After relinquishing the middleweight belt in a knockout loss to
Israel
Adesanya at UFC 287, Alex
Pereira has designs on challenging for a title in a new
division very soon.
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“We are planning to do one debut fight at light heavyweight as soon
as possible and stay ready to be the reserve fighter for Jiri
[Prochazka] vs Jamahal [Hill],” Pereira’s coach, Jorge Guimaraes,
told Sherdog.com.
Prochazka relinquished the 205-pound title at the end of 2022 due
to a serious shoulder injury. No timetable has been set for his
return. In the meantime, Hill claimed the vacant strap with a
victory over Glover
Teixeira at UFC 283. According to Guimaraes, Peireira had been
planning on moving up in weight for a some time now.
“Even though he never missed weight, the whole process was
stressful and tiring,” Guimaraes “After Jamahal beat Glover, he
told me, ‘I can beat this guy.’ He was really excited about
that possibility. And you can bet you will see an even more
dangerous ‘Poatan’ in the light heavyweight division. To tell you
the truth, I truly think he can be competitive even in the
heavyweight division.”
Regarding the loss to Adesanya, Guimaraes said Pereira was
following the game plan before the finish arrived.
“Everything was going according to the tactical plan. Poatan´s
kicks were hurting Adesanya and I think he was starting to have
problems just like in the first fight,” Guimaraes said. “That
knockout was like a last bullet. But all the credit to him for
accepting a rematch five months after being knocked out and getting
such an impressive win. But I truly believe that if ‘Poatan’ faces
Adesanya 10 times he will win nine. Adesanya said that story was
finished for him. He didn’t want to do a trilogy, but for ‘Poatan’
that story is not over.”