Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira fight Saturday in UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. Prochazka enters this fight with a 29-3-1 record and has won 86 percent of his fights by knockout. Pereira enters this fight with a 8-2 record and has won 75 percent of his fights by knockout.

Jiri Prochazka Betting Preview

Prochazka has won each of his last 13 fights and is coming off a June (2022) win over Glover Teixeira. Prochazka is averaging 5.77 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy percentage of 55 percent. Prochazka is averaging 0.38 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 100 percent. Prochazka is coming off a submission win at UFC 275 that earned fight of the night honors. Prochazka landed 157 total strikes in the victory. Prochazka has produced finishes in each of his last 11 fights. Prochazka hasn’t lost a fight since New Year’s Eve of 2015. Prochazka is a lengthy fighter at 6’4” and 80-inch reach, and he has ridiculous power in his hands and an aggressive style where he stands in the pocket and trades. Prochazka can be creative with his strikes as well, as he’ll mix in a flying knee and has produced a finish with a spinning back elbow. Prochazka has decent takedown defense as well. Prochazka has been finished in all three of his losses, including being knocked out twice. This will be Prochazka’s first career fight in New York.

Alex Pereira Betting Preview

Pereira has won 5 of his last 6 fights and is coming off a July win over Jan Błachowicz. Pereira is averaging 5.11 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy percentage of 62 percent. Pereira is averaging 0.22 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 100 percent. Pereira is coming off a decision win at UFC 291. In the victory, Pereira landed 112 total strikes. Pereira, who is now 36 years old, is fighting for the third time since April. He comes from a deep kickboxing and boxing background, and has shown a flawless transition to MMA. A creative striker who is a black belt in kickboxing, Pereira is dangerous on his feet and has a good takedown defense as well. It’s rather impressive to see Pereira adapt to new rules under such a short time, and he’s more than established as one of the top fighters under the UFC banner. This will be Pereira’s third career fight in New York.

H2H History 

There’s no fight history between these 2 fighters.

Randy’s Free Pick

You can make a case for either side, but I lean toward Pereira and his strike output along with his accuracy. He’s been the more accurate striker under the UFC banner. His leg kicks should give him an edge standing up, and he has the slightly better takedown defense as well. Prochazka can land something violent to win this fight as well, so this is a true coin flip. I still lean Pereira.