Alex Pereira is a fighter on whom everyone has their sights on right now. His rivalry with current UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya kept the fans’ minds occupied for a long time. Alex even got hold of the Middleweight UFC belt in UFC 281 and remained champion until he got beat by Israel in UFC 287.
After the defeat, Pereira moved up to Light Heavyweight and aims to continue in that division. It is already known that “Poatan” had to cut a huge amount of weight to reach the ideal weight of 185 pounds. This is the reason why, after his second fight with “The Last Stylebender”, Dana White also said that he would not be surprised if Pereira moved up to 205 pounds after that fight.
Alex Pereira rips Anthony Smith
The recent UFC: Fight Night in Singapore was a huge event. It showcased the much-anticipated fight between Max Holloway and “The Korean Zombie”. At the Media day of that event, Anthony Smith was noticed saying to the press that he didn’t think that Alex was that “large, scary monster” that he used to be anymore. After he became 185 pounds, he was a “fairly normal dude”
“Poatan” did not tolerate any of that insult and felt the need to let Smith have a piece of his mind. In his YouTube channel, Pereira spoke about this in a video that he posted recently. He said it’s only the “washed-up vets who never amounted to anything” that speak ill of him. He further continued by saying that it’s always “the ones who are beneath” him, clearly insinuating about Anthony.
Alex Pereira seeks to capture the vacant light heavyweight belt
After losing his belt in April of 2023, Pereira moved up to Light Heavyweight and made his debut in the division in UFC 291. He fought Jan Blachowicz in UFC 291 and won by split decision. Alex told the press after the fight: “The UFC is happy with my performance, the crowd likes my fights. I’m confident that I’ll be fighting for the belt by the end of the year.”
The fight took place in Salt Lake City which has posed a huge problem for fighters who don’t strongly train cardio. “Poatan” did not want to face that problem, therefore he revealed what he did to take care of the problem: “I did not want to be unprepared, so I trained on top of the mountains”. He also revealed that it was “way less suffering to cut weight” when he fought in Light Heavyweight.
Alex has insinuated multiple times now that he is aiming for the vacant Light Heavyweight title. He also told the press that the Blachowicz fight was “a title elimination fight”. It is hard to tell what the future holds but everyone surely is paying attention to Pereira and his journey in Light Heavyweight.
What do you think of Anthony Smith’s comments on “Poatan”? Do you agree with him? What is your opinion on Alex Pereira fighting in Light Heavyweight? Does he have potential in this division? Make sure to let us know in the comments below.
