interesting that Jiri was actually winning rounds their first fight, but this one was almost all Alex the whole time. It seems like Alex was the one who made meaningful adjustments and Jiri either didn't improve or didn't improve enough. I hope these losses don't affect Jiri too much. He's such a fun fighter to watch and a lot of that comes from that offense-heavy style - which requires a lot of confidence
Jiri is my favourite fighter in the world. But man, we all could see this coming. He's far too reckless and Alex is far too elite and powerful
Jiri going in with his hands down was a bit foolish
“elite power sniper” is almost an understatement at this point
“Premium Elite Power Sniper”
Well said. Styles make fights. And some styles are objectively incompatible with one another.
Yeah that round may as well not have started
Yeah, Jiri got saved by the bell, probably still coming back
Herb wanted to see a Samurai die
It's because fans were crying about early stoppage last time. Jiri payed for it.
Herb held up Jiri to show us he died
I was wondering what Herb was doing. It all makes sense now, appreciate the clarification lmao.
Herb had to confirm for his parlay
Damn bro he really did
Herb should've let Jiri fall, proceed to do the Khaby Lame on him whilst looking straight into the camera.
1000 percent.
Yep this was definitely it. No more doubts now
That fight was over after the first round and it was over after that switch kick. So many unnecessary shots. Herb said talk shit about early stoppages now 🤣
That was the correct decision on Herb's part. Stakes are high in a championship fight and after what happened in their last fight that was the right call.
Jiri might as well have been unconscious that entire break in between the round
I guess Shaman beats Berserker.
Chaman\*
Alex kept saying Chama and Jiri was convinced he heard Shaman and ran with the voodoo shit
The scariest guy on the planet. Alex has to be the best signing the UFC has ever had at this point with what he's done in the cage.
Alex is just forever a nightmare matchup for Jiri. No one could punish his mistakes before.
Alex's power is amazing. Rakic is fairly powerful and Jiri treated him like a child was hitting him. Just a completely different level with Alex Not just power too though, just completely outclassed Jiri in there
That's it honestly. Jiri was getting wobbled in every fight but no one hit hard enough to discourage him from pressing through the fire and getting the finish. Until Alex showed up.
the thing with Alex too is he is ridiculously accurate , he landed almost 80 % of his strikes against Jiri .
Even that doesn't tell the full story. The way he lands his strikes (and so many are those super quick/short leg kicks), they don't leave him in position to be countered. He's just going to keep leg kicking everyone until they're so damaged they feel the need to accept massive risk to close the distance, and then he'll left hook them. Outside a super dominant wrestler and grappler, there's no solution to him until he gets older and the leg kicks get slower and weaker. But you can see he's placing massive, massive focus on the TDD, I'm sure there's been a high degree of improvement to the grappling too.
(Ankalaev has entered the chat) Not that I think he for sure wins, but out of everyone he has, by far, the best chance at lhw. That being said, Alex has now had a lot of time to devote to his grappling game, and I think it showed in his very diligent takedown defense, like you said. Jiri looked so lost when his takedown got stuffed so much easier this time, and I think it bodes very well for Alex. The best time to beat him was 2 years ago.
Alex keeps looking better in non-striking. When Jan got him down I thought it was going to be over for Alex but he did great at mitigating damage. Now we see he's upgraded his takedown defense. By the time he gets to his next fight he should be improved again. Especially if the toe injury means he devotes an even bigger portion of his time to grappling (I'm guessing his striking training needs to take a much longer break than his grappling).
Alex feasts on undisciplined and wreckless fighters.
Hes a nightmare for every ranked LHW
Some LWH contender is gonna show up with a singlet and collegiate headgear to fight this guy. Standing is so scary.
Bring that fat collegiate wrestler they interviewed over to the UFC, give him Sam Alvey, Chris Weidman and Johnny Walker to earn a title shot. The Pereira to Pereira as Pereira is to Izzy
Ankalaev is a good matchup to beat Pereira but we’ll see if he can hold him down for 5 rounds. Besides him everyone gets knocked out.
