Alex Pereira, after knocking out Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, expressed his readiness to fight at heavyweight at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, which is scheduled to take place just 21 days later.
Alex Pereira? Yeah, he’s the one who knocked out Jamahal Hill. Happened at UFC 300’s main event. Didn’t even blink before saying he’d be up for a 21-day turnaround. Wants to headline UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro. And guess what? He’s ready to do it at heavyweight.
He stopped Hill cold. Took him just over three minutes on a Saturday night in Vegas. Spilled his plan to Joe Rogan during his in-cage interview. Later, backstage with the media, Pereira said it’s up to UFC to make it happen.
UFC 301? It’s happening May 4. Headlined by Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg, they’re fighting for the flyweight championship. Jose Aldo‘s coming back from retirement too. He’s facing Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event. If Pereira gets added to the card, those names might get bumped down a spot.
“I want to fight, of course,” Pereira said. He’s itching to fight in Brazil, but that’s not in his control. He’s made it clear though, he wants that. “Let’s see what happens,” he said.
Pereira’s the UFC middleweight champion. Decided to move up in weight after losing a rematch to Israel Adesanya. Now, he’s 3-0 at light heavyweight.
“I’m evolving a lot and pretty quickly,” Pereira said. He thinks it’s time to fight at heavyweight. It was his idea, 100 percent. He’s got the height for it. His weight isn’t on point yet, but he’s been gaining weight pretty fast, no extra strength training. If he does some strength training, he’s confident he’ll get there.
He won’t call out any heavyweight for a potential clash at UFC 301. He’s leaving it to the promotion to choose “whoever they feel is best” for the task.
“You have to be challenged,” Pereira said. He believes that’s his secret for greatness after bagging two belts in such a short time in the UFC. “When we train for a fight we know there’s a great challenge ahead of us and I’m motivated by everything that’s happening right now. It makes me evolve and do my best. That’s what motivates me.”