Despite the events of UFC 287, Alex Pereira remains one of the fiercest fighters on the roster. However, with the Brazilian struggling to make weight, he has finally announced his decision to move up. Having fought at middleweight up until now, Alex will fight at light heavyweight moving forward.
Previously, Pereira announced his arrival at the UFC with a superb flying knee. Since then Poatan fast-tracked to the title after winning two more fights, against Bruno Silva and Sean Strickland. At UFC 281, Pereira finally got his showdown with Izzy, their first in MMA. On the night Pereira was victorious and captured UFC gold.
However, it was an entirely different tale during the UFC 287 rematch. After being baited into a small sense of security, Alex got knocked out cold in Round 2 of the fight by Adesanya. Recently, Pereira took to his YouTube channel to announce his plans, “My next fight will be in 205! Yeah, you heard right. My next fight will be in 205!”
According to Poatan, he feels as though he has done his work at 185 and is now feeling good to move up to 205. Moreover, fighting at light heavyweight means that Pereira will no longer need to drain himself to make weight. As such, this means that 205 Pereira will hit even harder and be more durable than before. Currently, Alex reveals that he cannot share who his next opponent is, but he will keep his fans updated.
Israel Adesanya was pushing for Alex to move up to 205
Following his victory over Pereira, Israel stated that Alex was not deserving of an immediate rematch. Not only was he knocked out cold, but there were a host of other fighters waiting in line. Thus, Pereira would seemingly be unwilling to go through all of them and move up to 205 instead. “Now he’s gotta do the hard yards, if he wants to do that but I don’t think he’s gonna. Go cause problems at 205 and f*ck good luck to everybody else, cause he’s a motherf*****r to deal with, I’ll tell you that”.
Although Pereira believes that he can get the rematch against Adesanya immediately, he feels that 205 is a good option for him right now. Thus, he clarifies, that he can still make 185 if he needs to and will be keeping close tabs on Adesanya in the future. For now, Alex is focused on the light heavyweight division, more specifically, the champion, Jamahal Hill.
Previously, Alex watched as Jamahal Hill defeated his mentor Glover Teixeira at UFC 283. After the fight, Pereira looked as though he wanted to get revenge for Glover right then and there. As such, he now has the opportunity and the means to do so. Although “Sweet Dreams” believes that he would ‘dominate’ Pereira, the Brazilian will fancy his chances.
Alex Pereira vs Jamahal Hill stats
Stats | Alex Pereira | Jamahal Hill |
---|---|---|
Wins | 7 | 12 |
Losses | 2 | 1 |
Height | 1.93 m | 1.93 m |
Division | Light Heavyweight | Light Heavyweight |
Reach | 201 cm | 201 cm |
Age | 35 | 31 |
When it comes to their stats, both fighters are pretty evenly matched. In his UFC 283 fight, Jamahal showed the heart and endurance of a champion, going the distance with Glover. As such, it remains to be seen what improvements Alex can bring to his game after his move and whilst fighting at his normal weight. Which way does this one go? When and will this fight ever happen? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.