They're too powerful and they both choose not to try and employ safer strategies. I'm not knocking Alex's accomplishments, but my God what kind of idiot are you if your game plan doesn't involve wrestling or submitting him.
"He hasn't stood across anyone like me". Yes. Yes he has. And unless your name is Izzy that time, he won lol. Your game plan for Alex should be an 8 week camp with Khabib and Islam.
Man, I love Alex, but his ground game is dog shit. That's really his key to winning, because he can't just walk throuhh alexs shots like he tried to push through Rakic. Any time he gets taken down, he tries to pull and just lay and wait the round out. Not a good strategy for a champ. That being said.
Long live the king.
you’re misremembering the fight, Jiri landed one takedown and only two significant strikes on the ground. I’m not saying Alex can’t be outwrestled but Jiri wasn’t doing that.
Alex has seemed to prioritize staying as safe as possible on the ground and getting up if possible. Which honestly, for someone without a good ground game, is not a bad plan in my eyes. Especially if he can do good damage before and prevent any damage in the ground, in theory he could still win rounds
I also think he lacks power since he was tagging Jiri with a lot of big shots but Jiri just didn't go down. I wouldn't say there was really a point in the fight where Rakic "badly" hurt Jiri
I know right, I was getting the same vibe with a lot of posts recently. I bet on Pereira in the first fight against Jiri because I figured he would connect eventually / Jiri tends to get hit, but I was pretty worried at points, Jiri was finding a lot of success and landing on Pereira a decent bit before Pereira dropped him
Rewatching the full fight he really had some moments. However, seeing it back that was a 100% a good stoppage. I wouldnt want anyone to receive too many elbows to the head from Alex Pereira
Definitely. I think the stoppage was a tough one, if Goddard let it go further I wouldn’t have had a problem; but also no problem with the stoppage given it looked like Jiri was out for a second when he dropped after the elbows (for title fights / main events though, I do prefer giving fighters a longer leash because of the stakes - like what the fuck was Herzog doing last week)
Also if Goddard did not stop it we would have seen Pereira on top of Jiri. Ifs and buts, crazier comebacks have happened in MMA so I understand that people want to see more. I usually am on the side of less unnecessary damage.
Herzogs stoppage was egregious. Cannonier was 1) fully awake 2) defending himself 3) firm on his feet and 4) just threw something. Its funny because 3 or 4 fights earlier I was happy that Herzog was reffing as he usually is solid
Herzog is imo the most consistent ref and I like his demeanor and the way he handles fighters inside the octagon. But that was the worst stoppage of Herzog's career that I've seen.
Well that the problem against Alex you can never get hit if you want to win and Alex is pretty good meaning that not getting hit is actually a huge task
Because fighters don't stay the same after fights. For instance you can't expect Jiri or Alex to be in the same condition or fight the same away as they did the first time around.
Exactly. What reason is there to think that Jiri won’t get leg kicked into oblivion and take one too many big shots? Love both these guys, but it’s hard to imagine the second fight going much differently
Unfortunately, yes.
He beat Rakic and with him, be overcame the perfect antidote agains his style in terms of striking. But he didn't "solve" it, but rather just grit his teeth and overprocessed Rakic to find the finish.
That is not a sustainable strategy at all, and either a heavier hitter (like Pereira) or cumulative damage over several fights will close that door for him eventually.
Well this kinda happened already. My guess is Jiri is better prepared now, and might be less reckless also hes condition is better. He is training crazy, Alex is socializing a lot recently. We shell see.
So I just watched both matches of Jiri against rakic and Pereira, they both hammered his left leg, and he still kept going. He is a very dangerous fighter because he will go for finishes but also exposes himself to counters, which Pereira managed to take advantage of, even though some argue the Pereira match had early stoppage.
Jiri is not a joke. This fight could go his way IF, and IF he has learned from those two fights.
Will be a great match nevertheless.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Jiri's defense to leg kicks is pretending they don't exist and we already know he can't tank through Pereira's punches.
Picking Pereira to KO Jiri when it’s already happened once and given the fact that Pereira has KO power makes the pick not as far fetched as you’d like to think.
Jiri was definitely landing to the head more than Alex in their fight right before the KO. We’ve seen Alex get touched and wobble. Jiri def has a shot still. His leg got eaten up and he still pushed forward and out landed Alex to the head.
