Coach Conversation | Jiří Procházka vs Alex Pereira

Nicksick: The best trait of Jiri Prochazka is his unpredictability. He’s very erratic and I don’t think it’s something you can get a good read on; it’s hard to break him down on film. I watched him a little bit with Dom Reyes when he fought him and it’s hard to find where you can catch him in openings because everything is coming from crazy angles and unpredictable places where he’s throwing a step-over hook and a spin elbow.

To me, that’s his best trait - his creativeness and his unpredictability.

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Kyte: And what about for Pereira?

Nicksick: I would say it’s how clean his striking is — his power, his ability to collect data and find his openings. To me, I think he’s a very patient striker; he doesn’t throw things just to throw things out of the blue. I think when he throws something, it has purpose, and it can be to collect data to see where his openings might be or to knock somebody’s head off.

But he’s one of the most pure, better strikers since the Anderson (Silva) era; you can put (Israel Adesanya) up there as well.

Kyte: When you’re prepping for a guy like Prochazka, who is  — and I agree with you 100 percent on the creative, unpredictable piece being his best trait — how do you factor that stuff in? How do you equate for that?

Nicksick: You’re gonna have guys in the room — and you’ve heard me call people this before — that are “boogers,” that are just awkward. You’re going to have guys where there is an awkwardness to their striking and their style.

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There are guys you can find within the room that can give you a certain kind of look, whether it’s on the feet or on the floor, and then it’s really trying to blend that combination, because you might not get that one look from one or two people, but you may have to make it a melting pot of different people.

I was Elias Theodorou for Brad (Tavares) and I was throwing Superman punches, and two-handed chest punches, and the weirdest things I could come up with in my head. When Brad fought him, he was like, “Even training with you, you couldn’t emulate how crazy Elias was.”

It’s very hard because you’re trying to predicate things off someone else’s creativity, but here’s the bottom line: you need to remain clean in the pocket. When you think the combination is over, there is a good chance there is a spin or something else being added on, so your main focus as a coach is to remind your fighter to stay clean in the pocket and not have a lapse in judgment in the fight.

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Kyte: So as much as you have to be aware and ready for his creativity, awkwardness, whatever you want to call it, just stick to what you do. Pereira needs to just remain dialled in, fundamentals; pull the trigger when it’s there, but don’t get drawn into being overly aggressive?

Nicksick: Exactly! I would tell him, “Mind your defense three seconds longer than you think; don’t think the combination is over. Gimme three seconds longer.” Thats’ what I would remind him.

Path to Victory for Each Fighter

Kyte: Do you think there is a conversation in that camp, in that room, maybe even in the corner during the fight about winning a relatively boring fight where we’re clean and measured is better than getting into a brawl with this dude and trying to take him out, because that’s what he wants.

To me, that’s what I’m thinking about when I look at the way Pereira wins this fight. He should be happy to counter, pick his spots as you’re saying, but if Jiri wants to bounce around on the outside and get weird, just get out of the way of it. Winning 48-47 is the same as winning 50-45.

Nicksick: 100 percent, and that’s how I envision Alex winning this fight; I think he wins by decision and I think it could have its moments that are fan-friendly, but if the fans are a little restless, it tells me Alex Pereira is winning the fight.

X Factor

Kyte: If there was one thing that was going to significantly impact how this fight plays out — that swings it in one direction or the other — what would it be?

Nicksick: I think the power is always going to be there for Pereira in terms of when he finds an opening like he did with Sean (Strickland), Izzy; the guy jumps on it and tears through it. He has great vision when he finds the opening and the hole.

I think for Jiri, I really feel like he needs to get this to the point where he gets Pereira pissed off and out of his comfort zone, where I feel like the corner will be like, “You need to calm down!” because he’s getting frustrated, hit with s*** coming from weird angles, and gets him out of his flow. That’s where I feel Jiri will find his success, and in that flow where you’ve got Pereira trying to counter, trying to crack back, that’s where I think you’ll find openings for takedowns.

Score those fit-ins, put him on his back, and make him work back up, nullify some of the round, slow the fight down; that would help, from my perspective, for Jiri.

From a coaches’ perspective, it’s almost a battle of the two disciplines: both need to stay within their game plan and who can draw the other one into what they want to do better?

For some reason, I think Jiri can incite a brawl better, coax Pereira into that fight, where I don’t think Jiri is going to stand in front of Pereira, snake-charmed and watching him; he’s going to be fighting at his pace.

Kyte: Jiri is always going to be Jiri; it’s just a matter of whether he can draw Alex in or not.

I think you’re right — if he can find some way to piss Pereira off, frustrate him to where he’s over-extending, chasing a little, that’s when it’s going to get real interesting to me. If Glover (Teixeira) and Plinio (Cruz) can get in his ear and be like, “Be technical; it’s fine!” it will be better for Pereira.

Nicksick: You nailed it. That’s what I think this fight is going to look like: 48-47, Alex Pereira. He’ll give a round away, close fight, he’ll get taken down for a round.

Kyte: A couple shots where he’s close, Jiri will have his moments, but mostly Pereira staying clean, winning it on the scorecards.

One Coaching Curiosity

Kyte: Coaches see the sport differently and look at the sport differently than anyone else, picking up on different things and paying attention to movements, habits, or intangible pieces that others might not notice, but that could have a significant impact on the action inside the Octagon.

Every matchup offers its own unique collection of elements that might pique a coach’s interest and get them paying a little closer attention to once the fight gets underway.

So what is that one thing in this matchup?

Nicksick: I would like to see the data collection that is Pereira’s first round. He has this slow, methodical pace, and he likes to see where his openings are, and I wonder if that is where Jiri is going to try to go fast early because I think both camps know that and understand that.

But again, there is the equalizer that Pereira has in all limbs where he can put you to sleep, so, for me, from a coaching perspective, I want to see how the fight unfolds with Alex more than anything because Jiri is so unpredictable, so crazy, so awkward. So how does Alex slow the fight down? How does he collect data? Where does he find his counters? How does he defend takedowns?

To me, all those things are going to be very important in how this fight goes.

Kyte: Yeah, when you’re the guy that wants to be measured, wants to be patient, how do you react when you’re facing a guy that is just chaotic?

Jiri is the complete antithesis of what Pereira wants to be: going 100, no matter what, “all gas, no brakes,” and just go, go, go, so that part is going to be interesting, for sure.

For me, I think Alex is in an interesting spot. I want to see if there is a little bit of urgency with him because the last was kind of just technical, not the big action people were expecting; a close split decision. And it was the loss before that, so I wonder if he presses a little; if he’s sensing a little of that.

Nicksick: That’s a good point.

Kyte: I just want to see if he doesn’t get into his head a little about “we had the loss in April, and then the fight with (Jan) Blachowicz was just all right,” and now there is a little added pressure that he’s feeling.

The good thing is that he’s got Glover there to be like, “There is none of that; do what you’ve gotta do!”

Nicksick: And he’s fought Jiri, and I think that is also important.

Kyte: Right! Knows some of the stuff — what the strength is like, what the power is like, what he might chase and not chase. I’m sure if you asked Glover, he’d cop to wanting that fight back so he could correct the couple mistakes he made because he was 30 seconds from winning that fight.

Nicksick: Yep. It’s going to be a good one.

Kyte: I can’t wait for it!