Alex Pereira is moving up to heavyweight for good, and he still believes Jon Jones can be a part of that.
Earlier in March, the UFC revealed that Pereira would be vacating his light heavyweight title and moving up to heavyweight to challenge Ciryl Gane for an interim championship at the UFC White House card on June 14. If Pereira succeeds, he’ll become the first fighter to win UFC titles in three weight classes, etching himself into the history books. But when he decided to vacate, Pereira didn’t know if his first fight at heavyweight would be for a belt.
“They made everything smooth,” Pereira said through his translator when talking to Ariel Helwani about the move. “They asked what I wanted to do, and then I just said I wanted to go to heavyweight. I saw my weight, saw that I could do it. And I know they don’t like when you hold the division [up], so I basically let go of my belt. I didn’t know who or when I was going to fight, I just knew it was going to be at heavyweight, and I let it go and came up. …
“Honestly, it was a pretty easy choice. When I expressed myself that I wanted to go up, of course, I had to let go of the belt. They gave me a new contract. I’m really, really happy with my new contract. I actually want to thank Mick [Maynard], Hunter [Campbell], and Dana White for it. So, this new deal that they gave to me, I don’t care about letting go of the belt or anything like that.
“They took really good care of me.”
In his relatively short MMA career, “Poatan” has already accomplished more than most fighters could ever dream of. A former middleweight champion and a two-time light heavyweight champion, Pereira is one of only 11 fighters in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes. And after reclaiming the light heavyweight title by demolishing Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, Pereira felt he’d done what he needed to at 205 pounds, and is more interested in continuing to make history.
“Well, I made all that history,” Pereira said. “Middleweight, light heavyweight. I’ve been listening to my body, seeing how my body is reacting. I know some guys are gonna say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t have heavyweight size,’ but I feel like I hit like a heavyweight. I have strength enough for heavyweight. I weigh about 245 pounds right now, so I think this is a great opportunity for me to keep making my history. …
“I could make light heavyweight again, but this is not something that is new for me. Many guys just go on the heat of the moment. They jump a weight class, and then they lose, they come back. I’ve been expressing for a long time that I’ve been wanting to fight at heavyweight, so I think I’ll probably stay around [at heavyweight].”
Of course, when the UFC announced that Pereira was moving up, many thought “Poatan” would take on former two-division champion Jon Jones.
Both Pereira and Jones had been publicly lobbying for the matchup, and it seemed a natural fight for UFC White House, but ultimately, that didn’t happen. But that doesn’t mean the highly coveted bout is dead in the water. Pereira believes that should he make history by beating Gane, a fight with Jones is still very much on offer.
“I believe so, as long as I win this fight,” Pereira said about the matchup. “Because otherwise it doesn’t make too much sense. …
“I believe it happens, because he has to be released from the UFC [to fight someone else]. I don’t think the UFC is going to release him anytime soon. So, if he wants to fight, who is it going to be against? It’s going to be against me.”
Read the full article here