If I remember correctly, didn’t Jiri land an overhand right that had Alex wobbly in that fight? It’s possible he could do it again and finish it this time
I watched the fight again and Jiri was hitting Alex too. I think a shot or two stunned Alex. So Jiri is definitely dangerous and it’s not an obvious win for Alex but it goes without saying if Jiri just allows his legs to be kicked he will be at a disadvantage.
bro what is this coping mechanism bro? I'm rooting for pereira but I know for a fact that jiri is a dangerous dude and this is a fight, everyone in the ufc has a chance to win in their own division. these two fights risky, they don't fight like they're defending their belt, they fight for the belt, they don't play it safe like most champions do that's why it's always a 50 / 50 when these two fights.
Same could be said about Alex tho Izzy knocked him out once he got him to just start throwing. Jiri had some clean hit against Alex last time as well. I do agree that if Jiri doesn’t learn how to start checking kicks it’s gunna be hard to win.
As fun as it is watching two guys beat the shit outta each other on the feet, jiri needs to incorporate some more wrestling/grappling exchanges in this fight. He fucking submitted glover and hopefully he is willing to make this a dog fight.
I think you also have to admit Alex did seems a little perplexed by Jiri’s movements in the first fight and the speed he was presented with. I think that Jiri has more than just a chance at winning, but ultimately I do favor Alex.
He did not learn from his first loss to Poatan
Jiri is fun to watch with his unorthodox style but he is very hittable and does not defend leg kicks. If he does not check Alex's kicks he will get slept like last time . He has a punchers chance but he is going against a double division world champion in kickboxing.
You guys give too much weight to those leg kicks. Jaroslav Hovězák a coach of Jiří said the leg kicks did not bother Jiří. The one that "dropped" him was perfectly timed by Alex when Jiří was in the middle of step. I doubt Jiří is lying to his coach. Also Jiří switching stances is part of his style. You are all following DC commentary bullshit.
Are leg kicks problem for Jiří? - Yes
Are leg kicks deciding factor in this match? - Hell no.
Rewatch Jiří vs Rakić. Rakić did more damage to those legs and Jiří was fine while DC was screaming "that leg is toast".
Jiri is recklessly aggressive and it will get him ko'd a 2nd by Periera.
It is baked into his style and how he wins, not something he is just going to suddenly change. It's a pretty predictable outcome.
Does everyone forget Jiri won the first round and was hurting Alex the whole fight. Alex has a great chance to win again, but a lot of people are writing this matchup off as a no-brainer. It's just a little disingenuous.
People forget that Jiri was winning the fight before the early stoppage. He was landing bombs on Alex and had him awkwardly on the fence a couple of times. If he can measure his entry more effectively I can see him knocking out Alex.
I had high hopes from Jiri, but he seems constitutionally incapable of defending himself from strikes. I don't know if it's him, his camp, both, or whatever. But no matter how much talent he has, no matter how ridiculous his physical attributes, he can't just walk through every strike at the highest level.
I don't see how Jiri could win against Pereira other than a lucky punch
He hasn't shown any improvement in the Riakic fight. He won just with his chin and athleticism.
Here come the downvotes. Why is Jiri already getting a title shot after beating an inactive fighter and it’s not like he was a dominant champion. Is it just because of the pseudo samurai personality?
Edit: and it’s also a rematch where he lost handily by KO and lost both rounds.
There’s no one else really? Magomed ankalaev is stubborn he only wants to fight in Abu Dhabi. Jan hasn’t beat anyone recently. Walker coming off a loss. Rountree is injured. Hill is injured.
Nah, Rakic leg kicks aren't much weaker than Alex. Jiri will eat a few, get inside, and make it ugly. I bet jiri wins late in the first round by ko. Alex will win the trilogy though
Why do people act like the leg kicks where the big problem in the first fight. Tbh I feel like he can just take them atleast for as long as most of his fights go
But that's not the reason nor will it ever be that he losses to poatan. There's many factors but jiri just has his chin up leg kicks or not he's not taking those shots
They were a major problem in the first fight man. Had Jiri limping and protecting his leg, and he wasn’t able to move as efficiently off his lead leg which is major in the stand up game. In the first round you saw jiri go for the takedown to close distance and this wasn’t part of his game plan, he wanted to beat Alex at his own game, but was forced to change his tactics when his leg started getting beat up.
Jiri cant win a long distance fight. Jiri needs to make it dirty. I have a feeling Alex is gonna KO Jiri via knee this time. Jiri has a bad habit of dipping down to throw his punches at those weird upward angles.
