Alex Pereira backed to ‘Easily’ defeat Jiri Prochazka, clinch UFC gold at light heavyweight

Following the confirmation of his plans to make a move to the promotion’s light heavyweight division, former middleweight champion, Alex Pereira has been backed by compatriot, Caio Borralho to defeat Jamahal Hill, and former titleholder, Jiri Prochazka to mint himself as king at 205lbs.

Pereira, who held undisputed middleweight gold up until last weekend, headlined UFC 287 in Miami, Florida against Israel Adesanya – suffering a second round KO loss to the Nigerian-Kiwi in the pair’s championship re-run.

In turn, Pereira confirmed his plans to make the move to the light heavyweight division for his next Octagon outing – having landed four victories at five attempts in the middleweight pile since his 2021 move to the UFC.

Alex Pereira tipped to become a two-weight UFC champion

A former two-weight champion under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, Sao Paulo native, Alex Pereira – who has already been offered a title shot by incumbent gold holder, Hill ahead of a light heavyweight move, would likely make short work of opposition according to compatriot, Borralho. 

“I’ll tell you this, he (Alex Pereira) can make history at 205 [pounds],” Caio Borralho told MMA Fighting during a recent interview. “Not cutting so much weight and fighting in a division that doesn’t have so many high-level wrestlers and grapplers, it’s the perfect division for ‘Poatan.’”

“I think (Magomed) Ankalaev could be the toughest fight for him [at light heavyweight]; a Dagestani with high-level grappling,” Borralho said. “He’s a southpaw, too, and we saw ‘Poatan” struggle when (Israel) Adesanya changed to [a] southpaw stance. I think Anklaev is one of the toughest matchups for Pereira – even more than Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. I think ‘Poatan’ beats both fairly easily.” 

Prior to his championship loss to Adesanya last weekend, Pereira minted himself as the division titleholder with a rallying fifth round TKO victory over the Nigerian-Kiwi at UFC 281 back in November at Madison Square Garden.

Confirming plans to make a move to the light heavyweight ranks, Pereira has already received callouts from former undisputed champion, Jan Blachowicz, as well as incoming UFC Fight Night Charlotte main card feature, Johnny Walker. 

As for Czech Republic native, Prochazka, the former undisputed champion is expected to challenge Hill next in his return to the Octagon later this year, after a shoulder injury forced him to relinquish his title in December last.