Alex Pereira, feeling in top form for his UFC 291 light heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowicz, dismisses Daniel Cormier’s warnings about Blachowicz’s power, remains confident after his knockout loss to Israel Adesanya, and plans to learn from Blachowicz’s previous fights while developing a unique strategy.
Alex Pereira is on top form as he prepares for his light heavyweight debut at the UFC 291 event on Saturday. He will face Jan Blachowicz, a former UFC champion, and is not at all fazed by recent comments made by Daniel Cormier regarding Blachowicz’s striking power. Blachowicz, known for his potent punches and kicks, has knocked out some big names in UFC, including Corey Anderson, Dominick Reyes, and Cormier’s teammate, Luke Rockhold. Cormier, a dual UFC titleholder, had cautioned Pereira about this, stating that he has witnessed Blachowicz nearly behead opponents in the ring.
Returning for the first time since his only knockout defeat in his MMA career to Israel Adesanya in April, Pereira responded to Cormier’s warning on a recent episode of the podcast Trocação Franca. He downplayed Blachowicz’s knockout prowess, stating, “Did he knock out everyone he’s fought? I don’t think so, right? If he was a guy who has knocked out everybody, I would say, ‘Damn.’” He further defended his resilience following his knockout loss to Adesanya, asserting that many people doubted his comeback, but he insists he has rebounded well during his nearly four-month break between bouts.
He is confident about his recovery, saying, “Only if you’re a guy with a weak mind and that gets inside your head, then yes, the guy touches you and you go down. But there’s no such thing, man. [I] had good recovery.” Pereira believes if Blachowicz manages to take him down, it would not be because he was weakened from Adesanya’s punch.
Pereira recalls Blachowicz’s match against Adesanya back in 2021 when Blachowicz, then the UFC light heavyweight champion, used his wrestling skills to win over the kickboxer. like Adesanya, Pereira is an experienced striker, and also a two-division titleholder in GLORY. Pereira’s teammate Glover Teixeira was the one who terminated Blachowicz’s run as UFC champion using a rear-naked choke at UFC 267 in late 2021. However, Pereira is aware that mirroring Teixeira’s strategy won’t be beneficial. While he admits having gained valuable insights from Teixeira, he realizes that his fighting style is distinct and therefore, a different strategy should be put in place.