Jayme Sandall, well-regarded karateka and coach of former Ultimate Fighting Championship kingpin Vitor
Belfort, weighed in on some of the most talented names in the
UFC.
Largely considered the greatest champion in the history of the
Japan Karate Association, Sandall
worked with Belfort ahead of five bouts that culminated in
Belfort taking on Anderson
Silva in 2011. While currently a striking coach, Sandall’s own
career stretched across 28 years with a whopping 445 victories in
karate matches. For 21 of those years, Sandall represented the
Brazilian national team for karate, which was led by Yoshizo
Machida, the father of Lyoto
Machida. Sandall spoke to Sherdog about some of the best
strikers he sees in the UFC now, and how they can excel in
potential matchups down the line.
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Before pointing to any one fighter, Sandall noted that the top
strikers he sees are not borne from karate disciplines. Instead,
they are all kickboxers of some variety.
“Israel
Adesanya is intelligent, fast and calm,” he noted, “and a guy
like that is very dangerous. Jiri
Prochazka is weird in a good way: he dodges, lowers his guard,
throws jabs that surprises opponents. Alex
Pereira is incredible, I’m a big fan, he has heavy hands and a
solid chin.”
There is speculation about “Poatan” Pereira facing Prochazka in a
light heavyweight championship bout, but the UFC has not confirmed
it yet. Sandall analyzed the potential pairing between two of his
three favorites, while offering advice to the Brazilian.
“I think ‘Poatan’ needs to move back more and take fewer hits. He
comes from kickboxing, where the glove is bigger and you allow
yourself to take some hits to close the distance. You can’t do that
in MMA because gloves are much smaller and harder, especially in
[the] UFC. Jiri moves back very well, he can set a trap for Pereira
to approach, and he can counter. Alex needs to work on his dodging
and [his footwork] moving backward,” the coach concluded.