Alex Pereira is a near perfect counter Striker he doesn't sit back and wait for opponents to strike he gets aggressive and produces enough pressure to force them to exchange he doesn't play it safe and have to sit back and wait for his opponent to make the first move he relies on Muhammad Ali like defenses and a pretty decent chin to see him through so he has opportunities to connect in the pocket and he has the power for all that hard work to pay off on top of that he's smart oh and one other thing but we'll save that until the end of the video a great example of PR's ring IQ was showcased in his third bout against willness it was pretty clear from the get-go what wellness's plan was whenever Pereira got close winess tried to punish him with leg kicks and this held true when Pereira entered and at the tail end of exchanges but I'm telling you Jason wi's best success is going to be attacking the legs and trying to get Pereira against the ropes since Pereira likes to bounce in and out at the edge of his opponent's range to control distance and Rhythm this wasn't a bad strategy for winess a more timid fighter might have tried to readjust but Pereira took advantage he stepped in willness leg kicked and Pereira went High him that TKO finish kick to his credit willness made it to his feet and wanted to continue what a leaping knee but Pereira rushed in with the jumping double knee understandably cautious of a roundhouse less' reflex was to cross Parry but this just ended up clearing his guard away from the real Attack that's that completeness that was a head kick from the first one one thing the kick knockdown should make clear is that Pereira loves to intercept an opponent's attack with his own at the same time rather than defend first and then return to counter this paid off big time when he had his first Glory middleweight title defense against Bugari a fighter he had formerly lost to even though he was the champion he came in as a 2 to1 Underdog valgari had the height advantage that was probably greater than stated on paper and Pereira was not used to that Pereira likes to use something similar to Ali's so-called lean back defense hulling and rolling punches or even kicks he does this to stay in range so we could land counters it's maybe the most dangerous way to fight and requires insane reflexes adding on a shoulder roll or inverse elbow block can add on an additional line of Defense but Pereira was taking damage from Bugari gar sticking in moving inside outside and a big part of this is that it's hard to use these tall man tactics when you're not the taller man he needed to adjust and adjust he did his signature left hook had barely connected being blocked by bgi's cover block but in the second an intercepting right found a home happy with the results he tried it again just a moment later catching his opponent during a clinch knee attempt and there's another one looked like almost went down he's wobbly right now the Bell interrupted his much needed Resurgence but he managed to close the show in the next round unleashing onew's in leading right Pereira found a home for his cross and overhand multiple times denying valgari when he tried to enter until per slipped to his left to avoid a right slamming an overhand into Bugari That Shook him to his core he followed up until the job was finished then showed Mercy by backing off before he needed to is and still middleweight champion of the world the two soon had a rematch and Pereira won in the first round you'll never guess how get the exact same counter sequence that had led to the end of the first fight now no breakdown of Pera would be complete without talking about his incredible Hook punch the way he throws it reminds me a bit of Floyd Patterson's legendary hooks he tends to keep his elbow pretty tight to his side until the very last moment that makes it hard to see coming the same way a jab coming up from the hip does I'm also a fan of the way he likes to lean back and lift his shoulder giving it a built-in shoulder roll but the truly unique thing about his Hook is how many ways he has to set it up it's like if Deontay Wilder had spent time finding ways to set up his incredible right off of multiple punches rather than only his jab it's using the full potential of your best weapon Herrera can set it up throw going inside of a cross he can use it to intercept a jab both to the outside and inside he can step off angle in either direction or even shift back into it and he could do all of this during long exchanges given the fact his hands are held so low that's honestly the most impressive part following up with the hook after he throws his right is a pretty common tactic of his often angling it in as a shovel hook that was actually how he knocked out Israel out of Sonia one of the 52 times they fought notice the subtle step to the outside for power and Alignment but what impresses me the most the thing I haven't mentioned until now is that no matter how badly things start off in a fight no matter how much damage he takes at first he never for a second eases up he doesn't waste his time considering failure as an option and watching all his fights this to me seems to be his greatest strength plus while researching I found out he was born only 10 days before me so I guess I have to be a fan if you'd like to learn more of these tactics you can check out my highly rated books on forwork Power Defense and style building all written by the man whose work has been acknowledged and praised by multiple Champions Yours Truly thanks to to glory for the awesome footage I left a link to their upcoming event so you can check out the next rising stars of the sport from the modern martial artist this has been David Christian Wishing you happy training