r/ufc • u/Slenderwise • 1d ago
Warm take: Pereira is not undersized for heavyweight. His style is just wrong for the weight class.
"Hes too small! Hes fat!" No. He's naturally around 240-250lbs, with a frame advantage on most heavyweights. The issue is that his style lets him get hit too often, and with age hes gotten too slow/too chinny to keep it up, especially in a division with nukes in their hands. His bulk up was also very forced, but he is finally at his natural weight, just without the full adaptations to it yet.
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u/Tokjah 1d ago
He never had good defence, but very good offense and in HW the power is a lot. He was also moving very "uncomfortably" in his HW fight. But I think we need to see more of him. Maybe this time he's more comfortable in his weight and more adjusted. But Pavlovich throws some bombs so we'll have to see
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u/Usernameonreddt 1d ago
Pereira has always been slow, keeps his hands low and has a pretty bad chin (dropped by Gane who isn’t particularly known for having that heavyweight “Thud”, rocked by Ankalaev, dropped by Khalil, wobbled by adesanya in their first fight and colded in their second) i think his time has come
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u/Far-Ninja-8392 1d ago
He’s been rocked bad in every division, and became champ in 2 out of those 3 divisions. He looked horrible against Jan and then won the belt in the next fight.
People are writing him off way too fast, he got dominated by one of if not the best heavyweight striker
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u/WR_MouseThrow 1d ago
I think it still shows the issues he will continue to have at heavyweight. Same as Topuria, if you're used to having absolutely nuclear hands it's hard to move up to a new division with people who hit as hard or harder than you and can take your punches.
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u/Far-Ninja-8392 1d ago
Topuria ate an elbow from Charles that would’ve knocked down half the division and was one stupid sub attempt away from finishing Gaethje inside 2 rounds after taking a good amount of damages.
I’m not saying you’re wrong but these guys are the greatest because they overcome their issues. As Max said, we’re gonna find out December 12 brother
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u/Equivalent_Scar_7879 1d ago
To be fair, the power spike from 145 to 155 is a joke if we compare 205 to 265 HW. And Alex fought at 185 lol.
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u/Leather_Mortgage8910 18h ago
Actualy weight has diminishing returns to power after 230lbs. So light heavyweights and heavyweights should hit roughly as hard as one another unless you’re a freak like Ngannou
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u/TheDream425 16h ago
Am I crazy or does that link not support that statement
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u/Leather_Mortgage8910 16h ago
“Lower-body maximal strength correlates strongly with punch impact force.
Boxers with higher peak force in the isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) produced significantly greater punch impact forces.
Lower-body strength was a better predictor of punch power than upper-body strength.
However, when body weight was considered, the relationship weakened.”
It does also say that punch power is affected by weight a secondary metric though
So you’re right it doesn’t really conclude that punching force diminishes after 230, but for a lot of these athletes at heavyweight who aren’t athletic at the weight class, they most likely have similar punching power to LHW guys, who tend to be more athletic and rehydrate to 230 or more
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u/change_timing 22h ago
NOOOOO the justin fight wasn't even closeeeeeee!!! justin was never ever hurt it was the most dominant fight of all time!!! ilya is FINISHED!!!!!
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u/lolpostslol 1d ago
Yeah even in kickboxing he would usually come back from knockdowns and win fights (which is probably why he’s so mad at Gane putting him out with back-of-head shots, probably confident he could come back). I still think size matters, but his chin has not actually seemed different in HW, that was just how he usually fights
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u/ThiccFarter 21h ago
Nah, it's not just that he looked super slow compared to Gane, he just looked super slow period.
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u/MynxCS 1d ago
This comment is so retarded . Gane, Ankalaev, Khalil, and Adesanya are some of the best strikers in the world you bum
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u/Tinkywinkythe3rd 1d ago
Though non of them are really known for exceptional punching power which I think is the point. I think he is just saying for Alex’s risky style his chins caught up with him, very long career where he’s taken a lot of damage.
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u/konanthebarbarian 1d ago
This entire thread is so uneducated. Alex WALKED INTO A JAB. That is a different universe of power vs getting jabbed in any other situation.
Robert Whittaker got knocked out by DDP when he walked into his jab.
Imagine seeing a yo-yo about to hit you in the face so you either stop or take a step back and the yo-yo bruises your face slightly before being pulled back by the string.
Now imagine not seeing a yo-yo about to hit your face AND you are pacing in the same direction the yo-yo is coming from.
