With the withdrawal of the UFC’s biggest star. It was up to Alex Pereira to step up and save the promotion from a completely cancelled UFC 303 PPV. The UFC did what the UFC does. They figured a way out. After Conor McGregor’s toe injury, it looked like the card could not be salvaged, but this is the only promotion that has the resources and the backup to fill a spot like that. And who do they call? Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira. The rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 was announced just about 3 weeks ago and while most saw it as a downgrade from Conor McGregor, a lot of fans relished the fact that they were getting to see one of the most devastating strikers in the sport retake centre stage.
A terrifying kickboxer, Periera was looking to take out Jiri again and cement his place in the history books as one of the fastest-rising stars in the sport. A round and some change later, the fight was over and Alex Periera had once again claimed another victim. It could be said that a lot of pundits, including myself, dismissed him as a flash-in-the-pan striker who’d be exposed as soon as he met any real resistance. But we were all proven wrong as the Brazilian has not only shown off his devastating skills in the octagon but has endeared himself to the fans in such a way that chants of ‘Chama’ are now a part of urban language thanks to him.
Alex Pereira gave Jiri no chance in the rematch
Much can be said about Alex’s power but it’s his timing and movement that seems to give guys fits in the octagon. In his entire run, he’s all but crushed everyone he’s come across, save Izzy. At 37 years old, the man is still getting better and improving his skill set. He was landing at an almost 80% accuracy and everything he hit Jiri with was doing a lot of damage. The stabbing body jab and the vicious calf kicks all set up the left hook and he drilled Jiri with it at the end of the first and finished him off with a hellacious head kick, 5 seconds into the second round. It was a flawless performance by Poatan and credit must be given for the short-notice turnaround and the defensive capabilities he showed.
Jiri landed just 7 strikes in the entire fight! 7 strikes! He was flummoxed by the improved movement and struggled to close the distance against the more disciplined striker. The end was academic as he landed the head kick and followed up with a few more punches for good measure before Herb Dead stepped in to save the battered Czech from more unnecessary damage.
Alex at Heavyweight?
Where does Alex go from here? Well, heavyweight seems like a good choice as any, right? Anklaev is also another name out there but who doesn’t want to see Pereira take on Tommy Aspinall or Jon Jones? I know I would. The future is wide open for the Brazilian but it looks like he might just need a bit of time off from an insane schedule.
The Rest of the card
The co-main event was a disaster not because the men involved in it didn’t perform but because everything leading up to the fight was marred in controversy and last-minute changes. Dan Ige stepped up on 4-hours notice to weigh in at 165lbs and take on Diego Lopes in an entertaining back-and-forth battle. I won’t go into the details of what really took place behind the scenes but suffice it to say, it was a crazy situation that showed us the guts and fortitude of guys like Dan Ige and Diego Lopes. The rest of the night was a bit of a dud with Ian Garry showing all of us that he is definitely not HIM in a tepid decision win against Michael Page. The Irishman has a lot of work to do before he even sniffs the likes of Shavkat Rakhmanov and Jack Della Madalenna.
Payton Talbott is one to watch out for
The one bright spot on the prelims was Payton Talbott. The guy is 25, hits like an oil tanker and crushed his opponent in 18 seconds. He’s also not the prototype, alpha dog like most MMA fighters are. He marches to the beat of his own drummer and clearly that rubs a lot of fans the wrong way. Personally, I don’t care about any of that stuff. All that matters to me is what they do inside the cage and with this kid, he’s a destructive dynamo.
