Quemuel
Ottoni, the only man to defeat Alex
Pereira thus far in his short MMA career, captured the Jungle
Fight welterweight crown this past Sunday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Advertisement
To win the title, Ottoni dominated Jose Diaz on
the feet for two rounds before submitting him with a rear-naked
choke at the 2:40 mark of Round 3 in the Jungle Fight 107 main
event. Ottoni, who owns six career victories under the Jungle Fight
baner, responded to what he says was a private message from Pereira
in the aftermath of his championship triumph.
“Alex ‘Poatan’ sent me a private message saying that I would
be nothing more than a ‘Jungle fighter.’ Today I am Jungle
champion,” Ottoni said. “A title, by the way, that you
never conquered. And don’t forget that it was in this cage
that I submitted you.”
After the event, Ottoni revealed to PVT journalist Leonardo Fabri
that his goal is to compete in the UFC at 170 pounds, the same
weight class where he earned Jungle Fight gold. However, he would
be willing to fight at 185 pounds if it meant a rematch with
Pereira.
“Actually after I submitted him in Jungle Fight, we sparred at his
academy. I got the better of him once, and then he got the second
one. Today we are fighting in different divisions, but if the
UFC made the right offer, it would be a pleasure to beat him again
— especially after the arrogant message he sent saying that I was
just a Jungle fighter.”
Ottoni and Pereira initially faced each other at Jungle Fight 82 in
2015. After two rounds of competitive standup action, Ottoni
submitted “Poatan” with a rear-naked choke 2:52 into Round 3. It
remains the only defeat suffered by the former two-division Glory
champion in MMA competition. Pereira is now 5-1 with two UFC
triumphs under his belt. He is slated to return to action against
Sean
Strickland at UFC 277 on July 30.