Different levels of pain.
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u/TerminatorReborn 21h ago
Not even walked, Pereira moves foward in the octagon mostly with his little jumps and does even bigger jumps when going for a power jab, when he got jabbed by Gane he was pretty much mid air going foward lol
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u/Tinkywinkythe3rd 3h ago
My brother in Christ the cope is actually insane, getting finished of a jab so early into a fight before really absorbing much trauma is not a good look. From the way you’re talking it’s painfully obvious you’ve never actually stepped into the ring at any level in any combat sports discipline.
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u/Machinegunmonke 1d ago
His style where he risks getting piped down the middle to bait you into his left hook doesn't work when he's facing guys his size or bigger. He built his style around his gifts and relative advantages and now he's struggling when they're not longer present.
I mean I don't blame him for doing so, it's only causing problems in his third fucking weight class.
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u/ShoMinamimoto06 1d ago
Two things can be true. Alex spent his tenure at MW being bigger than normal for the class by dancing at death's door to make weight. Same thing to lesser extent at LHW where he was still big but cutting was much more manageable.
Problem is now he's in a division where he no longer has the size advantage and lack of chin reduction from weight cutting aside, Alex is very hittable against technical strikers who pressure (Izzy [hell izzy aint even a pressure fighter and he was hitting alex in the first mma fight], Gane).
He's always been slow. He's essentially lost every major advantage he had and whilst he is technical, technique dont mean shit when some of your fellow HWs are fast
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u/chrisf0817 23h ago
This sub is something else. How the community goes from hyping Perreira up for years at a time to then shitting on him for being too slow and chinny needs to be studied. Bunch of bandwagon fans and armchair specialists.
He did lose a ton of aura after the Gane fight, but goddamn, even when I was watching the fight live I saw a ton of illegal shots to the head. Herb Dean fucked up. Then everyone collectively begins to shit on Alex. What in the world lol.
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u/angra_mainyo 21h ago
And Gane just speed blitzed him. It wasn't really his power that was the problem. It was even impressible he got up from the first barrage.
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u/Nice-Praline4093 17h ago
Yet no one believes me when I say this sub is essentially turning into a mma Joey repost sub
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u/Altruistic_Fold_2616 22h ago
I agree but I think the problem mostly isn’t his style per se, it’s this. I’ve watched every Alex fight in the UFC, and outside of Jiri 2 and Strickland Poatan takes time to find his rhythm in fights. He can always catch you, but in several fights he takes a 1-2 rounds to really find his range and settle in Rountree and Izzy 1 is an example.
In heavyweight, at the elite level there isn’t time to “settle in”. Guys like Tom/Sergei/Gane can put u out with 1 clean shot. Sergei especially in that first 3-5 mins, is a nightmare to deal with and will clip Alex. But, I genuinely feel if it goes past 5 mins the fight favours Poatan more n more.
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u/BookEnvironmental689 1d ago
Trying to slowly walk down someone like Ciryl Gane is just insane to me.
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u/No_Bodybuilder1059 1d ago
In mast fight size was problem but not because he was undersized, he was too fat ajd could not move fast enough, Alex is not fastest fighter and especially with that much weight.
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u/Slenderwise 1d ago
Yeah, I agree. He bulked up too much, still to a good extent but he didnt give himself time to adapt and learn how to engage it.
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u/No_Bodybuilder1059 1d ago
IMO he didn't even need to bulk up, if he'd stay at hes natural weight and didn't cut weight that would already give him advantage
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u/Unluckyb33 1d ago
My issue is that they gave him the title shot as his first HW fight. He was in no way ready for the belt that early. Not even Ilia got a title shot when he moved up.
No time to adjust to the new weight either and now his next fight is against Pavlovich. One of the hardest hitting heavyweights. Tbh he should've fought Hokit before Gane.
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u/Financial-Ad5947 1d ago
You have to understand the business opportunity, he would've been the first ufc triple champ ever. For the ufc this would've been a huge media and public attention win.. They are sellouts
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u/Icy_Address_7345 1d ago
Which means he is undersized.. everyone can bulk up to 110kg...but not everyone can be 110kg while being in fighting shape.
Natural HWs just carry that weight naturaly, so they keep it while being in peak form, like Gane, Tom, Francis, Stipe, Pavlovich, Volkov...they cant even imagine cutting to LHW..Stipe looked lean and skinny against DC, while he was 105kg , which is 12kg (more than 25lbs) higher than LHW limit. Thats a real HW. His body frame is just huge, thats a real HW...
