Due to his unrivaled success in the three-plus years since making his Octagon debut and the willingness he has shown to save the day for the promotion at the last minute, there has become growing sentiment that, as unlikely as it once sounded, Alex Pereira is the current face of the UFC.
The two-division champion, who currently holds the UFC’s light heavyweight title, will return on Saturday at UFC 303 just two months removed from bailing out the promotion when he accepted a late offer to fight former champion Jamahal Hill. Like all but two of Pereira’s eight UFC appearances, that fight ended via knockout.
But even though Pereira (10-2) entered UFC 300 in April with a broken toe and exited the promotion’s biggest event of the year with an additional broken toe, he was still able to answer the call a second time. Ironically, Pereira’s return at Saturday’s UFC 303 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas, which comes as the crown jewel of International Fight Week, comes as a late replacement for Conor McGregor, the biggest star in UFC history, who pulled out extremely late for his fight against Michael Chandler with … a broken toe.
If you’re willing to entertain the idea of the 36-year-old Pereira as the most valuable entity the UFC currently has, the fighter known as “Poatan” isn’t here to argue with you.
“I agree,” Pereira told CBS Sports last week. “It’s hard to talk about myself but I have been fighting a lot and have been doing a lot. I see a lot of other athletes doing a lot of things, too, but I feel like right now I am at the forefront.
“I’m always prepared for anything that can happen. I’m always evolving and I’m also always pretty close to weight so that I’m available if they call me. I really believe that you have to take on these opportunities.”
The opportunity in question this weekend inside T-Mobile Arena is a rematch against former champion Jiri Prochazka (30-4-1), who was stopped by Pereira in their first meeting for the vacant 205-pound title at UFC 295 last November. Both fighters also must face the same 77-day turnaround as each scored stoppage victories at UFC 300.
But given Pereira’s short and opportunistic history as a UFC fighter, which saw him transition to MMA late in his career after a Hall of Fame run as a two-division champion with Glory kickboxing, it’s not surprising that he would accept the risk which comes along with the huge payday that comes with replacing McGregor above the marquee in the UFC’s most important summer blockbuster.
In just eight UFC fights, Pereira is 7-1 with six knockouts, has won titles in two divisions and holds wins over former champions such as Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Prochazka and Hill.
“I think one of the greatest factors is my age,” Pereira said. “I want to do a lot of things still and I feel like I still have a lot of fights left in me. I have seen a lot of people say that it’s a mistake or that it’s too soon or too big of a risk. In all honesty, I’m the only one who can answer that. I know how I feel right now. Due to my age, a lot of things can happen so I really believe in taking these opportunities.
“Obviously, I’m making good money so it’s worthwhile for me but you have to jump on the opportunities that you have been given.”
Pereira also isn’t willing to mock McGregor for pulling out with the same injury that he continues to push through (while maintaining his current three-fight win streak).
“I don’t have McGregor’s life yet or the money that he has got,” Pereira said. “I felt that was an opportunity I needed to take at 36. Of course, it’s a huge risk for me to fight with a broken toe and would be for McGregor. He’s in a position where maybe he can think about it and say it’s not worth the risk. That’s only up to him to decide. I can’t say what I would have done if I was in his similar situation. I just felt like I needed to fight and continue on with that opportunity.”
As a byproduct of his historically unique success in the UFC, which has already seen Pereira headline four PPV events in less than four years, including twice at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the resident of Connecticut has seen his profile rise significantly. He has become an ambassador for the sports betting website Stake and could see his name become nothing short of a household one across the globe should luck and timing continue to go his way.
Should Pereira defeat Prochazka a second time on Saturday, the possibility of a superfight against heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who is expected to return this fall against long-time division king Stipe Miocic, isn’t unrealistic. Even though Jones has teased retirement and appears to be uninterested in interim titleholder Tom Aspinall, it’s a wonder whether Pereira has enough goodwill with the company built up to ask for such a monumental fight, which could keep Jones around should they both win.
Pereira would not only enter the chance to become the first three-division champion in UFC history against Jones but by proxy of facing off against the sport’s G.O.A.T. would give Pereira his best shot at making a claim for the same distinction.
All of this would have been unthinkable just a few years ago to everyone from MMA historians to even Pereira, himself.
“This wasn’t a big plan for me to go and take the middleweight and now the light heavyweight belt,” Pereira said. “My goal, as soon as I entered the UFC, was to become the middleweight champion. Then, I realized that the weight cut was taking a toll on me and we had the opportunity to move up. But now, people are asking me about heavyweight.
“I even asked [UFC] to have one fight at heavyweight but that was just one fight. You can be sure that if I’m going in to do something, that I’m trying to be the best.”
