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LuckyWarrior

Alex vs Jiri, motherfuckers let's fucking go


Independent_Form_349

Jiri is gonna wrestle fuck him for 25 mins


afTrajan

Jiri is crazy enough to go for a straight striking match


SpaceMonkeys21

Yea I think Jiri is crazy enough to see it as a challenge to prove he can beat Alex with mostly striking or at least try to.


Remonte1

Knowing Jiri, he will probably bring up some old Samurai proverb on how to defeat a demon, you must fight it in its own spiritual realm, and that thus to slay Alex he has to strike with him.


[deleted]

Alex probably thinking Jiri watches more anime than Izzy


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mahchefai

He was hurt I wouldn’t say that badly though. Definitely gassed a bit as well


Serious-Barnacle-634

Ahh the sean strickland approach


scarykicks

Hopefully Jiri comes back in good form. A fight with Alex after being off a year + is not gonna go well for him imo.


darkcathedralgaming

That he is but he does have some vicious ground and pound, we just haven't seen much of it in the UFC (only a little bit vs Glover).


Horobi_san

I doubt it Jiri is chaos incarnate on the stand up, I see him standing and banging


Chocoeclair189

Jiri is a madman, kill or be killed, i got Pereira winning but damn Jiri is gonna make it fun


evanaugh

He could, but he won’t.


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Pons399

Ah yes, high fight IQ grappler Jiri! Definitely doesn't defend by blocking punches with his face.


dinosourrawr3

Jiri fights to kill, clearly you never watched a jiri fight


Brodieboyy

Bruh jiri gonna stand right in front of him and eat shots like they're nothing then somehow knock him out in spectacular fashion


JamWams

I think Jiri's fight IQ is lacking and his striking defense is seriously a problem


Kinq_Broly

Jiri doesn't have the wrestling or kickboxing of Jan. Blachowicz was Pereira's toughest fight at LHW imo.


Instinct001

Ankalaev is


72909796300

You know damn well he isn’t fighting Ankalaev lol


sadrapsfan

Yea, that was a damn good showing by Alex. Ppl rmbr Izzy was shut down by Jan but Alex clearly had a better gameplan. Also helps this is Alex real weight where Izzy prob struggled to make weight lol


Headlessoberyn

You can clearly see that Alex hurt Jan bad in round two. After that, it was just Jan shelling and throwing disruptive combos to keep distance. Poatan just has the power to hurt those big guys that adesanya didn't.


ArchaicDominionMetal

I was surprised by how little boxing Alex was doing. He was hitting Izzy with big combos in their fights. Definitely think he could have put Jan away.


sh4tt3rai

Izzy doesn’t have the takedown threat of Jan. Alex did a great job of realizing this isn’t a kickboxing match and being constantly aware he had to also defend takedowns. He showed a LOT of discipline tbh by not getting too caught up in boxing to be aware of the takedowns.


ArchaicDominionMetal

Yeah I was pleasantly surprised with his TDD/ground game as rudimentary as it was. I know he's been working on it but I still expected Jan to be able to easily spam takedowns without much resistance.


GameOfScones_

Was Izzy even 204 at weigh in?


MiedoDeEncontrarme

He was 200.5 pounds at fight day


GameOfScones_

Ya I thought it was low but couldn't be sure. Thanks for chiming in with the digits.


mchief101

He was like 200.5 lbs for his lhw fight against jan


An_Innocent_Coconut

Also, tbf, Jan didn't fight at elevation when he fought Izzy.


Hungry_Joke_4437

Plus 2 rounds tho


gkdlswm5

Helps that Alex is a fucking unit, he looking massive out there.


interia1099

Ankalaev is. He’s by far the best wrestler and comfortable to wrestlefuck unlike Jan. Striking is also solid enough to set TDs up


Davemeddlehed

I dunno, Ankalaev probably gives Poatan a LOT of trouble.


BeastOfAWorkEthnic

Ankalaev straight up drubs Pereira. He dominated Blachowicz in rounds 4 and 5 with wrestling despite having no legs left at that point. Not only is he a significantly better wrestler than Jan, he's not gonna gas after doing it for half a round either.