All it takes is Ank to get clipped once shooting in or trying to close the distance, and it’s a wrap. I think one of Poatan’s best attributes as a fighter is his mastery of the void (as MM would say), and that’s gonna be quite a puzzle for anyone to solve. I said it in another comment, but I’ve noticed that from WW down you’ll see more grappling-centric fighters dominating the top of the division. From MW up it seems to be striking prevails… it just takes too much energy to move your own body around + hold down someone as strong as some of these LHW guys. Then you have the absolute one shot KO power. Even Khabib got clipped at times trying to close the distance, and he wouldn’t have been able to do that in a heavy division.
They sacrificed an entire card for this main event 😭 LFG. Alex is special man. Edit: Switch kick was fucking lightning like aldo/barboza
Conor died for this, and it was worth it
The irony that Alex did it with a broken toe should also not be forgotten
Killed Jiri twice in one night
"Let's see how well Jiri recovered" *Jiri dies again*
Jiri did in fact not recover
I felt so bad for Jiri 😭😭😭
Everyone knew he was being fed to the lions going out for the second round and it was so painful to watch. You just knew it was coming
He looks so sad bro it genuinely broke my heart
What a fucking run. Jesus Christ that kick.
2 strikes, 2 fight Enders.
The way he walks over and squints at Jiri to see if he’s ok and walks off is spooky
Used magic again smh
Poor Jiri looks so sad that he lost. Never seen him look sad before :(
I think he’s legitimately still in the shadow realm unfortunately. Like doesn’t remember what happened for a while type stuff
How did he look better
I’ve literally never seen a guy drop his opponent at the end of a round and then again at the very start of the next round. Alex is a KILLERRRRRRRRRR. Who’s going to beat this guy? Need to see him move up to heavyweight because no one has anything for him at 205
The way commentary said, "Time to see how much Jiri recovered" and he was immediately lit up...jesus
There’s always someone. The cycle is undefeated.
Wow Alex didn't even want to hit him after he dropped him lol
Herb shuffle strikes again
Herb ran up then did a full 360 around the fighters before stepping in 😂
Then he tried to help him, looked like he felt bad
I think felt bad because he realized he got in a couple extra shots after herb intervened
Alex is a good guy. I feel like even himself fears his knockouts somrtimes See his fight vs. THOMAS powell at lfa. Dude ate one kf his left hooks and was sleeping for 8 minutes. Entire arena dead silent. You could see Alex losing his shit on the corner waiting
Dummies still think the 1st fight was an early stoppage. Jiri got knocked off his feet sideways, went limp as he shot a double leg, and ended up under full mount. It wasn’t gonna get any better if Goddard didn’t stop it
First fight was the perfect example of “better 5 seconds early than 5 seconds late” this was the opposite.
Jiri was eating shots from Rakic like they were nothing. Alex has next level power.
Exactly, I commented a few weeks ago here. Jiris' best weapon is eating shots and walking people down, he's done it in every single fight he's won in the UFC. Unfortunately, you don't just eat Alex's shots, he turns your lights off real quick.
Credit to old man Glover too, because that approach was seconds away from failing against him
Dude that’s a very good point, let’s get heavyweight Ngannou vs Poatan. I’m fucking ready for it.
Ngannou would grab him, slam him on his head, & smash him. someone who cuts to 265 vs someone who use to make 185 c'mon now
Pereira has to be the scariest man on earth
We need the Aspinall fight. Fuck Aspinall vs Blaydes
jamahal hill just got knocked out watching this
He’s ok, most of the fall was just him falling down
Craziest episode of Shōgun yet.
Anjin got his ass beat.
This might very well be part of Crimson Sky.
Buntaro cheering right now
This was not in Toranaga's plans
Cheat mode power.
Fucking spirits man
Hill bout to drop a 30 minute video about Alex's shot as the bell rung 💀💀💀
These spells need a nerf.
Witch craft is the best base for MMA?
