Alex Pereira has a formidable opponent for his next fight. Thankfully, it looks like he’s figured out exactly what to do with him. It appears ‘Poatan’ is ready for his next battle against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295, as he sat down with the MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani to discuss his upcoming fight.

The fighter has recently changed his weight class to go up against Prochazka. This change might make him feel a little new to his fighting style but there’s no problem. ‘Poatan’ has a great strategy to take down Prochazka and he’s not going to miss a single shot. Here’s what he’s observed while closely studying the fighting style of the ‘Czech Samurai’.

Alex Pereira knows how to deal with Prochazka

This isn’t Alex Pereira’s first fight in the light heavyweight division. The last time we saw him, he was dealing with Jan Blachowicz in the Octagon. He won the fight via decision and now, he’s going to face a former champion. Clearly, he’s fighting a man who knows how to hold his own inside the cage, some preparation was only natural.

“Alex is training more for a striker,” translated Plinio Cruz, Pereira’s coach. “Cant’ just go too deep on his game, you know what I mean, without giving too much but I see some stuff that over there that can work that nobody sees.”

Helwani pointed out how both Pereira and Prochazka are strikers with very different styles. Cruz detailed how Pereira’s coach, Glover Teixeira was training him to be a better striker. Clearly, ‘Poatan’ has a game plan that he is not willing to give away to the media just before the fight. Helwani then asked if ‘Poatan’ thinks that he leaves himself open to be struck way too often.

“He leaves himself open for a reason, if you study a little bit of his game,” said Cruz on Pereira’s behalf. “Things that I’m seeing that he does on his game that I’m working on without going too deep. (It’s) just a very superficial part.”

Being unorthodox is Pereira’s trademark but that can help him more than do damage in his upcoming fight. Training alongside a veteran like Teixeira has helped him come up with a plan. The fighter is not known for being very expressive and he’s keeping his words to himself. A smart policy by all means!

When is the fight going down?

Pereira and Prochazka will be the co-main event fight for UFC 295. The fight is all set to blow the audiences away on November 11th at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight will decide who will be the new light heavyweight champion. The last time we saw Jiri Prochazka was when he took the title away from Pereira’s coach, Glover Teixeira.

Also Read: Alex Pereira Reveals Mindset Before Facing Experienced Israel Adesanya in MMA Fight

He had to vacate the title after he suffered what Dana White called “the worst shoulder injury in UFC history.” Now, the Czech is back in action and going up against his last opponent’s apprentice. Will the fight bring up buried emotions for ‘Poatan’? Or will he remain as cold as he always is? We’ll find out on November 11.

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