UFC phenom Alex Pereira tipped to make potential heavyweight move: ‘He can fight in any division’
UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira will have his first title defence in just two weeks, but his coach says a change in weight class is a future possibility.
Pereira’s coach and former 205lbs champion, Glover Teixeira, went as far as stating that a move all the way up to heavyweight is a realistic option.
UFC 287 will prove to be a defining moment in Pereira’s MMA career, as he will be facing off against Israel Adesanya for the fourth time in combat sports.
Adesanya may have had his moments throughout the fight, but once again, it was Alex Pereira who had Adesanya’s number for the third time.
It began when Pereira battled ‘The Last Stylebender’ twice before the two ventured into the MMA circle.
Pereira came out victorious with a decision and a devastating knockout in a highly competitive bout.
At UFC 281, Adesanya came out ready to scrap and he not only outstruck Alex Pereira, but he hurt him badly at the end of round 1. ‘Poatan’ was forced to dig deep and with just minutes to go he showed his true power and snatched a TKO victory.
Pereira, who is rumoured to walk around much heavier than most in his weight class, is known to go through very intense weight cuts in order to make 185.
Speaking with MMA Junkie, Teixeira confirmed the adversity Alex Pereira goes through when cutting to 185, but he says it does not hinder his motivation.
“Eventually I think he’s going to want to do that because the weight cut is a big cut for him. He doesn’t complain. He just keeps going and doing it well, because he likes to be 185, and he feels good. But he can do 205 for sure and eventually it might happen because if he goes up, there are super fights, big fights. I think it’s a possibility.”
Teixeira has worked very closely with Pereira during his infant and now championship MMA career. He has become a mentor to Poatan at their gym, Teixeira MMA & Fitness, in Bethel, Connecticut.
The 35-year-old has just 8 professional MMA fights, a number frail in comparison to the 42 fights that Teixeira has been in.
Regardless of the result at UFC 287, Teixeira has made it clear that down the line Pereira will feature at a heavier weight, and it will not deter his success.
“Eventually he will. We talk about it. He can fight anywhere. Look at this guy. He can fight in any division. He can fight in Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight – he’s big.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
