Did Alex Pereira throw away rounds at UFC 281? 

I'm Brazillian. In some post-fight interviews, Pereira told that his strategy was a late knockout. Probably in the 4th or 5th round. Of course he won't proposedly lose 3 rounds to win the fight, in a perfect world he would have won every single round and gotten the knockout near the end of the fight. In his words: "Adesanya is a great head defender, so I focused on punching the chest and draining his legs and also absorbing some kind of damage to drain his arms before trying the late knockout. PS: Sorry for any mistake.

Alex took the first part of round 4 entirely off to build up energy. He started piecing up Izzy at the very end of round 4. Then he came back and murked Izzy in round 5. Alex has a world level fight IQ in addition to world level power.

I’ve never seen someone stand in front of Izzy like it’s a walk in the park, like Alex did. Izzy was definitely winning, but man, Alex did not stop pressuring him. What a fight. Kept that nuke in his back pocket until round 5

Every time Izzy had his back to the cage you could feel the potential for a knockout

The ref had to hold Alex back before the round started. Alex was ready to go after that conversation 😂

He was not losing “every part of the fight” , he was out leg kicking izzy and checking all of his kicks

I don’t think he threw rounds away. But a blind man could see he was purposely being conservative at times.

Alex completely dominated the leg game. He checked nearly every single kick that Izzy threw, and those hurt. In contrast, most of Alex's kicks landed. I don't understand why people think Izzy had all 4 previous rounds.

I watched a post-fight interview of Alex,in portuguese,where he said that he knew that it would be safer for him to ko Izzy in the later rounds, that he didn't want to expose himself early on the fight because of how dangerous Izzy is,so it would be better to wait Izzy get tired ....so maybe Chael is right,plus Alex talks all the time about having patience when he's asked about his fights...

Can you believe at the end of the fight just as they shook hands Alex said respect and izzy said you don't like me I don't like you and shook his hand. At what point did Alex ever say he didn't like izzy. Just goes to show that Alex is in izzys head rent free

Dudes a freak. Love his style, insane amount of power.

Interesting though Chael. In an interview with MMA Hoje some weeks ago Alex was talking about that his strategy in both kickboxing and MMA is always to let the opponent get comfortable. That's how sets up his shots and as we can see, it works.

Alex Perreira is a savage, Adesanya gonna have nightmares all his life of this man, Alex Got Adesanya to move to another sport, and after this Adesanya problably gonna move to WWE😂

I've seen some interviews in portuguese from Piera about the fight and i can say, for sure: no he didnt was loosing on pourpose. His plan was cautiosly trying to hurt izzy legs and fatige him to find the open to heavy strikes.

Pereira Chael not Piera. Yes, when Pereira pressed the gas and pushed forward you where able to see the difference in power. Pereira just fough a very careful and measured fight the first four rounds. He was studing, he didnt know how much and how long. On the fifth he pressed without fears and He won

Alex is just built differently both physically and mentally than Izzy. I see him as a warrior and Izzy as a fighter. There is a huge difference.

I read somewhere on Twitter that Pereira said something along the line of conserving energy for later rounds. Could very well have been part of his gameplan as it was his first time fighting 25 minutes. Also it makes sense that the best time to catch a guy as smooth as Izzy would be late into the fight.

Hi Chael , you say you read these, in the video of Pereira and the archery soccer, he speaks the exact scenario of being behind in round 5 with only a Ko to win ,

Izzy likes to fight in a way where he will only attack once his opponent enters his range, so it allows his opponents to rest if they like because they can stand just outside of range and Izzy will be relatively passive. A lot of guys will keep the pressure on their opponents as they tire but that's not really something Izzy likes to do

Chael, what I saw on that fight: Pereira wanted to win before 25min of fight, Izzy after 25min of fight.

I believe he was VERY patient, and now everyone thinks they can beat him, just because he was patient with Izzy.

Pereira for sure does trolling some times like awkward movements and stopping mid movement and that type of thing, he also pulled his hands up when izzy was hugging him like :"see guys he's the hugger!"

And the mistakes were made by pereira, he was winning rd one if he didn’t get rocked end of it. He out struck him. Like he wanted to maximize the end of the rd 1 like the end of round 2 as well. Not only that, Pereira initiated the takedown in round 3, he messed up and Izzy got it. My point - Pereira can improve so much. Idk how he’s not the betting favorite

The Law of fighting that Chael stands by simply explained it in advance that Izzy would lose again but only this time it was in a different sport.Pretty good start for a measuring stick.

