UFC Champion Alex Pereira’s pursuit of gold continues as he aims to make history as a three-weight titleholder. Find out more about his journey and potential future plans in this article.
| UFC Champion Alex Pereira’s Pursuit of Gold Continues |
|---|
| UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira has achieved immense success in a short time under the UFC banner. After winning the middleweight title, he moved up to the light heavyweight division and claimed the vacant belt. Now, there is speculation about his potential move to the heavyweight division. Pereira’s coach, Glover Teixeira, believes he has the discipline required for another divisional switch. Although Pereira has already made history by winning two championships, he may have his sights set on becoming a three-weight titleholder. |
It seems that UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira’s pursuit of gold on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage won’t end with his current crown. Pereira, a former multi-weight Glory Kickboxing titleholder, has achieved immense success in a short time under the UFC banner.
Just a year on from his debut, the Brazilian reached the pinnacle of the middleweight division by stopping Israel Adesanya. While his reign there came to a sudden and violent halt at UFC 287 this past April, where ‘The Last Stylebender’ got his revenge with a brutal knockout, ‘Poatan’ has since ascended to the mountaintop of a different division.
Following a victory over Jan Błachowicz in his light heavyweight debut in July, Pereira went all the way last month at the Madison Square Garden-held UFC 295 event. In New York City, the ex-kickboxer knocked out former champ Jiří Procházka to have the vacant belt wrapped around his waist.
Although he’s already made history by winning two championships in just two years in the promotion, it would seemingly be possible for Pereira to pursue another major accomplishment before his time in the UFC is done. During a recent episode of MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast, Pereira’s coach, ex-light heavyweight kingpin Glover Teixeira, assessed the potential for his man to venture up to heavyweight.
As the list of two-division champs grows, the UFC is yet to crown its first three-weight titleholder. But given his size and power, many have pointed to ‘Poatan’ as having the best chance of achieving the feat. And having seen Pereira dedicate himself to some grueling cuts to middleweight, Teixeira insists that the Brazilian has the ‘discipline’ required for another divisional switch.
‘It’s all a process,’ Teixeira said. ‘Poatan’ is a disciplined professional, and that’s why he managed to make 185 in the first place. It’s not easy for anyone to do what he did. Few people can manage that. ‘I’m not saying few people can fight in the UFC, much less win the belt, but to do what he did, losing that much weight, not many can do. In the UFC, I’d say only 10 percent of the fighters can do that weight cut the way he did,’ Teixeira continued. ‘It was very brutal, but ‘Poatan’ has the discipline for it.’
The retired Brazilian veteran went on to outline how his team would approach the potential future venture, and the weight they’d target for Pereira’s heavyweight debut.
‘If he were to move up, he would change his diet and training routine outside the camp to gain mass,’ Teixeira stated. ‘Poatan’ walks around 233 pounds and I think he can go to 246, but not [over that], you know? I think 242 would be good.
Before analyzing potential bouts with the likes of Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, though, Pereira will likely need to further cement his place atop the light heavyweight mountain. And having failed to record a successful defense at 185 pounds, a UFC title retention is no doubt an achievement Pereira is looking to add to his already illustrious résumé.