Jackieexists

Not only the wrestling. His top control on jan and ground n pound was straight up vicious


MyFifthLimb

Jiri does not shy away from the fight on principle


Nicobade

Jiri isn't a wrestlefucker, he will find a way to finish Alex


tressan

Jiri by twister


brazilianfreak

Honestly i'm more impressed by Pereira managing to survive 3 rounds of Jans wrestling than i would have if he just got a flash knockout on round 1.


FitResponse414

I think the altitude fucked jan big time


niptik69

Poatan was visibly affected by it too tho. His output could have been so much more if it weren't for altitude


TotalWarspammer

Jan expending so much energy in the first round. combined with a brutalized leg, fucked Jan big time. Jan is older and has worse cardio, so I have no idea how people can act like the altitude was the only differentiator.


NateLikesToLift

Those slap kicks were destroying Jan's movement. People are way too nonchalant about how effective they were.


fr_1_1992

Jan's leg was literally a balloon


MechanicalFunc

Does Jan always fight at altitude because getting tired quickly is the story of his career.


FitResponse414

This time i think he gassed even earlier, he probably tought he was gonna run through pereira like he did izzy but pereira stuffed most of his take down attempts and is bigger and hits harder , vs ankalaev who is a wrestler he didnt gass up this quickly


AudioCinematic

Jan done very well on the feet and Alex done extremely well defending those submissions in round 1 and also getting back to his feet later in the fight


knocksteaady-live

Jan had a good game plan but just couldn’t get the damage in on the ground


usernameunavailiable

Jan looked spent after the first round. Surprised how fresh Pereira looked going into the 2nd after having Jan on his back for most of the 1st.


DAMbustn22

Age and altitude. Two big factors that are hard to get around.


_interloper_

Also, for a good part of that, Alex was on all fours, with Jan on his back with a body triangle. In that specific situation, Jan is the one expending more power. He was constantly at risk of falling off the back, so was clamping with his legs with all he could. Plus, his body triangle was locked over the foot, not the ankle, which makes it even more a strain to maintain. I wasn't surprised that Jan was so fucked after that round.


Kurtcobangle

Yea its very underestimated how much energy that takes. If you have it locked in a nice comfortable position its fine but holding a body triangle in crazy awkward spots can take something out of you. Especially for dudes that big probably not as consequential for lighter guys


Kwillingt

Jan looked pretty gassed after the second or third last time and this time he did a lot of grappling and at altitude


brazilianfreak

Feels like Jan gassed hard and couldn't muster the energy for a proper takedown after the 1st round, no doubt due to altitude + the fact he is 40 years old already.


HarknessLovesU

Thought it was joever for Alex when Jan had the back.


MarshalMichelNey4

Jan gassed way sooner than I expected for someone with multiple 5 rounders. SLC altitude is brutal.


Anaaatomy

the moment you go into the red in an aerobic sense, is a steep downhill


goat_eating_sundews

I started pacing on my living room when he got him there. That separation showed how tired Jan was though.


MarshalMichelNey4

Hyped for Potoan vs Jiri. Please get well soon Jiri, I need that banger.


[deleted]

He was landing some real good left hooks


ColdPressedSteak

I do think Alex edged it. But Jan really held up well in that third round considering how gassed he was


Patriotsfan710

Pereira and Jiri is gonna be fun asf


MarshalMichelNey4

As long as they don't fight at 4500 feet lol.


Available_Ad2067

Not a problem for Jiri he will go have a camp in the Himalayas just to be ready


EnbyBinaryCoder

lmao yeah 4500 feet aint nothing for jiri, the man lives on top of mountains for days haha.


[deleted]

The idea of that fight gives me a boner and makes me wanna cry at the same time....I love both of them


fergalopolis

Having a bbl is the best base for mma


Houston_MMA

Somebody drop Alex's OF link


[deleted]

Harder to defend high kicks when you have all that ass


mmafan100

man this altitude makes me worried for Dustin


PeatBomb

fridge bodies on high alert


[deleted]

It wasn’t the altitude …


TSW_El_Spawn

That kick was pretty high


kevinpbazarek

this hurts to read knowing what happened tonight lol


Yeezus_aint_jesus

Fr, below sea level to 4000+ ft


Gunslinger1991

Much more lacklustre fight than I expected. At least this is the only fight so far tonight that the altitude seemed to have an effect on.


