MMA Coach Highlights Critical Flaw in Alex Pereira’s Game at Heavyweight

Alex Pereira's journey to heavyweight territory has raised serious concerns.

Alex Pereira's Venture into Dangerous Heavyweight territory Controversial

Poatan is standing his ground in the heavyweight division. His next opponent in the octagon is none other than knockout artist Sergei Pavlovich. Their bout, the five-round co-main event at UFC 335 is taking place on Dec. 12.

However, the former light heavyweight and middleweight champion has previously delivered a rather subpar performance in this division. In fact, his last match against the now-heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane ended with him being knocked out cold.

During his appearance on “Anik & Florian Podcast”, MMA coach Ray Longo commented on Periera’s decision to choose the heavyweight division.

“When you get with these bigger guys now, can he take the power coming back is the problem because you even watch his sparring, it’s not like he’s a guy that doesn’t get hit. He likes to get hit and come back. These guys, I think, might be too big. They’re really, really big guys. I don’t know.”

Longo also gave his due criticism on Poatan’s last fight against Gane.

“I saw nothing before that that lets me believe that he could beat him in a rematch. I just saw the size difference, the way he was moving. Alex, it’s Bobby Green-esque. He’s got the power, but he keeps his hands down.”

“Ciryl Gane looked like a world beater in that fight before those head shots,” Longo continued. “I mean, I think got knocked down with a jab, if I’m not mistaken, right? It wasn’t even like a power punch, but these guys are huge.”

Pavlovich has established himself as one of the division's most dangerous knockout specialists. Naturally, if Pereira hasn’t majorly tweaked his game since his last fight, he could be in serious danger. However, Longo isn’t the only one with an apprehensive attitude regarding this.

Michael Bisping Isn’t a Fan of Alex Pereira’s Heavyweight Performance

The former middleweight champion has given a detailed look at why Pereira’s success at heavyweight seems far off. He believes the Brazilian’s movements might be his biggest weakness. 

"Pereira's style is kind of flat-footed. Yes, he has ridiculous power, and he's given us some spectacular knockouts with the left hooks, with the head kicks."

He continued, "Every shot that he throws has ridiculous power, but he's not nice and light on his feet. He's not spritely, he's not on his toes, he's not overly agile. He goes forward, he gets the rhythm, and bang! One shot puts people to sleep".

Bisping also mentioned this fighting style, despite being effective in lower weight categories, might not be too useful against heavyweights.

“But at heavyweight, it's not quite as effective. The guys can take the bigger shots, and they can land the bigger shots, and they are naturally that size. They haven't put the weight on by force”.

Despite all these odds, Pereira is planning on chasing the Heavyweight Title with all his might. And if his hand gets raised against the Russian, he will be standing one step closer to it.