After a successful first try at light heavyweight, Pereira wants to win another UFC title.
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Getty ImagesAlex Pereira, you have just moved up to the light heavyweight division. Pereira, a former UFC middleweight champion, beat Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291 on Saturday in Salt Lake City, despite having trouble early on. This put him near the top of a second UFC division.
“I’d like to win the belt, regardless of who, “Pereira said in an interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan after the fight.
“I’m concentrating on this division right now. I want to win this division and then handle some business.”
We all get scared when we’re tired, and that’s exactly what happened on Saturday, even though Blachowicz was a former UFC light heavyweight champion with an unbreakable spirit. Blachowicz went to Utah early to get his body ready for the stress of fighting, but after 15 minutes, he was too tired to keep going. Blachowicz had a strong first round with a takedown and several attempts to submit, but he couldn’t keep up that level of performance. In the last 10 minutes of the fight, Pereira, the fresher of the two, landed more and better punches, leading to a split decision in his favor.
Pereira’s quick rise in the UFC is a very rare thing to see. Pereira has only fought professionally in mixed martial arts ten times, but he is almost ready to win a UFC championship in two different weight classes. The multiple-time kickboxing world champion hinted that he might go back to middleweight to fight his longtime rival Israel Adesanya, but his main goal right now is to win the UFC light heavyweight title.
After getting hurt, Jamahal Hill is expected to give up the UFC light heavyweight championship. That makes it possible for Pereira to fight for the empty belt, maybe against Jiri Prochazka when he returns. Prochazka gave up the belt late last year after beating Glover Teixeira, who was Pereira’s mentor and a close friend.
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