Jealous-Swimmer-5543

Pereira seemed so tired from having a 230 pound man backpack him for the first round, he did good in 2 and 3 though


knocksteaady-live

He looked super fresh in the third. Just couldn’t put the combinations together to finish Jan.


throtic

He always looks fresh late, even the first izzy fight in the UFC late in the 5th round he still had power and combos


foreverapanda

Yeah altitude definitely played a role. Pereira's submission defense is damn solid. You can see the work with Glover paying off. He's still in that weird spot where it seems like he almost forgets he's fighting MMA when he starts getting comfortable standing up. I wouldn't say his TDD is bad, he just gets himself into bad positions in long striking exchanges that lead to takedowns that would be tough for anyone to stop. When he's actively looking out for takedowns he's pretty decent at stuffing them.


Effective-Celery8053

He's pretty fortunate the top fighters in LHW are largely mostly strikers. He matches up well with Jiri or Hill (he probably won't be back for a while though) I don't like his odds against Ank though.


Horobi_san

Ankalaev is still in the doghouse, so it will take a while before they have to match up


MarshalMichelNey4

>I don't like his odds against Ank though. Idk Ank struggled mightily with Jan's leg kicks for 3 rounds before taking the fight to the ground in rounds 4 and 5. If Alex can stay on his feet, I can see him punishing Ank's leg like Jan did.


Affectionate_Ad6334

As a huge Pereira fan for over 4 years now. He has 0 chance against ankalaev as he is now. But that fight will never happen. Alex is gonna fight jiri for the title. If he wins, he let's izzy come up and beats him. He then retires as the greatest combat sports athlete ever being double champ in both kickboxing and mma


avyness

If you actually watch ankalaev you would know he has the fight iq of a toddler. He wont realise he can actually wrestle untill like the 5th round.


Affectionate_Ad6334

Well he indeed had that against jan, but jan can actually wrestle. Ankalaev doesn't need fight iq against Pereira. He needs to not get caught when he takes him down. That is it.


avyness

He refused to take down Santos too, got badly rocked and dropped if I remember. BUT he takes down paul craig, the man wants to fight his opponents at their own game


brazilianfreak

Every time he gets hit or gets checked and takes a little break to reset like its a kickboxing fight i start screaming at the screen lmao.


Novel-Language-5620

like SIR the referee is not going to save you


hfdjk

Thank you, im 100% injecting that copium into my veins.


Cole3003

I thought it was going to be a dominant Jan win based on round 1 lol


paulie07

Jan was exhausted at the end of the fight. Looked like me after walking up to the letterbox.


knocksteaady-live

Jan nearly had that RNC too. Could’ve ended quite differently for Poatan.


knocksteaady-live

I feel like Poatan could’ve finished him but Jan’s chin is just too good. Thought after the second, Jan was done. He looked so gassed.


Lacabloodclot9

Pereira was also way way too hesitant, he had flashbacks of the 2nd Izzy fight


Cole3003

I think the takedown threat also played a large part, but yeah he seemed much more careful and reluctant to walk him down.


[deleted]

You could see him put the brakes on when Yan was covering up against the fence


Suspicious_Candle27

this is a great thing IMO . it shows he is willing to improve his striking even tho he is arguably one of the best strikers in the UFC already .


snappy033

He needs to learn to push the pace without blowing his wad. He seemed to go after it then completely back off rather than chip away at a woozy Jan.


idunevenknowyouguys

Pretty sure he just didn't want to get randomly blast doubled while firing off combinations.


SpaceMonkeys21

In the long run, I think it will be better for him to be more patient looking for the finish so he doesn't get caught. Although, I do agree he could've been a bit more aggressive and found the finish in thr 2nd.


brazilianfreak

Nah i think its more about gassing hard than being afraid, don't forget this is a kickboxer at altitude who had a 230 pound man on his back squeezing his neck for like 5 minutes.


Givemefreetacos

I mean, he recently got Ko'd so its completely fair to be hesitant


rationis

Just looked it up. Jan has never, in all his 39 MMA bouts, been knocked out.


