There was a lot of talk about Alex Pereira potentially turning around after UFC 300 to fight at UFC 301 in Brazil. It wasn't a very serious talk from anyone other than Pereira, but it was fun to imagine “Poitan” getting through Jamahal Hill so fast and being able to compete again four weeks later.
Well, that's exactly what Alex did, so no need to imagine any more. The light heavyweight champion knocked out Hill just over three minutes into the main event (see highlights here). With the belt slung over his shoulder and no trace left behind, he once again asked the UFC to book him a fight in his home country on May 4th. seriously.
“I have no injuries. I want to fight in Brazil,” Pereira said. “I know time is short, but let's see what happens…I don't care because I know I need a promotion for a title fight. Let me have a match at heavyweight.”
“I think UFC Rio is possible, but it’s not up to me,” he told Ag.Fight after UFC 300. “I said Rio de Janeiro, I'll be there, I'm free. I want to fight in front of them and the Brazilians want to see me fight and put on a show. I I haven't seen the other matches, but everyone says this event was a success. I closed the match with a bang, and I think everyone loved it, so definitely, people. would like to see me fight again and soon.”
Unfortunately, this idea, especially the heavyweight option, doesn't seem appealing to UFC CEO Dana White.
“Given him moving up to heavyweight, you have Jones, you have Aspinall,” White said in the UFC 300 post-fight press conference. “The list goes on and on in that heavyweight division. The heavyweight division is messy. I don't know if that's the right thing to do for him. He looked very good tonight in the division he's in. So I might want to stay there for a while.”
“All of this will be discussed over the next 15 Tuesdays,” he added. “We'll try to figure it out.”
This is not the kind of comment that suggests the UFC is working to quickly bring Poitan back into UFC 301, regardless of weight class. And since no one took Alex seriously back in February, nothing is scheduled and we don't even know if he has anyone to fight.
Sorry, Rio de Janeiro. Alex Pereira tried it. The world isn't hardcore enough to keep up with bad guys like him.
