Alex Poatan celebrates his title win alongside Glover Teixeira . Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Although Alex Poatan is undeniably a natural talent, anyone who thinks he's easy to train is mistaken. A former middleweight (up to 83,9 kg) and light heavyweight (up to 93 kg) champion, as well as a challenger for the interim heavyweight (up to 120,2 kg) title in the UFC, the Brazilian is one of the most successful names in combat sports. For Glover Teixeira , however, precisely because of the high level shown by the athlete, keeping him prepared for adverse situations is a real puzzle.
During an appearance on Connect Cast, the former light heavyweight champion explained that Poatan has reached a level where it's difficult to find training partners capable of offering sufficient resistance. Therefore, one of the strategies adopted by the team is to have him work with athletes specialized in his weakness, allowing the Brazilian to develop his techniques and gain confidence.
“Poatan is at a level where it’s difficult to have a training session where someone is going to hit him. The guy is the best in the world, so what do you have to do? He does his techniques, I put him to train with some wrestling guys, he’ll become confident because nobody will be able to take him down,” said Glover Teixeira.
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Glover also revealed that when the goal is to increase the difficulty level of training, the team resorts to a different dynamic. Poatan can face two or even three partners during a single round, which increases physical exertion and forces him to deal with increasingly complicated situations. In this way, according to the veteran, the Brazilian is able to work precisely on the less comfortable aspects of his game.
"Then, when I want to put him in a difficult situation, I put two guys in a single round, or sometimes three guys in a single round. To tire him out, and then he'll start having to deal with difficult situations. That's when he starts training the bad side," concluded the veteran.
Alex Poatan and Ciryl Gane line up for a rematch in the UFC.
Poatan and Gane face off in a promotional UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC
Although Josh Hokit is keen to secure a fight against Alex Poatan and Ciryl Gane in the UFC, both the Brazilian and the Frenchman have already given the green light for a possible rematch.
Poatan, in a video posted on Instagram , made it clear that, at this moment, the only fight that makes sense for him is a rematch with Gane. The Frenchman, on the other hand, stated in a declaration to 'RMC Sport Combat' that his main objective is to face Tom Aspinall . However, if the Briton does not return to the octagon, Gane has shown himself willing to accept a rematch against the Brazilian.
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