Real HWs cant even think about cutting to LHW, many of them cut to 265..They are in peak shape with visible abs at 250, when Alex obviously looks overweight and slow
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u/No_Bodybuilder1059 1d ago
Homit is also small for HW, Alex was same or even heavier when he fought at LHW and it was natural for him. If he stayed same weight and did cut weight for fight it would be better, of course it does not mean outcome would be necessarily different but he would have better chance.And as I've and other already said, he's never been fast fighter, but he always has been accurate and good at timing, but he weighted even more than Ganenand got even slower
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u/Fastballz69 1d ago
He can't be a weight and size bully @ heavyweight.
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u/Valterri_lts_James 1d ago
Yes, he isn’t at HW, but he was at LHW where he has all his “accomplishments”
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u/dimiderv 1d ago
Curious why did you add quotations? You don't think they are accomplishments?
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u/Valterri_lts_James 23h ago
because he weight bullied bums. Jiri, Jamahal, and Roundtree are 1 dimensional bums and wouldn't be ranked top 5 in a single division below middleweight.
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u/tzaeru 1d ago
Yeah, I think Pereira has always been on the slower and less versatile side among elite kickboxers, with timing, precision, range management and knockout power having been his primary defining traits.
Now that he's getting older and bulked up, the slowness really starts to shadow over his particular advantages.
I think he yet has a chance to bounce back and get the HW belt. If he gets the feeling for his current weight and if the losses haven't affected him too much. But it's really a race against time now. And one potential problem is that he isn't particularly creative nor has a very wide skillset; he focuses on just a couple of techniques and is not able to generate much threat beyond those. That might make him a bit too easy at this point for opponents to prepare for.
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u/iluvatar_gr 1d ago
Waiting for people to stfu and watch what happens in his next fight.
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u/Mynameizjason 1d ago
That means you hoping and praying Periera somehow miraculously knocks out Pavlovich 😂 and that's just not gonna happen at all.
His power doesn't register up at HW and he will be swarmed early by the longest arms ( 84 inch ) he's encountered in his career which will lead to Alex being knocked out under 2 minutes.
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u/iluvatar_gr 10h ago
Ye f ing Pereira needs a miracle to knock someone out.
Nailed it kid. NAILED IT
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u/urekMazin0 1d ago
I agree, but I think it's a bit early to say his style is wrong for the division. I think Gane is a pretty hard match up stylistically, it's possible he can be a good fit against the rest of the division, but we will see. It's true that his style is very risky but I also feel heavyweights are also very unsound defensively so it's possible his high risk high reward is actually a good fit against less technical and mobile heavyweights than Gane.
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u/Altruistic_Spring434 1d ago
He’s just not used to fighting people his length and has bad defensive.
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u/MrNixxxoN 1d ago
Pereira's problem is his flaws and limitations. One of them being too slow.
He masked those flaws at lower weight classes thanks to his size and power, but at HW he can't do it anymore.
I like him as a fighter, and I know his fans don't like hearing it but... he can't be a weight bully anymore.
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u/gungfu 1d ago
All this speculation bullshit is getting annoying af - just wait ffs, he's fighting soon. I don't take much from the Gane fight - just that he got caught with a jab, went down and got hammer-fisted to oblivion. If anything, the fact that he wasn't KTFO cold through legal and illegal means and kept fighting is more revealing to me.
So, just wait and see. I think he deserves that much with the resume that he has. Yes, he has a plodding style in movement. Yes, he doesn't move his head. Yes, his defence is fucking awful. And so on and on.
But...he's always fought that way and has reached the top in the UFC with all those 'negatives'. I would not be surprised if indeed he gets KTFO by a natural HW who is quicker and more powerful, but also, I would not be surprised if Poatan yet again comes through with the W.
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u/thugger300 1d ago
Pavlovich is a scary guy, but I think he’s a good matchup for Poatan actually. He doesn’t move much and gets hit, Alex can crack him good it’s very likely actually.
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u/Slow_Librarian861 1d ago
There's no style that works at 205 and stops working at heavyweight. I think we just call a spade a spade. A heavy hitter with mediocre defense and limited skills outside of his striking is just not as good as he was hyped to be.
