Former Belfort Striking Coach Breaks Down Top UFC Fighters, Potential Matchups

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.

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.