Getty Alex Pereira
Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira announced he is moving up to the light heavyweight bracket.
“Poatan’s” announcement, which he made on his YouTube channel, comes days after he lost his belt to long-standing rival Israel Adesanya at UFC 287. “The Last Stylebender” avenged his November TKO defeat to Pereira by handing the Brazilian his first-ever knockout loss in mixed martial arts.
Instead of campaigning for a trilogy match with Adesanya, Pereira is prepared to leave the severe weight-cutting behind to try his elite kickboxing at 205 pounds.
“Many people questioned [my weight cut] but I always went there and fulfilled my obligation, but now is a great moment to move up a division,” Pereira said in Portuguese (translated by MMA Fighting). “You see Adesanya’s post-fight provocations, he treats this win like it’s 3-1 for him and it’s not quite like that. I understand his joy — or try to understand it — it was his dream to win once against me and he’s done it, but let’s see what his behavior is now.”
Pereira and Adesanya have battled four times in combat sports, twice in MMA and twice in kickboxing. And as Poatan pointed out, he’s bested The Last Stylebender three times with UFC 287 marking Adesanya’s first-ever victory over Pereira.
Pereira Said He Wasn’t Leaving the Division Because of the Weight Cut, Could Make Middleweight ‘At Any Moment’
UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 287 post-fight press conference that Pereira was likely heading north up a division after a tough time making championship weight. “Honestly, I think Pereira probably moves to 205 after this fight,” White said. “He’s a monster. I know he still had two pounds to cut [with] an hour left of the weigh-ins. I’m not saying he’s moving to 205, but I’d assume he is… it wouldn’t surprise me.”
And even though Pereira is changing weight classes, he said it’s not because of the battle with the scale. Further, he said he could make 185 pounds “at any moment” and he’d be keeping a close eye on The Last Stylebender.
“I’m moving up a division now, and that’s my decision, but I’m sure that if I stayed in this division I could fight him immediately. Let’s see how he behaves,” Pereira said. “I’m not going up because I can’t make the weight anymore. I can make the weight at any moment.
“He’s behaving like that because Dana White talked about my weight right after the fight and it looks like he thinks, ‘This guy will never make 185 again so I’ll provoke him and there’s nothing he can do’. I’m sure I could fight him immediately if I insisted on this, the organization and my managers would make this fight.”
Pereira Will Likely Fight a Top-Ranked Light Heavyweight Next
With Pereira injecting himself into the new division, he’ll likely draw a top-ranked opponent first. And should he win, don’t be surprised if he’s fast-tracked to a title opportunity. Although his takedown defense has been questioned by many, the former two-division Glory kickboxing champion packs enough power and size to contend with the light heavyweight elite.
All in all, the 35-year-old combatant holds a 7-2 professional record with six wins via KO/TKO. He’s 33-7 in kickboxing, which includes 21 KO/TKOs.