Not with the way he was trying to land earlier in the fight. I think It just him pacing himself at some points

Chael really knows how to tell a story 💯

That last corner speech was an all hands on deck emergency, this is not a drill speech. That wasn’t “okay, execute last portion of plan”

Nobody mispronounces names like uncle Chael. Best in the game.

I do think he threw round 4 to recover his stamina then go all out in the 5th.

He didn’t throw away rounds. He worked Izzy’s legs and checked them throughout the rounds. It’s like Julio Caesar Chavez worked the body in boxing. He took away Izzy legs and movement so that he couldn’t run in that last round. Brilliant artwork 👊🏼. Even Izzy talked about how bad his legs felt afterwards. Don’t listen to the announcers. They were one sided and make it seem like Izzy was going to coast to another easy win. Alex is a high level kickboxer. Put some respect on his name. 😎

That's exactly what I thought because listen the way pereira changed gear at the end of 4th it literally seemed like it was another new person fighting if you see what I mean like he was fresh again , I felt he really played with the rhythm of the fight. And this is something you can only do intentionally ! So that was high high level and genius strategy! Cause that surprised tfo of adesanya !

Damn you Chael!!!! I’m an Izzy fanboy but ya making me love Alex too 😢😅

Alex definitely let the time pass in 4th round I could see that. He saved his energy for the 5th round.

I had a dream once where uncle Chael dominated some dude for 4 minutes and 45 seconds but then lost the fight. It was terrifying but thankfully just a nightmare for Uncle Chael has never lost.

For someone with his durability and offensive capability, that strategy actually makes a lot of sense. He knows if he goes all out, he can finish just about anyone but it’s risky to go all out early in the fight and then gas if he fails, so might as well wait until the final round and then spend every last bit of energy in the last five minutes.

Alex always takes haft a round off even in his kickboxing fights, you can tell by the way he slow down his pace a lot almost out of nowhere.

I disagree with Chael about Leon’s head kick Leon planed on landing it and set it up perfectly

If it was the plan you probably would have heard it in glovers voice and Alex wouldn’t have asked “do I have to knock him out?”. So we can basically rule this out entirely. After Izzy almost knocked him spark out, he simply knew better than to rush in. They spent a round grappling and Alex was patient with it round 4 but never saw the opening. IMO it was accidental and just a result of the fight pace. But it was serendipitous as the grappling shot Izzy out and where his defense usually can slow Alex down, against the cage it didn’t work this time. Hence why it wasn’t quite as much a Hail Mary “late” win as your initial video made it seem. And I love how you keep repeating this lie that’s so disrespectful to Leon that he didn’t plan the kick. There’s LITERALLY footage of Dave Lovell explaining it EXACTLY talking about Usman’s tendency to dip later and them debating which side to throw the kick from and exactly where to place it. It’s insane how ppl keep repeating this narrative Kamaru dipped and it was lucky. It takes a skill to condition a fighter to react a certain way lulling him into a reaction, timing their movement, and delivering the shot. A better known example is pacquiao vs marquez 4. You’d have to really not know what you’re talking about to think that was lucky you can see him adjusting. I will not let you rob him of that work. Not when there’s footage before the fight of them speaking about this exact situation

Pereira definitely took the 4th round off and knowing he was losing that was definitely strategy in my opinion. I also think Adesanya was more tired than he let on from the 3rd round which was all grapping. Also Pereira is made of granite and hurt Adesanya's leg

Points only matter if you don't get KO'd. Pushing deep into a fight to slow a better defensive opponent so you can get your shots off is genius. Conserve at 1st, you can always let it POP. McGregor should have used this on Mayweather.

The fighters that wait for the right moment and waist time reading the other are dangerous, cold killer fighters

it was a masterclass in energy management and letting your opponent THINK he has it in the bag, and that you have nothing left. Izzy fought him before.. he should have known better. Edit: Also note how Pereira didn't really use the straight right in his arsenal, only unleashing it in the final round. The idea was definitely to lull Izzy into a false sense of control.

I think I should become a lord automatically after watching atleast 30+minutes of ads

No way he threw away rounds. He was dog tired. He needed that pep talk his coach gave him.