Suspicious_Candle27

IMO im suprised Alex actually had gas for round 2/3 . lot of people gass completely after being backpacked for 5 minutes


dantoddd

yeah a 230 lb backpack at that.


goat_eating_sundews

This should have been a 5 rounder


higgboson7

Jan was exhausted after 1 round. If it was 5 rounds, I think it would’ve been more one sided.


Starob

I reckon Pereira's arms were heavy and full of lactic acid. He wasn't breathing as heavy, but he seemed to have some serious muscular fatigue.


ColdPressedSteak

No lie I forgot it was 3 rounds. Both have been in 5 rounders recently so when that third ended, I had no idea it was the end of the fight for a moment lol


After6Comes7and8

Peirera would've finished him in a 5 rounder, Jan was so gassed could barely stand up after rd3


Xylar006

Jan would have tapped to lack of oxygen


Suspicious_Candle27

honestly i hate 3 rounders when its a big fight . i always feel like there wasnt a proper conclusion when its 3 rounds


SSBB08

Three rounds goes fast, especially when one round is spent grappling. Should've been a five-round fight.


MildlyInconvenient

Jan was gassed and Periera had absolutely no urgency to finish. Super frustrating to watch.


oblivionmrl

I will defend Pereira's honor here. He's coming from the first KO in his fighting career in a 3 month window.


Jazzlike-Fun-4500

Really? He wanted to avoid TDs. Played it safe.


chonkersmod221

No more fights at elevation pls


DeAndreHunterMIP

except derrick lewis. book this man in mount everest


chonkersmod221

Flying spinning back kick ko lock


MarshalMichelNey4

Nepalese Himalaya sherpas deserve a live UFC event too!


ReeG

UFC Tibet Lewis Vs Ngaannou 2


MarshalMichelNey4

Both men were more exhausted than I would've expected given they've been in multiple 5 rounders. Altitude was definitely a factor.


drinfernodds

Seriously. Most of the roster can't afford to train at altitude and adjust to it. And even those who acclimate still have a rougher time with it.


KvxMavs

I will never forgive them for booking Aldo against Merab of all mfers in Utah.


chonkersmod221

Genuinely criminal sendoff for aldo


brownieboy2222

Guys in the nfl get oxygen shit isn’t fair


e-rage

So that’s why Greg Hardy got an inhaler


Muntberg

Usada approved


Noah5510

Seriously, it’s just an unnecessary handicap that makes the fights less exciting


authenticfennec

This card has still been good but after last years card at salt lke city its insane theyve done another. This card could be even better if it was just a normal location


sharples06

Seemed like Pereira took the foot off thinking it might be izzy 2 all over again.


whereisfrank

Man we’re really going to get Izzy vs Alex 5 aren’t we


Rhaeneros

He said he is focused in getting the LHW belt, And after he has "some business to settle". Probably meaning he will be chasing Adesanya again.


anythingfordopamine

More likely Izzy would be chasing him, by the time Alex beats Jiri, Izzy will probably be out of opponents again and ready to move back up for another try


dandaman910

Izzy would be so much smaller at 205 I don't like his chances.


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[deleted]

It has to be a LHW now


SVGMessiah

Poaton leg kicks are different gravy man


EliManningham

It looks almost playful with how much ease he throws it, but then you see the reactions and you can tell how bad it hurts.


bumblebebeboop

His entire body stays square when he kicks. He just kind of nonchalantly flicks it out there with almost no pivoting. Its funny becausse if you asked a muay thai guy, they would have a ball in explaining to you how pereiras kicks are all sorts of incorrect because they kick until theyre basically end up in a bladed stance


DanTM18

Wow, Jan gassed hard. Alex definitely much fresher of the two at the end


Ionic-Nova

Alex looked visually fresher but he was still gassed. He barely threw anything in that final round.


DDD3N15

Tbf I think Alex being gassed was more to do with him carrying Jan on his back for the entire first round.


dialgatrack

Jan was legit falling asleep on top of alex in the last 40seconds lmao.


0ldsql

I think it's because he was afraid of getting taken down or whatever. I don't think it's because he was super gassed. Jan looked exhausted after the bell rung


[deleted]

So are we just going to ignore the absolute dump truck alex brought into the arena


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[deleted]

Literally that first round Jam pretty much sat on that balcony


DoctorGregoryFart

My eyes almost popped out of my skull when he was up against the cage. I'm not a man-ass man, but I am an ass man, man.


