The main event for UFC 295 features a light heavyweight title fight that pits the chaotic nature of Jiri Prochazka against the cool, calm and collected firestarter, Alex Pereira.
Walking a fine line between martial artist and madman, Prochazka embodies his own unique brand of offense that has become a hallmark of his game.
Seldom taking a back step in the spirit of retreat, Prochazka traditionally comes forward with an unpredictable mix of sporadic feints and shifting footwork that he uses to create offensive opportunities. Whether Prochazka’s charging his chakras on the resets or using his long arms for karate-style frames, the fighter from the Czech Republic can quickly and deceptively close distance off of odd looks and tempo changes.
Prochazka also seems to pack a solid spread of dynamic attacks in his arsenal, almost always appearing to be primed to launch flying knees in the face of level-changing threats. And despite his amateur muay Thai accolades, Prochazka typically tends to lean into a crouch variation for his attacks and counters.
Jiri Prochazka vs. Volkan Oezdemir #UFCVegas25 pic.twitter.com/YzZeZzvjNU
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) April 28, 2021
But with counters being a potent two-way street in these sorts of matchups, Prochazka will need to respect the powerful hooks that Pereira uses to punctuate exchanges.
Although many will immediately point to the counter left hook, it is ultimately the proprioception of Pereira that makes him so accurate and dangerous in all that he does.
Whether he’s hitting his opposition with surprising spin kicks or splitting right hands inside of the danger zone, Pereira demonstrates a preternatural instinct to find and hit targets in motion. This could also be why his defensive layers can seem lackadaisical at times, but the Brazilian does a decent job of playing off his lowered guard and purposefully slow prods in order to invite opponents into awkwardly angled counters.
And when Pereira is the one pushing opponents on the back foot and towards a barrier, he wields one of the more understated jabs in MMA.
Already submitted my #UFC287 breakdown for this week, but couldn’t help throw this video together after hearing @TeddyAtlasReal talk about the jabbing dynamic between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
Tacked on George Foreman-Gullick to help illustrate his Pereira comparisons: pic.twitter.com/Clws9Re94N
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) April 4, 2023
Pereira’s kicks, though improved (particularly when being used for returns), also come with an awkward kicking gate in tow, almost as if he’s trying to stay planted for counter-hook attachments at all times. That said, I’m not sure how much either man will be looking to kick given both of their knacks for countering said attacks.
This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie