Alex Pereira, the GLORY Kickboxing Hall of Famer, has already built a glorious career in the UFC, despite having fought only seven times. Pereira’s rivalry with the long-reigning UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, has made him immensely popular in the combat sports community.
Pereira was recently in attendance at UFC 297, where he cornered the then-defending champion Sean Strickland, who unfortunately lost to the challenger Dricus du Plessis.The light heavyweight champion recently broke up with his girlfriend but he appeared to be in a jovial mood as he welcomed TikToker PapiGio to his gym.
Alex Pereira spars with TikToker PapiGio
Alex Pereira recently had a hilarious sparring session with TikToker PapiGio at Cruz Mixed Martial Arts gym in Harrison, New Jersey, under the coaching of Plinio Cruz, who is both a BJJ coach and a translator for Pereira. UFC middleweight Chris Curtis was also present at the gym, and PapiGio had a comical sparring session with Pereira, as well as Pereira’s son and others.
At the end of the session, PapiGio had blood pouring out from his nose and mouth. Nonetheless, he was impressed by the skill of Pereira. “You can’t do anything with him. You can’t overextend. You can’t just sit there and block; he’ll tag you,” said PapiGio after the end of the training.
“It’s impossible to fight him. I don’t get how anybody fights with him. It’s crazy,” PapiGio further added, bewildered at how anybody could stand against the Brazilian. As one of the best stand-up fighters ever in the UFC, Pereira has only faltered once in the UFC and that was against another legendary standup fighter Israel Adesanya at UFC 287.
Details on Alex Pereira’s next potential fight
As the defending light heavyweight champion of the UFC, Alex Pereira has four possible options for his next fight. The Brazilian has set his target to defend his title by headlining UFC 300. The 3rd ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev is the most reasonable option. Ankalaev has been unbeaten since his UFC debut which he surprisingly lost in the last second. The Russian headlined the first event of UFC in 2024; knocking out Johnny Walker in the second round.
Jamahal Hill is another option available for Pereira as Hill was the former champion who had to vacate the title due to health issues. However, it remains to be seen whether Hill has completely recovered from his achilles injury that forced him to vacate the title in the first place. Hill wants to fight for the title on his return but his return date might be after Pereira’s planned schedule.
After ‘Poatan’ won the light heavyweight title at UFC 295, he called out his eternal rival Israel Adesanya to move up in weight to face him. At the time, Izzy was on a self-imposed hiatus after his upset loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. However, the Kiwi trolled the Brazilian for the callout. UFC CEO Dana White was also not interested in the idea.
Dricus du Plessis, who won the PPV headliner of UFC 297, has also hinted his interest in fighting the light heavyweight champion. However, he wants a fight with Israel Adesanya next in UFC 300. Nonetheless, The Last Stylebender is recovering from an injury and his availability at UFC 300 is uncertain. Therefore, DDP might face Pereira at UFC 300 even though the chances of it happening are very low.
Who do yo think will face Alex Pereira next? Leave your prediction below!
