Alex Pereira knocked out Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300 and immediately announced that he would have 21 days to headline UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro. And he feels ready to do it at heavyweight.
“Poitan” viciously stopped Hill in just over three minutes Saturday night in Las Vegas and revealed his plans in an in-cage interview with Joe Rogan. Speaking to the media backstage later that night, Pereira added that it was up to the UFC to make it happen.
UFC 301 takes place on May 4th and will be headlined by Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Arceg for the flyweight championship, with Jose Aldo returning from retirement to take on Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event. If Pereira is added to the cards, those names could drop to a spot on the marquee.
“Of course I want to fight,” Pereira said in Portuguese. “I've said I want to fight in Brazil, but that's out of my control. But I'm here to make it clear that I want it. Let's wait and see.”
Pereira became the UFC middleweight champion and after losing an instant rematch to Israel Adesanya, he decided to move up a weight class and currently holds a 3-0 record at light heavyweight.
“I'm evolving pretty quickly,” Pereira said. [to fight at heavyweight],I can do it. That was 100 percent my idea. I'm that tall. Not only that, my weight isn't right yet, but I'm gaining weight at a pretty fast rate even though I'm not doing any additional strength training. If you do strength training, you'll definitely do well. ”
Pereira said he would not call up any heavyweights for a potential fight at UFC 301, leaving it up to the promotion to select “the fighter they feel is best suited” for the task.
“You have to be challenged,” Pereira said of the secret to greatness after winning two belts in a short time in the UFC. “When we train for a match, we know we have a big challenge ahead of us and I feel motivated by everything that’s going on. It pushes me to evolve and push me harder. That is my driving force.”