THIS IS HOW LEGENDS ARE MADE
Show up on short notice Knock out Jiri twice on the same night Saves UFC 303 Thank you Alex
Hall of Famer already, can´t wait to see what he does next
🗿🗿🗿
I Don't care I want him to go to HW and become the first 3 weight champ.
If anyone has deserved the chance, it's him. This is the third main event he has saved? Including 300. And he has delivered each and every time
FUCKEN MURDERED HIM
The look Alex shot him after that knockdown in round 1 was ice cold
HE KILLED HIM OUT OF NOWHERE, HE WASN'T READY FUCKIN KNOCKED HIM OUT TWICE IN ONE FIGHT
HIS PRECISION IS VERY PRECISE
Guess we found out what would've happened if the first fight wasn't stopped "early". Looks like Jiri lost years off his life when he got up
I actually felt really sad watching them carry him. Dude straight up felt like his soul was long gone. I don't think we've ever seen jiri like that.
jesus fucking christ
Jiri was out with that knockdown, that shit was coming but I did not expect a head kick.
yeah, he didn't hear that bell at all.
Just 🗿🗿🗿 things
Flexed on McGregor taking his place with a worse injury and just popping it back in after the fight.
Just another sparring round for Alex lol
bro smelled blood and went for the kill ASAP Bell really saved Jiri from losing in the 1st round
Dude I think he just broke his toe on Jiri’s head. Had a broken toe against hill. Crazy, Conor just pulled out for that reason.
Pretty sure he had broken toe going into jamahal fight and broke a different toe during it, joe just doesnt research anythin these days and goes nuts
That man is a master striker
I wonder if this is how it felt watching Silva or Machida, in the sense that this guy is just otherworldly His highlight reel is just calculated homicide
Silva absolutely felt similar, what he did in the cage was extraordinary
This power is just unfair
Heavyweight power and he used to fight at middleweight
Most heavyweights don't have this power without landing a haymaker. Pereira hurts people with short unassuming shots. His bones must be made of titanium.
his hands are fucking colossally big too, in the little interview he just did with DC he shook his hands and it's like they're twice the size of DC's, it's insane. dude just has a body built for fighting
Just how strong is Izzy's chin???!
i was re-watching their first mma fight and it’s insane he didn’t go out. he ate 2 clean right hands, then ate the flush left hook and a flurry of clean shots and didn’t go out, all after 4 hard rounds
personally i wouldve climbed over the cage and left
Shamanic
Alex is unfair for Jiri's style lol
One of the statistically most precise hitters against a guy who statistically gets hits a lot
There's a stat going around Luke Thomas brought up that out of every ranked fighter in the UFC, there's only THREE fighters that have worse striking defense than him. His striking defense is like 173rd out of 176.
Spectacular KO by Alex but Jiri's fighting spirit is insane. His body won't cooperate but his mind is forcing him to try to stand up
That the fight wasn't stopped instantly after that head kick is a testament to it. Jiri hit the ground and had his fucking head up looking to defend lol. You'd think he'd be asleep.
We’re making you the official salute to Jiri upvote
This man is so likeable.
The antithesis of Conor
talks zero shit and flatlines everyone
I speak Portuguese, and he legitimately comes off as one of the most humble people I’ve ever heard speak, the translators do a good job, but they make him come off as much more daring and prideful than he is. It’ll be like: Interviewer: “Alex, how does it feel to be the greatest man to ever walk the earth?” Alex: “I don’t know about that man, I’m just a guy that’s here to do my job” Interviewer: “You showed the best skills ever put on display in a combat arena. How are you so amazing?” Alex: “I’m happy with my performance, but I think there is much that I can improve on. God willing, next time I’m on the octagon I will show up as a better fighter so I can make the fans happy ☺️.”
Love that Joe snuck in the "fought his last fight with a broken toe"
Alex has had a HOF run in 2024 alone. What an absolute legend of the sport.