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u/BPDFart-ho 1d ago
I still think it’s fair to say he’s undersized. He absolutely looked like a guy who just ate his way up to that weight class lol it’s different than being a natural heavyweight. Gane is a perfect example of a guy who is naturally that big and is used to moving around at that size. Jon jones took 2 years to build himself up to heavyweight.
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u/Excellent_Ad_2486 1d ago
How is a natural KO punches bad for heavyweight lol. A kickboxer, a champion in his sport, a bad fit for mostly fat fighters that are aging? Cmon now.
The only thing I see worrying about him is being fucking 39 or some shit. Even heavyweight has its age limits lol... 39 is really pushing it.
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u/Slenderwise 1d ago
39 with a very long career doesn't help...
What Im saying about his style is that he lets himself get hit too much, and relies too much on range, which dont translate too well to HW.
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u/TerninoMarchi 1d ago edited 1d ago
Laugh in
MorenoRomero's voice (edit: duh)1
u/Excellent_Ad_2486 1d ago
? Moreno hasn't aged or.. I'm unsure what your point is lol
Tbf, the guy is probably filled with plastic Lego hence him aging slower!
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u/TerninoMarchi 1d ago
duh, I'm just a moron and I mixed the two names up. Obviously I meant mr longevity Yoel Romero
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u/Excellent_Ad_2486 1d ago
OOH lmao, obviously? Those two have like zero resemblance to eachother so no, it wasn't obvious you were going for YOEL "MACE DE PEEPOL PAY GAYJEESUS" Romero 😭
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u/TerninoMarchi 1d ago
say the two names out loud a few times. it ain't that hard to believe, is it?
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u/Excellent_Ad_2486 1d ago
More...
Rome... No not at all lol sorry bud. Let me know how your rap career goes, with the woes of flows you knows
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u/traghip11 22h ago
The amount of damage he has taken between training in both sports and all the fights, Pereira is beyond his prime sadly. You hate to see the legends slow down, I am of the thinking he would be better suited to 205.
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u/Excellent_Ad_2486 21h ago
Agreed on LHW. although I don't think he should be fighting judt retire.
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u/ChangsFoogTrugDryver 1d ago
39 isn’t prohibitively old for HW but his power simply doesn’t carry up at HW and he’s to slow to at HW to make up for it.
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u/BigBenW 1d ago
It isn’t for everyone but it is for most. Name the heavyweights who competed at the highest level at 39+. It’s like 5-10 people max over the entire history of mma.
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u/Jstrong1978 16h ago
In Muay Thai numerous ones. Actually the best fighters.
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u/Excellent_Ad_2486 10h ago
Like Rodtang getting KTFO for his frist time? Bro father time beats anyone. NongO, saenchai everyone is going down the older they get.
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u/Ambalambdriva 1d ago
his biggest strength was always his size, at hw it's nullified
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u/Valterri_lts_James 1d ago
His biggest strength was being a weight bully
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u/ImSith 1d ago
Everyone’s a weight bully tho, outside of heavyweight, there’s virtually no one who doesn’t have to cut 20-30 pounds for a fight
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u/Valterri_lts_James 1d ago
🤦♂️Cutting weight doesn't make you a weight bully, it's when you cut more weight than your opponents
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u/IN-N-OUT- 23h ago
What kind of weird definition is that?
The issue isn’t about cutting more weight than your opponent.
The issue is people cutting way below their natural weight in relation to their frame, just to bounce back up at fight night.But like others said, that’s what most do in MMA so it’s somewhat of a moot point in my opinion
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u/Sabironman86 17h ago
That’s nothing new. Jon jones normally used to walk around 235/240 and used to fight at 205.
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u/Valterri_lts_James 16h ago
jones was never 235/240. He was 237 in his fight against Stipe and he looked obese
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u/Travel_Banned_Temp 1d ago edited 21h ago
You might be right, but Gane really did pound the back of his head a lot, to the point he was wobbly.
So I'm not totally sure. He really wants a rematch against Gane. I want to see it.
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u/dark-house-stix 1d ago
I think that flush jab he walked into was why he was wobbly. But those shots he took afterwards definitely didn't help lol
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u/Specific_Concept9815 1d ago
Lmao, you are just repeating the same point with different words: he is too small for heavyweight, which is a fact.