Alex beat the scale in the last 5 mins & beat Izzy in the last 5 mins WoW...

I don't understand how someone with 2 eyes and at least a double digit IQ can think Alex lost R2. Not only did he win R2, but it was VERY comfortable.

Chael is the most educated man in mma, while simultaneously also being thr biggest casual in mma is amazing lol never lost a round or a prediction 😆

He didn't try to throw any rounds away, just conserved energy a few times. Was a good thing too otherwise he wouldn't be champ

In anime , Alex and Romero would be characters that absorb attacks and redistribute the strength of damage taken. Ofc they choose to dish back the strongest of hits when the opponent is fatigued. Which just so happens during later rounds.

Yoel did that against Costa too, you can clearly see he unloading on Paulo oh the third round. That make a lot of sense for Alex too. Alex said on a interview that he allowed Adesanya to get tired with shots after the 1 round.

Uncle Chael calling him Pier never gets old

Some guys don't plan on doing that. They are trying but when they know the fight is slipping away, they feel a sense of urgency and are able to put it in high gear when it matters most.

When Alex got rocked at the end of the 1st round that wasn't planned. Said he's never been that hurt before

Alex outsmarted Israel

With this. I raise u this… it took a lot of rounds and Izzy almost finishing him in kickboxing to knock Izzy out. He’s sets up Izzy to get tired and comfortable and then finishes him. He has great power but Izzy is able to take those punches when he’s fresh.. but when he tired those punches affect you differently. And in his mind he has to know he’s able to knock Izzy out when he’s tired.

Alex said that he was saving It for the end, cause izy is really fast so in the last round he was more fatigued and not evading so well. Also his calf kicks Hurts izy so bad that he cant move like in the beginin to. So yes the guy has a plan

Chael should make a documentary about American wrestling.

The only round I think Alex “threw away” was Round 4 & that was to conserve energy to go guns blazing in Round 5.

It felt like this was the strategy and I believe Alex's strategy changes for each opponent. Some he plans to just run through and get them out of there early. In this fight he looked like he planned to knock him out but he knew it wouldn't happen early. So he got huge and did a lot of power drills and had a massive weight cut. He knew it'd be rough getting to 5 rounds so he conserved his energy in there but still half assed it enough to make Izzy work and tire him down, also letting Izzy get over confident by out classing him so much. Then he finally got Izzy to make enough of a mistake in the 5th round and it was over

pierra definitely are one of those guys

often times focus drops in low intensity situations, unless you are the one instigating it

I don't think he gave rounds away. He is new to MMA, and this was his first 5 round main event. Most likely, he was trying to manage his energy. This was Izzy's best chance at beating this guy. New to mma, no 5 round experience, limited grappling. He will only get better from here and if they fight again he'll beat him even worse. I'm glad he's the betting underdog again, easy money.

When I watched Izzy hit Alex early with a big right hand that bent Alex over Alex recovered and went straight back into range walking Izzy down I knew Izzy was in trouble

Perreira’s fight strategy: fist go boop.

He used all his energy until that speech by his coaches where he remembered the power of friendship and came back stronger than ever

“The race is not won by those who go fast, it’s won by those who keep running” -Grandpa

Izzy so shook up he forgot to take the brass knuckles out of his purse before boarding the plane.

Ever since Chael brought up how he looks at the views his videos get to see what people are interested in I just randomly check out the views on all his videos 🤣

That shot Izzy through was also after the buzzer! By that time, Alex was checked out from the fight, and the shot landed when we wasnt expecting. Yes that would hurt more, when you brace and expect. You can mentally prepare and take the shot better. That in my opinion was dirty and delayed shot by Izzy. I would say round 1 & 2 was in the bag for Alex. Round 3 - he made an technical error with the trip. He perhaps should of handle that differently. Round 4 is interesting, not much from either party, especially Alex. I think this was a throw away round to recover and conserve energy for sure. It was allowed him to go into 5th round with force! It was far more competitive and close than Izzy fan boys want to admit.

Yoel was 22 when he competed in 2000 Olympics. He was born in 1977

7:36 before he even references Alex 😂.

It's possible that P Era used the Romero strategy but I don't think so. I thought the fight was very competitive from start to finish. Of the P Era fights I've seen I haven't noticed a pattern of this strategy being employed

I think he trades points for damage so he uses his energy in power rather than volume of strikes from wait I’ve seen

I wrestled at Barlow- Oscar and Isaac were legendary

Regardless if he’s letting him win, Alex didn’t want to get rocked at the end of the 1st round (he admits he was very hurt post fight too) so it’s still competitive and Alex doesn’t have control over the whole fight but he may rope adope

I love your show man your so honest.