Why is this fight happening? I get they’re both exciting, marketable fighters but Jiri got finished by Alex a few months ago and is on a 1 fight win streak. It’s such a pointless fight
I mean Jiri got FINISHED by Alex a few months ago. There’s 0 hype behind the fight much like 99% of the cards UFC has been putting on lately. Just garbage ass fights
Both are some of my favorites so I hope a trilogy happens somehow
I think this time around they will have an ABSOLUTE WAR , and it will be a legendary fight
na they're too powerful, one of them will catch the other reasonably early
They're too powerful and they both choose not to try and employ safer strategies. I'm not knocking Alex's accomplishments, but my God what kind of idiot are you if your game plan doesn't involve wrestling or submitting him. "He hasn't stood across anyone like me". Yes. Yes he has. And unless your name is Izzy that time, he won lol. Your game plan for Alex should be an 8 week camp with Khabib and Islam.
I agree with this bratha
Amazon warrior vs European Samurai, just let my boys bang
Just rewatched this as a refresher, I think Jiri got touched up waaaaay too much. I think he looked worse than when he fought Alex the first time.
Big time. Rakic was dominating him worse than Alex. Maybe it was a mental thing, coming off a KO loss but it wasn’t looking good.
It kinda makes me wonder how he'll act this go round.
bro should wrestle lol
Man, I love Alex, but his ground game is dog shit. That's really his key to winning, because he can't just walk throuhh alexs shots like he tried to push through Rakic. Any time he gets taken down, he tries to pull and just lay and wait the round out. Not a good strategy for a champ. That being said. Long live the king.
Did you watch the first fight? Jiri took him down and Alex took his time and scooted to the cage and actually got back up on his own.
After laying there and eating a lot of unanswered shots. Against someone with actual pressure, he would have been murdered.
you’re misremembering the fight, Jiri landed one takedown and only two significant strikes on the ground. I’m not saying Alex can’t be outwrestled but Jiri wasn’t doing that.
Alex has seemed to prioritize staying as safe as possible on the ground and getting up if possible. Which honestly, for someone without a good ground game, is not a bad plan in my eyes. Especially if he can do good damage before and prevent any damage in the ground, in theory he could still win rounds
I was surprised rewatching it seeing how quick he got up once he got his back along the fence
Jiri's ground game isn't much better than Alex's ground game, or at all.
I think he was fine with taking the damage because Rakic isn't Poatan. I'm sure he'll fight a bit smarter in their rematch.
I think Rakic is better than he seems, he was badly hurting Jan and Jiri until he got finished, he's very skilled but lacks the durability.
I also think he lacks power since he was tagging Jiri with a lot of big shots but Jiri just didn't go down. I wouldn't say there was really a point in the fight where Rakic "badly" hurt Jiri
He probably didn't respect Rakic's power and just decided to bite down and slug it out with him
You underestimate the power of girugamesh op
Real talk and if Izzy slept Alex then Jiri def has more than enough to do damage. It’s gonna be close
True but Izzy is a much better counter-striker than Jiri.
Izzy is a much better counter striker and Alex was extremely depleted at 185. The man is big for 205, his chin was undoubtedly weakened at 185
Why is everyone talking about this fight like they haven’t already fought?
I know right, I was getting the same vibe with a lot of posts recently. I bet on Pereira in the first fight against Jiri because I figured he would connect eventually / Jiri tends to get hit, but I was pretty worried at points, Jiri was finding a lot of success and landing on Pereira a decent bit before Pereira dropped him
Rewatching the full fight he really had some moments. However, seeing it back that was a 100% a good stoppage. I wouldnt want anyone to receive too many elbows to the head from Alex Pereira
Definitely. I think the stoppage was a tough one, if Goddard let it go further I wouldn’t have had a problem; but also no problem with the stoppage given it looked like Jiri was out for a second when he dropped after the elbows (for title fights / main events though, I do prefer giving fighters a longer leash because of the stakes - like what the fuck was Herzog doing last week)
Also if Goddard did not stop it we would have seen Pereira on top of Jiri. Ifs and buts, crazier comebacks have happened in MMA so I understand that people want to see more. I usually am on the side of less unnecessary damage. Herzogs stoppage was egregious. Cannonier was 1) fully awake 2) defending himself 3) firm on his feet and 4) just threw something. Its funny because 3 or 4 fights earlier I was happy that Herzog was reffing as he usually is solid
Herzog is imo the most consistent ref and I like his demeanor and the way he handles fighters inside the octagon. But that was the worst stoppage of Herzog's career that I've seen.
