Alex Pereira is a “giant” UFC middleweight. The former two-division Glory kickboxing champion used to compete in the light-heavyweight division and was knocking his opponents there as well. Now, a mixed martial artist, Pereira has moved back to the 185 lbs division and is making his opponents pay with his monstrous left hook.
PEREIRA DOES THE UNTHINKABLE!! 😱
HE KOs ADESANYA AGAIN!! #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/YiNrtkrVFY
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2022
Taking on archrival Israel Adesanya, Pereira’s power was once again on display as he became the first fighter to hand a stoppage loss to the Stylebender inside the UFC Octagon. Speaking about UFC 281, Joe Rogan had huge praise for Pereira’s performance. However, he did not seem too impressed with Pereira cutting down an incredible amount of weight to get down to the Middleweight limit.
#UFC268 Weigh-in Results:
Alex Pereira 185.8 lbs. pic.twitter.com/Tzdhgz2efR
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 5, 2021
He even went on to say it was “sanctioned cheating” on Pereira’s part, all the while adding that a lot of other fighters do that as well.
“He certainly gets above that (220 lbs) in between fights. He has a hard time making 185. It’s a bullsh*t thing but everybody does it. But Izzy barely does it. When Izzy went up to fight Jan Blachowicz at light-heavyweight, he was 194, which is crazy because Blachowicz is a giant light-heavyweight.” Joe Rogan said.
It won’t be wrong to say that weight plays a huge factor. However, it’s equally important to note that it can often go against the fighter.
Did Alex Pereira’s weight help in the fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 281?
Pereira’s weight definitely helped in the fight against Israel Adesanya. Not just the fact that he could take Adesanya’s punches, but also in terms of the power he could generate being the heavy guy.
However, cutting a lot of weight can also turn against the fighter. We have seen this in the case of Gilbert Burns, who had trouble fighting in the lightweight division because of the horrific weight cut. However, after he moved to the welterweight division, it was a different story. The same has been the case with Robert Whittaker moving from the welterweight division to the middleweight division.
Friday after weigh-in, Monday after the fight 😶😶Friday 83.4kg, Monday 99.3 kg, Alex Pereira is the big middleweight. #UFC276 #UFC pic.twitter.com/yZ36rU6tdf
— The Champ 🏆 (@shadowxwulfik) July 5, 2022
On the flip side, fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev have shown to benefit immensely from the 24 hours window provided from the time of the weigh-in. As for Alex Pereira, it’s safe to say it seems to be working in the favor of Poatan, who did not look too tired heading into the fifth round against someone like Israel Adesanya.