Chito Vera does exactly what Chael is talking about. First 2 or 3 rounds he’s a lamb and the last few he turns into a dragon.

I think that Alex did have a lot of energy left but I think he wasn't used to 5 rounders. Israel said his foot work was compromised due to kicks. I think Alex will have a better fight next time because he has established a baseline with his cardio and a 5 rd fight. His takedown defense will also improve.

Excellent Analysis Chael!

Chito vera is also a perfect example of what uncle chael

This is a wild take chael

he said he trained a lot 5 rounds, amazing 5 round

All I got from this video is Yoel “SOLIDER OF GOD” Romero (the peoples champ) is the goat of wrestling as well as MMA, bro is the embodiment of CHAMP SHIT ONLY, finally people realize that Yoel is simply built different

There are some guys that bank on their opponent getting tired and then do their best work in the later rounds. Nate is a great example of that even though it usually goes to a decision. Didn't look like Alex was looking to coast. He was spending a good portion of the fight backing Izzy but unlike other Izzy's opponents, he has the durability and striking accolades to hang.

Izzy arrested at JFK airport. This guy wants to be Jon Jones so bad 🤣🤣🤣

Glover said his Manchurian candidate phrase. Did you see when he shrugged Izzy off against the cage when he came up that was not human.

This is definitely an interesting observation. To most people you’d think that conserving some energy for the chance to come on strong near the end is a risky strategy. Risky because if you can’t put him away at the end, you’ll likely loose. But I guess Alex gives us an example of someone for whom the end game fury has become a proper technique as opposed to a Hail Mary. And his deeds have more or less proved to us that for him at least, it is a legit technique. I guess when your experience in life is that you’ve got some dynamite in your hands, you’d start to have an intimate understanding of what’s possible for you, in a way that most people who have no such a gift couldn’t. And if anyone is asking if I think that means that it’s part of his strategic plan to use an end game fury to purposeful effect, I’d say, yes I do. He’s had too much success doing just that for it not to be at this point. The real question for me is, does he loose rounds early for the purpose of luring his opponent into a false sense of security that he can exploit in the end? Because if that’s the case, I’d be very impressed with his ability to pull that rope a dope off like over and over again.

Alex was tired of watching someone he defeated twice get all the awards, accolades, and prestige as the best in the world. He then put Izzy in his sights, set a goal, changed promotions, beat everyone in his path, got in a cage with the best in the world to prove everyone wrong. He would not take any risks of throwing away any rounds in his quest for greatness and affirmation. Let's not forget, Izzy had him rocked and close to being finished earlier in the fight. Pereira just outlasted him and found his second wind right when he needed it most. AND NEW!!!!!

Chael's comments on Yoel Romero begs the question... Just how good is Rob Whittaker!

This is why I love this show. That's such an interesting topic, that I never would of thought of. It seems Alex has a way higher fight IQ than we give credit for. I DO believe he let Izzy win those rounds, and played for the end game. Super clever, super scary! 😨

Yoel doesn’t conserve energy, he literally doesn’t move for rounds at a time. Remarkable talent but unrealized potential.

I find it more interesting that the dude that had extravagantly more power was the one who shot for a takedown first. 😂🤣🤣

This fight felt similar to Chito Vera vs dominik Cruz.

These guys were last minute in all their homework in school

lol its my sons first year in wrestling. He almost beat last years state champ. was up 12 to 4 he said then the guy hit him with a move he never seen and lost. lol told him knowledge is key. 3 weeks of training and already that good. I think my son is a future champ by next year.

Chael is so smart to be coming up with these ridiculous scenarios it's sad to watch them sometimes.

I dunno about throw away rds but he definitely paced himself and it showed in the 5th

Let’s not sleep on Leon’s set up for that head kick, cmon Chael.

EPO also helps. Never know until you do.

I really don’t think he let him win the rounds, I think he knew he was AT BEST down 3 rounds and at worst 4 and needed a knockout so he went out and emptied the tank, but you could see after the grappling he was gassed and breathing heavy out of his mouth so he coasted the fourth and came out the fifth with everything he had left