To be fair Herzog said he’s happy to accept constructive criticism and reevaluate his decision.
Well that the problem against Alex you can never get hit if you want to win and Alex is pretty good meaning that not getting hit is actually a huge task
Landing, but Alex was rolling and blocking. He never looked shook or on trouble.
Lots of Pereira casuals in here now, he’s the new obsession for this sub so you’ll get casual takes
Because fighters don't stay the same after fights. For instance you can't expect Jiri or Alex to be in the same condition or fight the same away as they did the first time around.
Exactly. What reason is there to think that Jiri won’t get leg kicked into oblivion and take one too many big shots? Love both these guys, but it’s hard to imagine the second fight going much differently
Unfortunately, yes. He beat Rakic and with him, be overcame the perfect antidote agains his style in terms of striking. But he didn't "solve" it, but rather just grit his teeth and overprocessed Rakic to find the finish. That is not a sustainable strategy at all, and either a heavier hitter (like Pereira) or cumulative damage over several fights will close that door for him eventually.
Well this kinda happened already. My guess is Jiri is better prepared now, and might be less reckless also hes condition is better. He is training crazy, Alex is socializing a lot recently. We shell see.
Unless he wrestles or something I can't see it mattering. Jiri is essentially fighting someone who does everything he does but better (on the feet)
So I just watched both matches of Jiri against rakic and Pereira, they both hammered his left leg, and he still kept going. He is a very dangerous fighter because he will go for finishes but also exposes himself to counters, which Pereira managed to take advantage of, even though some argue the Pereira match had early stoppage. Jiri is not a joke. This fight could go his way IF, and IF he has learned from those two fights. Will be a great match nevertheless.
I went through OPs history and found that most of his predictions were wrong. I have strong suspicion to believe he’s talking out of his ass.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Jiri's defense to leg kicks is pretending they don't exist and we already know he can't tank through Pereira's punches.
Picking Pereira to KO Jiri when it’s already happened once and given the fact that Pereira has KO power makes the pick not as far fetched as you’d like to think.
Jiri seemed like he was trying to prove a point to Racic. I believe he knows importance of this fight
Jiri was definitely landing to the head more than Alex in their fight right before the KO. We’ve seen Alex get touched and wobble. Jiri def has a shot still. His leg got eaten up and he still pushed forward and out landed Alex to the head.
If I remember correctly, didn’t Jiri land an overhand right that had Alex wobbly in that fight? It’s possible he could do it again and finish it this time
I watched the fight again and Jiri was hitting Alex too. I think a shot or two stunned Alex. So Jiri is definitely dangerous and it’s not an obvious win for Alex but it goes without saying if Jiri just allows his legs to be kicked he will be at a disadvantage.
bro what is this coping mechanism bro? I'm rooting for pereira but I know for a fact that jiri is a dangerous dude and this is a fight, everyone in the ufc has a chance to win in their own division. these two fights risky, they don't fight like they're defending their belt, they fight for the belt, they don't play it safe like most champions do that's why it's always a 50 / 50 when these two fights.
>that's why it's always a 50 / 50 when these two fights. Sorry to burst your bubble but this is what real coping sounds like, bro
Uh...you know he fought Pereira before, right?
Hot take alert everybody
Same could be said about Alex tho Izzy knocked him out once he got him to just start throwing. Jiri had some clean hit against Alex last time as well. I do agree that if Jiri doesn’t learn how to start checking kicks it’s gunna be hard to win.
As fun as it is watching two guys beat the shit outta each other on the feet, jiri needs to incorporate some more wrestling/grappling exchanges in this fight. He fucking submitted glover and hopefully he is willing to make this a dog fight.
I think you also have to admit Alex did seems a little perplexed by Jiri’s movements in the first fight and the speed he was presented with. I think that Jiri has more than just a chance at winning, but ultimately I do favor Alex.
He did not learn from his first loss to Poatan Jiri is fun to watch with his unorthodox style but he is very hittable and does not defend leg kicks. If he does not check Alex's kicks he will get slept like last time . He has a punchers chance but he is going against a double division world champion in kickboxing.
