The coach of one UFC champion is backing Alex Pereira to keep hold of his light heavyweight title at UFC 303 this weekend.
Pereira is tasked with headlining Saturday’s International Fight Week event on short notice, stepping in for the injured Conor McGregor as the main attraction in Las Vegas.
With little preparation, “Poatan” will once again share the Octagon with Jiří Procházka. The Brazilian has already stalled the Czech star’s pursuit of two-time champ status, knocking him out at Madison Square Garden last November to win the then-vacant belt.
Given the controversial nature of the stoppage in that fight, Pereira has vowed to deliver a more definitive finish second time around. And one notable mixed martial arts coach is seemingly expecting him to do just that…
Welch: Procházka ‘Can’t Get Away’ With His Style Against ‘Expert Puncher’ Pereira
During an episode of his TimboSugarShow alongside UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley, coach Tim Welch looked ahead to the UFC 303 main event and assessed the challenger’s chances of emerging from T-Mobile Arena with the gold back in his possession.
Welch touched on the elements of Procházka’s unique style that he sees as undesirable for a fighter, noting that they aren’t something he can get away with against a veteran striker like Pereira.
“Alex Pereira is too sharp, he’s got too much experience kickboxing. Jiří’s style is too unorthodox; dropping his hands, throwing punches, not having good balance after he punches. His hands come back to his armpits,” Welch said. “Pereira’s too sharp for that, he’s too good of a power puncher. I think he’s gonna put one on the lips and put him down.
“Dude, Jiří is f*cking — he drops his hands down by his armpits, he doesn’t have his hands up. Alex Pereira, I mean, I feel like you can’t fight like that against him,” Welch continued. “When you’ve got an expert puncher like that, you can’t afford to get away with that sh*t, I feel like.”
“Poatan” will look to prove Welch and his other backers’ predictions correct come fight night on June 29, where a second successful title defense this year while saving a major event will no doubt add to his stardom and ever-growing legacy on the sport’s biggest stage.
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