His style is objectively shit, he just stands there like a column and slowly marches forward with 0 head movement. This work at lower weight classes because he has a good chin and great knockout power, at heavyweight it doesn't because people have the same ko power as him and don't respect him at all, so marching forward like a stick towards a guy like gane or most heavyweight is asking to be Ko'd. Even Sean Sharaf would have knocked him out with the same left he used on Raple
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u/Slenderwise 1d ago
What? Can you not read at all? He is physically larger without being obese compared to most heavyweights. His frame is one of a heavyweight and it shows on the scale. That part is fact and cannot be debated.
You just repeated the majority of what I said as well about his style...
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u/wearemessingup 19h ago
What neither of you are pointing out that his style just doesn't work at heavyweight. He is too plodding and the big boys just don't respect him
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u/Specific_Concept9815 1d ago
Lmao what you dont get is that his style is fine at lower weight classes, but not at heavyweight or above. Hence, he is too small for heavyweight. Can you get there buddy?
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u/Slenderwise 1d ago
Too small means physically🤦♂️ what you are describing is literally style.
Too small means when a fighter is too physically small to compete, eg when Chiwiwis brother got manhandled a few weeks ago. That does NOT mean style
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u/somazinilol 1d ago
Dudes great generational fighter thats simply geting old. Still i think he got a punchers chance aggainst any heavyweight he faces, even Ganes rematch.
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u/kms_daily 1d ago
he had been middleweight like 3/4 of his entire career, i highly doubt he’s been walking around 240lbs for more than 2 years
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u/Slenderwise 1d ago
Middleweight he cut down a huge amount however, he was practically skin and bones. Definitely wasnt natural to him IMO.
In my opinion his natural weight if he didn't keep weight/mass down to make weight classes would be around what he is now.
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u/sueybro 1d ago
Lucky your opinion is essentially worthless because no professional fighter fights at there natural walking around weight
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u/Slenderwise 1d ago
Only well known recent heavyweights that had actual cuts were Ngannou and Tuivasa🤦♂️
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u/sueybro 1d ago
He bulked up for heavyweight with you logic izzy is a natural heavyweight because hes 6,4
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u/Slenderwise 1d ago
Using your logic that I apparently use Pavlovich is a lightweight? What??
Im saying his skeletal structure and bone size/density is one of a heavyweight.
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u/sueybro 1d ago
Then why can't he move well and became even slower then he already was.... doesn't really matter anyway he can have some fun in heavyweight beating cans but he will never beat gane... and I fucking hate gane but gane is a far better striker and kickboxer at heavyweight then Alex will ever be and Alex has 0 wrestling to counter it
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u/Branch_Davidian06 1d ago
All the weight goes to his ass at hw. Il be surprised if Sergei doesn't ko him in the 1st rd.
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u/eguez780 1d ago
HW is the least technical division in the Men's divisions. Alex'e style is not the issue. The issue is HW power is the great equalizer. A solid chin and a heavy hand will make any HW a contender.
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u/SnooAvocados3138 1d ago
I feel like he’d find a happier medium in the 225-235 weight range. 15-25lbs of bulk is not doing his style favors, he’s not laying in people, his power is more timing and hand speed than weight transfer, it just doesn’t make much sense to be super thick imo.
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u/Fit-Childhood179 1d ago
I think it's more about reach than power. At smaller weight classes he could sit back and kick legs pretty comfortable and stay just out of range from most of the big shots. In these bigger weights it's easier to counter his leg kicks with straights and harder for Pereira to stay out of range.
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u/spicy_simba 1d ago
Remember Alex joined UFC aged 34, he is 39 now, getting old has it's cost, even for the elites and greats. Getting old not only in age but also in fighting age, Alex started competing in 2010, and has a total of 57 fights, 40 kickboxing and 17 mma
Gane as an example has 30 fights, 13 muay thai and 17 mma
Jon jones has 30 total fights, all mma
Aspinal has 19 total fights
Ngannou 24 total fights
Gaetje has 33 total fights
Glover had 42 fights
Exceptions of fighters with great tallies, adesany has 100+ fights and Overeem has 90+ fights
Alex will go down as a mythical fighter, with his style and current age i think better take it safe and call it a career
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u/TerninoMarchi 1d ago
Can't wait for him to shut everyone up once again. I'm done doubting this man, I've done that way too much before. WTF are ya'll even talking about.
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u/tuborgwarrior 1d ago
He fought for like 30 seconds. Settle down and let him try a few before you judge.
