Alex Pereira has decided to move up to the light-heavyweight division of the UFC after his loss against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 287. He will be up against former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz at the co-main event of UFC 291 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The main event for the night will be a BMF title clash between Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
Pereira has had a very exciting career as he got the middleweight shot against arch-rival Israel Adesanya just after 3 fights in the promotion. He even managed to end Izzy’s domination in the division by a knockout in the last round. However, the belt did not last long with him as ‘The Last Stylebender’ defeated Pereira in their rematch at UFC 287 in April.
The Light Heavyweights are locked 🔒
Our #UFC291 co-main is official! pic.twitter.com/Le5IcdmWcZ
— UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2023
Jan Blachowicz is one of the only two players to defeat Israel Adesanya in MMA and the other one is his opponent Alex Pereira. His last fight was at UFC 282 against Magomed Ankalaev for the light heavyweight title and the fight was judged a draw after a very intense contest. He for sure will be hungry to defeat his Brazilian opponent and to get that redemption.
Alex Pereira’s training partner and mentor Glover Teixeira defeated Jan Blachowicz back in 2021 to become the UFC light heavyweight champion. So, MMA fans are very excited to see how this mentorship will help Pereira in his debut fight in the light heavyweight division.
UFC 291: Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira stats
| Stats | Jan Blachowicz | Alex Pereira |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | 29 | 7 |
| Losses | 9 | 2 |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in | 6 ft 4 in |
| Division | Light Heavyweight | Light Heavyweight |
| Reach | 78 in | 79 in |
Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira: Fight breakdown and prediction
Jan Blachowicz is known for his strong grappling skills and jiu-jitsu, and he will definitely try to secure takedowns against the Brazilian, while his opponent, Alex Pereira is from a kick-boxing background and believes more in striking and those powerful kicks.
One major difference between the two is that the Polish fighter is very experienced in the light heavyweight division. At the same time, his opponent Pereira will be fighting for the first time in this division. Fighters changing their division have often suffered losses.
A classic example is of Israel Adesanya who lost to Blachowicz when he bet on himself to be the double champ, and something similar also happened with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski too who lost to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284.
So, it would be called an ‘upset’ if Alex Pereira manages to get the better of his opponent at the co-main event of UFC 291. Our prediction says that Blachowicz will secure a victory against Pereira via KO/TKO.