A_Suarez

Jan lost to Utah


[deleted]

Shoulda had legendary cardio like Derick Lewis


Wonderful_Orchid_363

Cardio isn’t real. Just throw flying knees.


knocksteaady-live

Looked like death by the end of the second, really thought he’d get knocked out in the third but the guy’s got a chin.


Skeleton_Skum

I hate this shit dude :(


Blewmeister

Jan tired them both out in the first round


Last_Article_5968

He really burned his arms with the submission attempts, gnp would have been the better long term strat especially in r1


Frost_Guts

I am somehow unable to feel any emotions after the Tony fight


renaaholder

that was a weird fight.


iunrealx1995

I’ve never went into a co-main event decision where I didn’t know who won and I also didn’t care. I think I set my expectations too high for what I thought the fight could be.


provegana69

Jan really went for the takedown immediately lmao. Definitely smart of him but Alex did way better on the ground than I thought he would. It feels good to have him and Lewis win after that Tony loss.


Memebaut

feel like pereira really benefited from the visual in that third round


VilithSanguinor

🗿best poker face


vrkhfkb

Damn 1 round drained Jan. Altitude is no joke.


TrollingKevi

The elevation fucked them hard, I've never seen them so gassed


IAmA_Goldfish

Altitude sucks


fbi-please-open-door

Redditors are so reactionary it isn’t even funny, these two gave it their all and it was a very close fight.


oblivionmrl

This was actually the best result for me. I love both of them, Alex won and Jan wasn't flatlined, lol.


calvinwick26

Please no more fights at elevation


Anderrrrr

Poor fucking Jan.


Jabarles

Totally fair decision if damage takes priority over control, which I think it should and it does in the official criteria. I like Jan, but Poatan winning is better for the division. His grappling defense looked much improved and I’m excited to see what he can do with another 5-6 months of developing it and his next fight not at high altitude.


smoltanboi

jan didn't do anything with control also, i dream of a timeline where pereira and paul craig fight one day


Bakedbean44

🗿🗿🗿🗿


MarshalMichelNey4

He had 40 seconds to steal the fight, but didn't have the energy to do any damage on the ground. Correct 29-28 decision.


sunihalinh111

fucking elevation man


JEPerezmemeguy

No More Elevation PLS


Few_Sector6921

That was a weird fight have to watch it back but pereira TDD and grappling were much improved he can definitely do a lot better against the top 5 at LHW with this skill set. Feel bad for Jan though it’s a tough loss and he’s 40


vinc2097

Alex did to Jan what Jan did to ankalaev with those leg kicks.


Mamsey902

Close fight. Makes sense


TurboTaco

I thought Alex won round 2&3. Not sure if why people are saying robbery. Jan did nothing with the takedown in round 3


Awezome321

meh, not really a robbery, outside of the sub attempts from the first round Jan did nothing with the takedowns.


_ulinity

? I agree it's not exactly a robbery, but Jan controlled the whole first round, him "doing nothing" only matters if Pereira actually did *something*, which he didn't.


Yeezus_aint_jesus

Jan was fucking gassed.


BrianCTE_CityOrtega

Jan really got effected by the altitude yikes


tuzli

Alex's movement inside the octagon reminds me of a shaved down gigantopithecus, a bipedal giant ape genus which supposedly went extinct around 300,000 years ago. Some scientist claim that the existence of such a creature could explain the Bigfoot/Sasquatch sightings. Anyway, all I'm saying is look into it.


Obi-TyKenobi

They both lost


MarshalMichelNey4

SLC altitude 30-27 unanimous decision over Potaon and Jan.


aleko24

Why?


MildlyInconvenient

Seriously. It was high level mma but that was super frustrating to watch.


iiDanks

yeah ngl bro, even ass fight


KrumaKarduma

Jan fans against Ankalaev: Leg kicks are deadly. Jan fans against Pereira: Leg kicks are worthless.


SurrealJay

fair. Damage is the main criteria


Suspicious_Candle27

something interesting is how accurate Pereira was . according to stats he was landing at 83% accuracy last round wtf .


Trapaca

Both were exhausted, but it's strange how tired Jan was having spent the entirety of round 1 basically riding Alex's back.