Former middleweight champion Alex Pereira announced that his next fight will be in the 205-pound light heavyweight division, but he is not ruling out a third fight with Israel Adesanya.
Former middleweight champion Alex Pereira has announced that he will move up to the 205-pound light heavyweight division for his next fight. Pereira made the announcement on his YouTube channel, stating that he feels good to go up to the new weight class. Although he has not yet publicly revealed his next opponent, Pereira has not ruled out a third fight with Israel Adesanya.
Pereira won the middleweight championship by defeating Adesanya in the final round of the UFC 281 main event in 2021. However, Adesanya knocked out Pereira in the second round of the UFC 287 main event to recapture the 185-pound championship. Talks of Pereira moving up to the light heavyweight division began before the UFC 287 loss to Adesanya, as Pereira is big for the division and cuts a lot of weight.
While Pereira is moving up to the 205-pound light heavyweight division because he thinks it’s a good option for him, he is still open to fighting Adesanya. Adesanya has proclaimed his happiness over finally beating Pereira, and Pereira believes that if he stayed in the 185-pound division, he could fight against Adesanya directly.
Despite his loss to Adesanya, Pereira remains a force to be reckoned with in the octagon. He made his octagon debut at UFC 268 in November 2021 and won a Performance of the Night’ bonus for his flying knee finish of Andreas Michailidis. He then defeated Bruno Silva in his second UFC appearance and followed that up by taking out Sean Strickland by knockout in his third UFC fight, earning his second bonuses in three fights.
Given his impressive track record, fans can expect to see Pereira continue his ascent to the top of the light heavyweight division, as he makes his debut in the category in the near future.