‘Poatan’ will now look to get back to winning ways in a new division, confirming his next fight will be in the 205 lb division
In a somewhat expected move, Alex Pereira confirmed via his YouTube channel that he will set on a quest to claim light-heavyweight gold. The news comes a few days after the ‘quadrilogy’ with Israel Adensanya culminated in the first KO loss of his career.
Pereira began his UFC career in spectacular fashion, defeating Andreas Michailidis via TKO in November 2021. The fight ended with a flying left knee, followed up with a couple of punches on his dazed, grounded opponent. The fights then came thick and fast as a unanimous decision victory followed over Bruno Silva before a first-round KO over Sean Strickland thrust him into the title picture. Before the end of 2022, Pereira was the UFC Middleweight champion after dethroning Israel Adesanya at UFC 281, who had seven title defences since winning the interim UFC Middleweight title after defeating Kelvin Gastelum four years ago today (April 13, 2019)
Who’s next for Pereira at 205 lbs?
This is a tough one to answer. Due to Pereira’s high ranking in the Middleweight division, coupled with the fact that his profile has risen exponentially after his intense double header with ‘The Last Stylebender,’ he will surely be targeting a fast route to a title shot at 205 lb by fighting top-ranked opponent.
The Champion, Jamahal Hill, doesn’t have an opponent confirmed yet for his first title defense, and after Magomed Ankalaev’s title eliminator with Jan Blachowicz ended in an underwhelming draw, there is no standout contender for the 205 lb strap. If Jiří Procházka miraculously recovers from his shoulder surgery by the end of summer, that could be an option for Hill, but a more realistic timeframe points towards the end of 2023/early 2024 for his return. We know from past experience that the UFC brass doesn’t like to leave 12 months plus between title fights.
Anthony Smith (ranked 5) is scheduled to fight Johnny Walker (7) in May, while Aleksandar Rakić (4) is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in a defeat to Jan Blachowicz (3) who will likely be targeting a fight for the title.
Some potential opponents for Pereira are either injured or already have bouts booked. Magomed Ankalaev or Nikita Krylov could be good options, however, neither may be willing to wait for ‘Poatan,’ who’s expected to take a break to recover after the manner of his loss to Adesanya.
Alex Pereira’s next opponent remains to be seen, and to quote a famous Dana White phrase ‘we’ll just have to see how this thing plays out.’
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