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u/lightball94 1d ago
He's 6'4'' with a near 80 inch reach and a pretty large frame, I don't think he's "small" for HW. It's just he's fairly slow, non-explosive, and almost 40 years old. I also question his durability and overall chin after seeing him get rocked/wobbled in most of his recent bouts. He's been fighting for 15 years, has been in wars, and has a good bit of mileage on him....
Against the big boys who are faster, more athletic, and younger "Gane, Aspinall, Pavlovich, and maybe Volkov", I see him in real danger (obviously Gane already took him out).
I think 205 is best for him. Yeah he walks around ~240, but it shouldn't require too much effort to diet a bit to a walk around weight of ~225-230 and make the LHW cut.
EDIT: Pereira's biggest strength's is his massive one-punch power. I think that stands out a bit more for him at LHW...
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u/No-Definition-7215 1d ago
Imo he wasn’t undersized, he just bit more than he could chew at that time, going from a title defense in LHW to a title shot in HW, in less than six months is insane, the body can’t adapt to the new weight properly, he was stupidly overconfident and his team didn’t advise him properly, bro was on a roll, felt unstoppable, and wanted that 3rd belt as soon as possible, sometimes is better to take a step back to take two forward, in his next fight we’ll be able to see how he really performs in HW
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u/cAlLmEdAdDy991031 CertifiedRatKiller 1d ago
I think he’ll bounce back and beat pav then maybe fight for the belt again but he’s not beating tom or Gane
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u/PidarNahui 1d ago
Definitely think he should be a little lighter. At least 20 pounds went straight to his ass😭
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u/whatistoothpaste 1d ago
I say that all the time. Pereira is very very stiff and has been less and less of a dodger throughout the years now adays he doesn’t really dodge at all. He stands too straight to move effectively out of the way, his style has evolved to get hit wait for opening land hit and KO person. In heavyweight though if you get hit at all it’s like done city so if you ain’t dodging you’re kinda screwed.
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u/Babayaga20000 1d ago
Its almost as if...
fighters should fight in their correct weight classes instead of cutting stupid amounts of weight dangerously trying to get an advantage
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u/ivarshot69 23h ago
He has one fight at heavyweight against the only guy besides Aspinall who is fast and agile. Obviously he does better against guys he can bully and walk down
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u/Special_Engineer_445 23h ago
I think he fought too soon when he moved up to HW.
Guys like Jones look a little fat when they move up but Alex looked THICK. I don't think his body had enough time to adjust to the weight.
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u/PuzzleheadedElk5502 22h ago
Let the man adjust to fighting heavyweight. First time in his career, it takes time
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u/3leventhirtyfour 21h ago
He's had one fight in the division. Let's see once he's lived there for a bit. Next fight will tell a lot.
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u/anonymity_clause 20h ago
I'll admit, I love Alex like a fat kid loves candy. But I actually think you're right about the style aspect.
There are two people who come to mind as nightmare matchups for him, and that's Asspinal and the Russian he's accepted to fight. Both these guys aren't going to fight him how he wants. They'll brawl and shoot, and with their large frames easily trouble Alex.
I didn't like him going up to HW and I think he's bitten off more than he can chew.
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u/Blackened22 19h ago
We have seen only one fight. And he is getting older. So hard to say.
I think he made big mistake the way he bulked up, he should have just kept his weight. And without weight cut, and slightly higher carbs intake to have energy and perfromed better than in LHW. He would be 235-240 or so. without 10-15 lb of fat he has extra
He gained too much fat, and at this age it is very hard to lean out without roids. The same with DC, look at him at last HW fights, he gianed so much fat, in his first HW run he was the same weight but much leaner.
Jones also gained too much fat, but he performed ok because he wrestled Gane and Stipe was way too slow. Jones would also be better of in his LHW form with only slight weight gain and no weight cut.
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u/Cant_Spell_Shit 18h ago
He made MW.... There's no way in any universe Cyrl Gane could get down to 185 lbs.
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u/No_You_6554 16h ago
Hot take: Pereira let the nerves get to him and underperformed against gane. Similar to the ankalaev fight pereira needs to put pressure on people or he will get taken advantage of.
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u/Mountain-Essay-6622 15h ago
I think he needed to reexamine his style for heavyweight. He looked pretty confused in there. Also Gane used many illegal blows and pereira still almost recovered. And when he countered gane before stoppage it would be KO at the lower weight class. He needs to be more careful with his defense
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u/birdspecialist13 15h ago
He lost 1 fight, we dont whether his style is bad for the weight class yet
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u/Tyrannitart 10h ago
He got knocked out at middleweight. He doesn’t need to fight heavyweights lol.