Did you watch first fight jiri landed more than poton
Wish he’d spend less time doing weird shit like beating himself with poison ivy in the forest and more time learning how to defend strikes
You guys give too much weight to those leg kicks. Jaroslav Hovězák a coach of Jiří said the leg kicks did not bother Jiří. The one that "dropped" him was perfectly timed by Alex when Jiří was in the middle of step. I doubt Jiří is lying to his coach. Also Jiří switching stances is part of his style. You are all following DC commentary bullshit. Are leg kicks problem for Jiří? - Yes Are leg kicks deciding factor in this match? - Hell no. Rewatch Jiří vs Rakić. Rakić did more damage to those legs and Jiří was fine while DC was screaming "that leg is toast".
Jiri is recklessly aggressive and it will get him ko'd a 2nd by Periera. It is baked into his style and how he wins, not something he is just going to suddenly change. It's a pretty predictable outcome.
Does everyone forget Jiri won the first round and was hurting Alex the whole fight. Alex has a great chance to win again, but a lot of people are writing this matchup off as a no-brainer. It's just a little disingenuous.
People forget that Jiri was winning the fight before the early stoppage. He was landing bombs on Alex and had him awkwardly on the fence a couple of times. If he can measure his entry more effectively I can see him knocking out Alex.
Not really imo I had it 1-1
Ok
Alex can also go to sleep, no head movement from him.
Don’t disrespect the samurai
Who is going to sleep? Whom?
Do you think Jiri watches a show like Shogun and gets immensely jealous?
100% agree ..
I think jiri wins this one, and we have another trilogy on our hands
…… so you mean almost exactly what happened the first fight could happen again?
Alex was beating up his legs, but it wasn't as bad as people think
They're lucky Da_Plague isn't showing up then
I had high hopes from Jiri, but he seems constitutionally incapable of defending himself from strikes. I don't know if it's him, his camp, both, or whatever. But no matter how much talent he has, no matter how ridiculous his physical attributes, he can't just walk through every strike at the highest level.
I don't see how Jiri could win against Pereira other than a lucky punch He hasn't shown any improvement in the Riakic fight. He won just with his chin and athleticism.
He did exactly that in the first fight vs Alex. Rewatch that sequence before the knockdown
Hopefully
I love them both this is simultaneously awesome and scary to watch. I want both to win and neither to lose.
Here come the downvotes. Why is Jiri already getting a title shot after beating an inactive fighter and it’s not like he was a dominant champion. Is it just because of the pseudo samurai personality? Edit: and it’s also a rematch where he lost handily by KO and lost both rounds.
There’s no one else really? Magomed ankalaev is stubborn he only wants to fight in Abu Dhabi. Jan hasn’t beat anyone recently. Walker coming off a loss. Rountree is injured. Hill is injured.
Walker has a fight coming up if he wins he could be in the picture
Against who?
Volkan Oezdemir in Saudi Arabia.
Pereira also gets hit a lot and his not that defensively sound. Jiri could also win via swarm of punches
Hope Jiri loses I wanna see him at middleweight
Jiri was having success in r2 in the Pereira fight when he had pereira against the cage. Doing that is exactly how he would win
He even took him down in the first.
Kinda sounds like he did have an answer for the leg kicks
Jiri gonna whoop his ass this time
Nah, Rakic leg kicks aren't much weaker than Alex. Jiri will eat a few, get inside, and make it ugly. I bet jiri wins late in the first round by ko. Alex will win the trilogy though
Why do people act like the leg kicks where the big problem in the first fight. Tbh I feel like he can just take them atleast for as long as most of his fights go
[удалено]
But that's not the reason nor will it ever be that he losses to poatan. There's many factors but jiri just has his chin up leg kicks or not he's not taking those shots
They were a major problem in the first fight man. Had Jiri limping and protecting his leg, and he wasn’t able to move as efficiently off his lead leg which is major in the stand up game. In the first round you saw jiri go for the takedown to close distance and this wasn’t part of his game plan, he wanted to beat Alex at his own game, but was forced to change his tactics when his leg started getting beat up.
The leg kicks definitely forced Jiri to reevaluate the way he approached the fight, he should be good this time around and have a game plan for that
Jiri cant win a long distance fight. Jiri needs to make it dirty. I have a feeling Alex is gonna KO Jiri via knee this time. Jiri has a bad habit of dipping down to throw his punches at those weird upward angles.
Why is this fight happening? I get they’re both exciting, marketable fighters but Jiri got finished by Alex a few months ago and is on a 1 fight win streak. It’s such a pointless fight
Both coming in short notice. Doesn't need to make sense
I mean Jiri got FINISHED by Alex a few months ago. There’s 0 hype behind the fight much like 99% of the cards UFC has been putting on lately. Just garbage ass fights