Alex Pereira desires to be a three-sport world champion.
A former two-division Glory kickboxing champion, Pereira transitioned to MMA after which joined the UFC in 2021, the place he shortly put collectively one of the vital completed careers in UFC historical past. A former middleweight champion and the reigning gentle heavyweight king, “Poatan” has already completed greater than most fighters might dream of, however he’s not able to cease there. As a result of except for his ambition to bump up and problem for the heavyweight title, Pereira additionally hopes to in the future compete contained in the boxing ring as effectively.
“I don’t know, I feel something is feasible. It’s one thing I can’t plan, however it’s one thing I would like to do.”
“That’s one thing that I actually need,” Pereira informed the Jaxxon Podcast by way of a Portuguese translator. “I’m below contract with the UFC. We all know [Conor] McGregor did it. I don’t understand how I might, however sometime I would like to do it.”
Pereira has some expertise with boxing already, making his skilled debut again in 2017 and successful by third-round TKO. However Poatan isn’t speaking about simply dipping his toe within the water, he desires to leap proper into the deep finish of the pool.
“I’m the champ. I wish to struggle the champ,” Pereira stated. “So Oleksandr Usyk …
“I feel it’s an excellent struggle. I really like boxing. I see some folks speaking, ‘Oh, if it had been pure boxing he can be misplaced’. Man, whenever you speak pure boxing, I really feel nice. I feel I might struggle these guys on the market. I’ve already executed some sparring with skilled guys, Plinio [Cruz, his coach] is aware of it, they usually’re successful every little thing there.”
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist boxer at heavyweight, Usyk is among the prime pound-for-pound boxers on this planet in the intervening time and shifting up the ranks of all-time greats following his pair of wins over Tyson Fury in 2024. That implies this could be a monumentally troublesome activity, however Pereira’s coach has full religion in his means.
“Me, personally, I’ve put him already to spar some world-class, top-10 heavyweight boxers,” Plinio Cruz added. “Guys with names, actual good names that I’m not going to say, however he did actually good, so I feel he might do good. I consider in him.”
Pereira is scheduled to make the fourth protection of his gentle heavyweight title in opposition to Magomed Ankalaev in the primary occasion of UFC 313 on March 8.