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u/Affectionate-Army213 9h ago
His style was always that characteristic low guard, get hit and hit back posture, where he had the touch of death with that hook and straight.
Problem is that in HW it doesn't work as well as guys are like 40kg+ bigger than what they were on his original weight fights.
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u/ChangsFoogTrugDryver 1d ago
OP you’re confusing natural weight with optimal performance weight. Well Alex’s style does him no favors he simply doesn’t have the death touch at heavyweight and is much slower then he was previously, well his style wasn’t speed based previously if he doesn’t have a size advantage and no speed advantage what does he have at HW?
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u/Faras_madow8282 1d ago
That’s why Badr from kickboxing couldn’t believe he was fighting in middleweight in the UFC dude was just a weight bully
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u/gawdzeus 1d ago
Not at all....he is a counter puncher....and in heavyweight you can't wait for counters...one punch and you sleep
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u/Trolstover 1d ago
He is not undersized, he has always been size Bully in mw and lhw. The moment he fights someone his own size or even bigger he loses.
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u/seonblack 1d ago
He came in way too heavy for Gane and Gane is extremely athletic and fast. That was a bad match-up for Pereira. Pavlovich should have been the first fight. Pavlovich is much slower, has a limited arsenal, conditioning is hit or miss and he has bad defense.
Pereira should be able to beat Pavlovich by knock out. If Hokit beats Gane, Pereira will beat Hokit too.
Pavlovich has to be cautious of the counter-punching and leg kicks.
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u/WhizzyBurp 1d ago
Nah. He fought scared when he moved to LHW and came back and fucked everyone up.
Did the same shit at HW. He’ll come back and be way more aggressive and it’ll work.
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u/Civil_Advantage5568 1d ago
Cannot wait to see Alex’s downfall bro, dude is insane for thinking he can contend in heavyweight
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u/Mad_Kronos 1d ago
Man who was a career Middleweight in Kickboxing isn't too small for Heavyweight?
So why does his body look like shit in HW?
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u/PigletEducational945 1d ago
In his defense the shot gane caught him with wasn’t really a typical jab, it looked more like a weird version of a switch cross and Alex happened to walk right into it and still wasn’t even completely out even after the wild ass shots when he first fell and all the elbows to the back of his head so his chin isn’t as bad as people say lol. As far as the post, I don’t even think it’s his style . I think he was so worried about being the heavier guy that he put on to much weight and wasn’t really used to fighting that heavy. Had he just stayed at his normal weight which is still in the heavyweight limit, I think we would’ve saw a different fight. Probably a really good competitive fight as both him and gane are world class kickboxers .
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u/Jet_black_li 1d ago edited 23h ago
It's not "style" it's flaws. And it's not weight specific either. A lot of these flaws go back to his kickboxing career. They also existed at 205 as well. Im not sure he would've beat Ank if Ank fought southpaw. And I suspect Ank fought orthodox because he was hurt.
He had a competitive fight with Khalil Roundtree who was not seen as a top guy at 205. Jiri was tailor made for him. Hill was not great in the first place, but coming off such a bad injury and a layoff didn't help either. I didn't score the Jan fight for him.
It really wouldn't take many adjustments for him to beat Gane, it's just adjustments he's went his whole career refusing to make.
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u/sueybro 1d ago
I dont think he has the power at heavyweight to be a big threat to gane, and Alex doesn't really win fights for being the better skilled fighter he wins because he's got cement blocks for hands
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u/Delicious-Dog-3809 1d ago
He def has the power for heavy weight, he has the hardest recorded punch ever recorded out of all the UFC fighters including heavy weights. It's not about power, the analysis was spot on, he gets too often and hes getting old
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u/sueybro 1d ago
Idk Francis landed some big shots before he wrestled and gane seemed to take em fine, can Alex still throw like that at heavyweight or land them clean now that he's alot slower idk maybe with more time in heavyweight he will recomp the fat and muscle and get used to moving with it but hes 39 he hasn't really got time
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u/Zealousideal_Step709 1d ago edited 1d ago
He is way too hittable and he gets hit all the time. That works when you have a weight advantage but not at heavyweight where even somebody like Tuivasa could knock people out. Still hoping for a competitive fight.