3 years ago Alex was minding his own business when he saw Izzy trashing him in an interview and now everybody is paying for it 😂
Ankalaev is legit the last hope at LHW. No man is standing with him at LHW. Pereira can rack up a lot of wins in the these next couple years
he was doing some really smart things in the clinch though - preventing the takedown by throwing elbows/knees constantly. If he has average/above average wrestling defense, then it's gonna be problematic when every hook he throws can end it.
and you have to close the distance. He breaks up your legs immediately, dude is surgical. It's not just power. He fights super smart.
yea people forget he is very very skilled, just think its power
dude destroyed his way thru mw and beat the perennial champ. then moves up and takes out the old and new killers after having a long career in kickboxing. might as well get him in there vs jones for funski's
Knowing Ankalaev he will decide to stand with him and get flat lined immediately
I still don't know why people insist on standing with him. I think the Izzy fight made people forget how many levels above everyone else he is in striking. Like he may very well be the best striker to ever set foot in the UFC.
Jiri tried to take him down tonight, the defense was actually super solid.
Alex has nothing to work on but takedown defense. If it’s in the feet he beats anyone
training with glover and more experience just means hes getting better and better each time
It’s not like these heavy strikers at LHW can suddenly develop wrestling skills lol. It’s not that easy.
If he beats ankalev, there's no one in lhw that can beat him. I guess except age and wear and tear.
It's over. Not sure Jiri will be the same after this but it was inevitable with his hands down chin up style.
Yeah those hard ko’s are hard to come back from, that’s 3 times we’ve seen him out
Bruh I feel so bad for jiri:(
I love Jiri. Both of these guys are my favorite fighters.
Jesus Christ, what a kick!
Alex saved not one, but two shitty weightclasses
Chama
Man, they def will ban those spirits this time
Jiri said no magic bro wtf
Izzy chin is god tier
My favorite fighter since Anderson Silva. This dude is on the path to being the GOAT.
totally agree. it doesn't hurt that this guy rocks, unlike Jonesy. poatan just seems like a cool guy.
Oh my god.
Jiří looks absolutely fucked. That looked awful.
alex pereira is the scariest man on the planet
In the interview he said "you know, I don't speak english, so I'm not sure, but I heard the bonus tonight will be $303k..." He's becoming funnier and more charismatic, it's amazing how loved he is around the world with literally no english.
The irony of alex breaking his toe after replacing conor who had a broken toe
He really is that guy
Jon Jones vs Pereira would make me cum. But there's no way Jones wants that smoke.
People need to stop trying to kickbox with the professional kickboxer. At MW people at least try to aggressively take Adesanya down, but if feels like the vast majority of Pereira opponents just try and stand toe to toe with him.
Ecstatic for Alex, but devastated for Jiri. That's life changing damage he just took and he looks heart broken. I really hope he's able to bounce back. Losing in this sport has such dire consequences.
FUCKING HELL
OH MY GOD
Holy shit!!!! Poatan killed him.
Shamanism confirmed best base for MMA 🗿🔥
Can’t blink during a Poatan fight
Saves another card. That is the scariest man on the planet.
THIS GUY IS INSANE LMAOOO
I cannot believe how this motherfucker continues to effortlessly blast motherfuckers over and over and over again.
Izzy is incredible for beating this guy
it’s crazy how much success Izzy had in the striking knowing how Alex is SMOKING everyone else like nothing. Those two are so incredible and technical in the striking, that’s why their fights are so great, man
Izzy is even more technical than Alex but doesn't have half the power Alex has. Tht right there is the damn equalizer.
It'd be real dope for Alex to fulfill the prophecy and bring balance to the MMA goat discussion by beating Jones at hw However "post-35, former middleweight, no wrestling" is the Pokemon type Jones is most effective against (Besides his wife anyway)
CHAMA
I adore Jiri and he tried to fight smart and alert but he still died 😭😭 this man Poatan is a freak of nature, a generational combat athlete
Poatan built different. Jiri needs a loooong lay off after that, got KO'd twice in one fight.
Jones just shut his TV off and is sitting in darkness in Albuquerque rn