Alex Pereira's coach says that 'Poatan' devised head "head kick" strategy after watching Jiri Prochazka warm up in locker room
UFC light-heavyweight world champion Alex Pereira made quick work of his title challenger Jiri Prochazka in their rematch at UFC 303 last weekend. 'Poatan' put the Czech former UFC world champion away with a highlight-reel head-kick for the ages.
What made the feat even more remarkable is that Pereira called the shot in the locker room before the fight. In an interview with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, Alex Pereira's coach, Plinio Cruz, spoke about how the UFC light-heavyweight kingpin devised a plan to put Prochazka away with a foot to the face.
Cruz recalled speaking to 'Poatan' in the locker room, saying:
"'He [Prochazka] is gonna try to catch you [Pereira] almost like a Karate stance. He's gonna come try to get you in the middle. The hands are down.' Then Alex [Pereira] said Yes, [but] the timing that he is doing is wrong. I think I can use some high kicks with this guy'. I say, 'you absolutely can'. Bro, I swear to god he said 'let me see that thing [Prochazka's warm-up video] one more time'. He looked, [then] he looked at me and he said, 'I'm gonna kick this guy in the head tonight. Just watch.'"
Watch a clip of the interview here, as posted by Championship Rounds on X:
Plinio Cruz addresses Alex Pereira's alleged toe injury, says 'Poatan' didn't kick for over six months
Another interesting fact about the head-kick KO is the fact that the foot that Alex Pereira hit Jiri Prochazka with was allegedly injured. If you make a double-take on the immediate aftermath of the fight, 'Poatan' could be seen fixing something on his bare foot, prompting commentators Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier to speculate about a possible toe injury suffered before the bout.
Plinio Cruz addressed this, talking about how the world champion prepared for the Prochazka rematch, despite allegedly suffering an injury, saying (via The MMA Hour):
"Honestly, the only time he [Pereira] ever kicked in the past few months, like six months, was the first Jiri [Prochazka] fight [UFC 295, November 2023]. On the fight he fought Jamal Hill [UFC 300, April 2024], he kicked on the pads for me to warm him up, then he didn't kick anymore because he broke his second toe in that fight. So he had both broken toes. Then throughout Australia, we were just doing hands."
Watch him talk about it here: