Sean O'Malley's coach says Jiri Prochazka's fighting style will hinder him against Alex Pereira at UFC 303: "Can't afford to get away with that s**t"
Alex Pereira is set to rematch Jiri Prochazka in the main event at UFC 303 and Sean O'Malley's coach Tim Welch believes 'BJP's' unorthodox style puts him at risk of being KOd against 'Poatan'.
When the popular light heavyweights squared off for the first time at UFC 295, the Czech national was putting up a competitive fight until he got dropped by Pereira in the second round. While Prochazka tried to survive by tying up his opponent, a barrage of vicious elbows from the Brazilian forced the referee to call a stop to the contest.
During episode 290 of the TimboSugarShow podcast, Welch predicted a similar fate for the former light heavyweight champion in the rematch:
"Jiri's style is too unorthodox, dropping his hands, throwing punches, not having good balance after he punches, his hands come back to his armpits and Pereira is too sharp for that. He is too good of a counterpuncher. I think he is going to put one on the lips and put him down... When you got an expert puncher like that f**k, you can't afford to get away with that kind of s**t."
Catch Sean O'Malley's coach Tim Welch's comments below (33:40):
Welch's assessment holds some merit. Prochazka has one of the more unorthodox styles in MMA. The 31-year-old rarely covers up and has his hands down during his fights. He is also known to leave his chin up and forward while trading strikes.
For context, in his 2015 fight against Muhammed Lawal at Rizin, 'BJP' was knocked out cold after he left his hands down while closing distance with his opponent.
Watch Jiri Prochazka get KOd below:
Sean O'Malley's coach predicts boxing match between Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes
Sean O'Malley's coach Tim Welch believes the UFC 303 lightweight co-main event between Brain Ortega and Diego Lopes will be a striking match despite the grappling prowess of the two men.
Ortega is one of the most dangerous grapplers in the UFC with eight submission wins to his name. Lopes is also a proficient grappler in his own right and is a former Mexico National pro-jiu-jitsu gold medalist (per AJP Tour).
Discussing the fight during the aforementioned podcast episode, Welch predicted:
"I feel like it's going to be a boxing match. I think their grappling is going to negate each other and they are going to stand up and strike." [50:33]
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Lopes is a -142 favorite over Ortega (+120 underdog) for the matchup.