Pedro
Rizzo has some thoughts about Alex
Pereira’s unsuccessful heavyweight debut.
Considered one of the most agressive strikers in
UFC heavyweight history, Rizzo spoke with Sherdog.com about the
co-main event of
UFC White House, when Pereira was knocked out by Ciryl Gane
in the second round.
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Rizzo revealed that he tabbed “Poatan” as favorite before the
fight. In his opinion, the weight gain weight was not the problem
for Brazilian.
“The primary issue, in my opinion, was the loss of reach
advantage,” Rizzo said. “Alex is too tall for middleweights and
light heavyweights, and he lost that advantage at heavyweight.”
The finishing sequence made Rizzo recall another famous heavyweight
fight.
“Whenever I see a southpaw knocking down a right hander with a
counter jab, it reminds me of Fedor [Emelianenko’s] fight with
Matt
Mitrione, which, by the way, was a very similar move to this
one with ‘Poatan’ and in exactly the same circumstances: The right
hander not stepping outside and the southpaw’s lead hand landing
first. Against a southpaw, the right hander always has to step
outside and get their head out of the line of the strike, otherwise
you’re faced with a counter jab. I posted a video on my Instagram
comparing both finishes, and you can see that both Fedor and
‘Poatan’ did exactly the same.”
Dean Controversy
Regarding Pereira’s complaints about illegal strikes, Rizzo
acknowledged that referee Herb Dean made
a mistake. However, he also recognized the complexity of the
situation, especially considering the speed of the action and the
fact that Gane’s initial strikes were legal.
“Undoubtedly there were some illegal strikes in the whole sequence,
but it’s difficult to say that it influenced the final result of
the fight,” Rizzo said. “In a barrage of punches, if one lands on
the back of the neck it’s difficult to stop, but if there were
more, Herb
Dean should have followed the rules and stopped, called
attention to the situation and restarted.”
Rebounding from Defeat
With the experience of having fought for the UFC heavyweight belt
on three occasions (once against Kevin
Randleman and twice against Randy
Couture) and having faced all the greatest heavyweight
grapplers of his generation, Rizzo believes “Poatan” has an
excellent opportunity to rebound.
“He arrived at an excellent time for his style, where most fighters
are strikers. In my time, I didn’t have that freedom to impose my
stand-up game, since I faced the greatest generation of heavy
wrestlers and grapplers in UFC history,” Rizzo said. “I fought
Severn, Randleman, Coleman, Barnett, Couture twice. I still believe
that ‘Poatan’ is the greatest striker in MMA today. I would like to
see an immediate rematch. I still think that on a normal day he
will knock out Gane.”