Across any combat sport like Mixed Martial Arts, Alex “Poatan” Pereira has one of the most dangerous lead hooks. Poatan has knocked out many of his opponents with one well-timed lead hook, making it an ever-present danger for anyone he fights. Far from a brawler, Poatan has an extremely high ring IQ, using it to set up his signature lead hook in various ways. Today, Evolve Daily is pleased to share a guide on how to throw a lead hook like Alex “Poatan” Pereira.
Stance
Poatan fights out of a traditional orthodox Kickboxing stance, with his weight equally between his legs. His strong sense of balance is a huge part of his fluidity and power. Having your weight equally spread between your legs allows you to throw both hands with power. This is a stark contrast to more bladed stances, which sacrifice lead hand power to load the rear hand for a big knockout punch.
Pereira is a master of shifting his weight back and forth as he punches. He keeps his core activated while remaining loose from his hips to his shoulders. This lets him generate and transfer power to his punches via his posterior chain. Due to his kickboxing pedigree, Pereira’s punching is as fluid as that of a professional boxer!
Pereira’s stance and balance allow him to position himself to land his devastating left hook. His footwork is especially important to his style as he relies on it for defense, as well as offense. Poatan often fights with his hands near his waist, leaving only head movement and footwork as a defense. Despite this, he is rarely caught with any significant strikes.
Pereira’s go-to head movement techniques are pulls and slips. He rarely, if ever, bobs and weaves, as he is usually the taller fighter.
As seen in the video above, Poatan uses his head movement in the pocket to set up devastating counter punches. He is able to throw his signature lead hook from both slip movements, as well as the pull. This amplifies his head movement, turning each slip and pull into a feint that the opponent has to read and react to.
Poatan closes the distance with crafty footwork; he will move his rear foot forwards first, giving his next step extra distance and range. This allows him to quickly enter the pocket before his opponent can react. Once he is in the pocket, Pereira will throw a rear cross while slipping his head off centerline, towards his lead side. This adds power to his cross, keeps his head safe, and loads his weight for his lead hook. Above is a video of Alex Pereira and his coach Plinio Cruz demonstrating the above concepts.
Notice how Pereira shifts his weight backwards and raises his lead shoulder when he throws his hook. This motion is identical to how he pulls his head back to avoid punches, adding an extra layer of complexity for his opponents to solve in real time.
The defining characteristic of Poatan’s lead hook is its’ power. Pereira does have raw, natural strength; however, there is a lot of technique and training that was used to craft this legendary punch.
The first aspect to Pereira power lies in rotation. Pereira usually starts his lead hook by rotating his hips and shoulders towards his lead side. He can do this by throwing a hard rear cross, slipping a punch, or feinting.
Once his weight is on his front foot, he violently, but smoothly, shifts his body weight to his back leg by rotating his hips and shoulders clockwise. To aid in his weight shift, he also raises his lead shoulder during his lead hook.
Another overlooked aspect of Poatan’s lead hook is his precision, both in timing and accuracy. As Conor McGregor famously said, “precision beats power, timing beats speed”. Pereira possesses both, and the results can be seen in his knockout record.
Pereira frequently lands his lead hook with his index and middle finger knuckles, on the tip of his opponent’s chin. This shakes his opponent’s brain, which is part of why he is able to knockout so many people with his lead hook.
In addition to precision, Pereira has also developed a keen sense of timing. He is a perfect example of fighting at your own pace, and not rushing yourself. He never hunts for the left hook knockout; instead, he pressures the opponent into making a mistake, which he then capitalizes on. Conceptually, this is similar to how Mike Tyson fought. The idea is to apply mental and physical pressure on your opponent, while moving to a superior angle of attack. When your opponent makes a mistake, you will be able to exploit it quickly and end the fight.
Fluidity and fluency are key elements to developing a lead hook like Alex Pereira. Poatans’ training is not flashy, but it is very effective and efficient.
Shadowboxing at full speed and power is extremely important! Shadowboxing allows you to improve your fight IQ by visualizing your opponent. Shadowboxing at fight speed lets you test how good your footwork and balance really are. Practice your form on your lead hook by starting slowly and speeding up as you feel more comfortable. It is essential to keep your form clean as you speed up, or you will create a leak in your power at full speed. You should be in your fighting stance right as you end your lead hook; be sure not to overcommit and leave yourself exposed.
Heavy bag work is a critical element of Poatans’ training regimen. He uses the heavy bag to condition his fists, as well as work on distance and timing. It is important to have a goal while hitting the heavy bag, or bad habits may develop. Work on landing specific techniques and use footwork and head movement to close the gap and exit the pocket, just as you would during sparring. Watch the video above to see Pereira himself work on his heavy bag training.
Practice Breeds Perfection
Not everyone is going to be able to hit as hard as Alex “Poatan” Pereira; however, incorporating the above elements into your own lead hook will undoubtedly increase its power and effectiveness. Let us know which of these tips improves your own lead hook the most!
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