Getty Alex Pereira
Since announcing his move to 205 lbs, Alex “Poatan” Pereira has been called out by several top-ranked UFC light heavyweights, including the current 205 Lbs champion Jamahal “Sweet Dreams” Hill, No. 3 ranked Jan Blachowicz, and No. 8 ranked Volkan Oezdemir.
‘I’d Knock Pereira the F*** Out’: Jamahal Hill Issues Stern Warning
Hill took to Instagram to call out Pereira, releasing a video directed at the former champion. The caption reads, “Welcome can’t wait to see you.”
Hill addresses Pereira in the video, inviting “Poatan” to “Come on in,” to the light heavyweight division, but not before referring to Pereira as “Porra”, which is a common slur in Brazil.
“Sweet Dreams” is a prolific finisher with a professional record of 12-1-0, with 7 knockouts. Hill and Pereira shared the octagon once before when Pereira cornered his teammate Glover Teixeira against Hill at UFC 283 on Jan 21, 2023. Hill also commented on Pereira moving to 205 lbs when “Poatan” took the belt from Israel Adesanya at UFC 281.
In an interview with MiddleEasy, Hill claimed, “[The] only thing I’m really thinking about [Pereira] that interests me is they’re talking about how he might come up [to light heavyweight]. Come on in my boy.”
“Whenever he decides ‘I can go up there and f*** him up,’ come on in my boy,” Hill remarks. “I want all that smoke. I was there [at UFC 281], I watched it live. All respect to [Adesanya] , but I’d knock Pereira the f*** out. Do your thing at [185 lbs], bro. You come and play in my motherf***ing yard, in my backfield… I don’t play that s***, bro.”
Volkan Oezdemir Offers to Welcome Pereira to 205 Lbs Division
“No Time” Oezdemir issued Pereira a challenge via Instagram, following the ex-middleweight champion’s announcement to move to light heavyweight for his next bout, after his shock KO loss to Adesanya at UFC 287.
Oezdemir, 33, has been in the UFC since 2017 and has amassed a professional MMA record of 18-7-0 (6-6-0 UFC). The Swiss fighter put his name on the map with back-to-back knockouts over Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa; both in the first round; both in less than 30 seconds each.
The nickname “No Time” stems from Oezdemir’s finishing prowess in his early career, and he adopted the monicker completely after the Manuwa fight.
“[My nickname] started when I was fighting in Denmark, in a tournament,” Oezdemir told Flocombat. “It was three fights in one night, and all my fights were in the first-minute mark, so all my friends called me, like a joke, ‘No Time,’ like, ‘I don’t have time for this s***’.
“I didn’t really officialize it until the [Cirkunov] fight. After the [Cirkunov] fight, I said, ‘OK, maybe it’s time to change my nickname’. Then I knocked [Manuwa] out in 22 seconds, so there was no better way to officialize the nickname.”
Between them, Oezdemir and Pereira have a combined 18 knockouts, and one submission. “Poatan” also has an extensive kickboxing career, with a record of 33-7-0, with 21 knockouts.
Jan Blachowicz: ‘I Like Challenges, He’s a Very Big Challenge’
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Blachowicz also expressed interest in welcoming Pereira to the 205 lbs division.
Blachowicz, the currently ranked No. 3 light heavyweight fighter, appeared on “The Ariel Helwani Channel” on April 12, 2023.
“I don’t think about [Pereira] right now, but yeah why not? I like challenges,” Blachowicz told reporter Petesy Carroll. “He’s a very big challenge. This fight will be also very big, very great, so why not? But we’ll see what’s [going to be Pereira’s] next move.”