UFC superstar Alex Pereira spoke on a potential future in boxing, revealing he doesn’t see it happening due to having seven UFC fights left.
The 39-year-old Pereira returns to the Octagon at UFC 335 on December 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he battles Sergei Pavlovich in a presumed No. 1 contender bout at heavyweight.
With so many MMA fighters attempting to cross over to boxing, it’s fair to ask Pereira if he’s interested in doing so, especially given his previous career as a professional kickboxer.
However, it doesn’t appear that Pereira is interested, in part due to the UFC having him locked under a long-term contract.
Alex Pereira Doesn’t See Himself Doing Boxing
Speaking to Fred Talks Fighting, Pereira revealed that he has seven fights left on his UFC deal, which will most likely preclude him from donning boxing gloves inside the ring.
“No, he’s fine,” Pereira said through his coach and interpreter Plinio Cruz about a potential move to the boxing ring.
“Well, we have seven fights left in his UFC contract. I’m 39, it’s kind of impossible. But he’s happy to be here with me.”
Other MMA Stars Talking About Moving to Boxing
Although it doesn’t seem like Pereira is keen on moving to boxing, the same cannot be said about a past opponent of his, UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, who said that he is willing to go do boxing against Jake Paul because the UFC isn’t paying him what he wants.
A decade ago, UFC superstar Conor McGregor opened up the floodgates when he boxed Floyd Mayweather Jr. in what was a boxing superfight for the ages that has made several MMA stars since then want to don the gloves and shoes and step into the boxing ring.
The UFC has Zuffa Boxing now, so there is always the potential that Pereira or another UFC fighter could try their hand at that promotion if they truly want to box.
But for now, it seems like Pereira is fine competing in MMA, which means UFC president Dana White can breathe a sigh of relief about his future.
Alex Pereira Speaks on Potential Future in Boxing