MMA News

Tag: Alex Pereira

  • Alex Pereira Wants Big Step Up In Form Of Jared Cannonier: “Why Not?”

    Alex Pereira hasn’t entered the Top 15 yet in the UFC middleweight rankings, but he has his eyes on top contender Jared Cannonier.

    Pereira outlasted a tough Bruno Silva to kick off the main card of UFC Vegas 50. Despite having Silva badly hurt in the third round, Pereira wasn’t able to secure the finish and would settle for a unanimous decision victory.

    Pereira is now 2-0 in the UFC after a decorated career in Glory Kickboxing. He also has a 5-1 record in MMA and seems focused on title contention in the UFC.

    Pereira has discussed a potential third fight with Israel Adesanya in the UFC after beating him twice in kickboxing. However, Pereira thinks he’s ready for a fight with Cannonier next following Cannonier’s knockout over Derek Brunson at UFC 271.

    During his UFC Vegas 50 post-fight press conference, Pereira explained his reasoning behind calling out Cannonier so early into his UFC career.

    “I had talked about Jared Cannonier because he’s a guy that is next for a title shot,” Pereira said. “Some people have already talked about me and Adesanya, so why not Cannonier? I don’t think I’m talking too much calling out Cannonier.

    “I had two great fights and I was able to showcase my skills. I didn’t even show everything that I go through my daily basis training with Glover Teixeira’s gym. I’m improving and evolving every day. Where I am in the division? I don’t know. I’ll let the promotors talk and they’ll know where to properly put me in.” (h/t MMA Junkie)

    Before his win over Silva, Pereira passed his first UFC test with flying colors against Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268. He earned a violent flying knee knockout that put the rest of the division on notice.

    Cannonier is expected to face Adesanya for the next middleweight title shot later this year. If he were to lose, a fight against Pereira may happen down the line.

    For now,

    UFC Vegas 50: Pros react to Alex Pereira's unanimous decision win over Bruno Silva - Bloody Elbow

    Alex Pereira is planning his next move in the UFC Octagon as he continues to pursue his long-standing rival Adesanya.

    Who do you want Alex Pereira to fight next?

  • Bruno Silva Looks To Steal Alex Pereira’s Hype At UFC Vegas 50

    UFC middleweight Bruno Silva is aiming to make a statement against the highly-touted striker Alex Pereira at UFC Vegas 50.

    Silva has been deserving of some hype of his own following seven-straight wins. He hasn’t lost since 2016 and has earned UFC victories over the likes of Andrew Sanchez and Jordan Wright.

    Silva is the slight underdog against Pereira at UFC Vegas 50. Pereira was one of the biggest signings by the UFC in 2021 following a decorated career in Glory Kickboxing.

    Pereira passed his first test with flying colors with a debut win over Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268. During his UFC Vegas 50 pre-fight press conference, Silva talked about his intentions for making a name for himself against Pereira while stealing his hype.

    “Absolutely, [I will steal his hype with a win], that’s one of the reasons why I took this fight,” Silva said. “According to Alex, 15 guys turned him down, and I was crazy No. 16. A lot of guys have fear. I have fear, but I’m brave, so I will fight him.” (h/t Cageside Press)

    Silva went on to tease an aggressive approach to his fight with Pereira.

    “There is no way to make history if you are not brave enough. So you guys are not going to see me fighting like Khabib [Nurmagomedov] or Damian Maia. If I have to, I will, but I’m going to look for another knockout.”

    Pereira is also the only man to ever knock out UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in any sport, as he’s continued to allude to during his UFC rise.

    Silva could give Pereira plenty of challenges inside the Octagon. He possesses powerful striking and has showcased the ability to finish a fight with a single blow.

    Silva will look to put on a show against Pereira and continue his rise in the middleweight division.

    What is your prediction for Bruno Silva vs. Alex Pereira?

  • Alex Pereira: Israel Adesanya Is Lying To His Fans

    Alex Pereira thinks UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya doesn’t want to face off with him in the Octagon despite what he tells the public.

    Pereira made his UFC debut last year following an impressive run in Glory Kickboxing. He’s also the only fighter in any sport to finish Adesanya, as he did at Glory of Heroes 7.

    Pereira is coming off of his win over Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268. He’s now set to face Bruno Silva in an exciting matchup at UFC Vegas 50 this weekend.

    Pereira has previously said that he made Adesanya break into tears following the knockout. Now that Pereira has made the full-time move to MMA, the third fight between them could happen sooner rather than later.

    Adesanya has expressed moderate intrigue in an eventual fight between him and Pereira in the UFC. He’s hinted that Pereira has some work to do before getting a middleweight title shot, at which point he would be more than happy to face Pereira in an MMA setting.

    During a recent appearance on the Trocacao Franca podcast, Pereira accused Adesanya of misleading his fans regarding his interest in a fight with him.

    “Man, have you seen me laughing before? It’s hard, right?” Pereira said through chortles. “How does this guy say he’s anxious to fight me? If I were in his shoes and I was crazy to fight someone, anxious, like he’s saying he is … as soon as I heard ‘Alex Pereira has signed with the UFC,’ [I would’ve said] f***, [book it] right away. The respect he has [within the company], I’d say, ‘Ask him if he wants to fight me now. Forget about Robert Whittaker, cancel this fight, reschedule it. I make the calls. If Alex wants it, I want it.’

    Adesanya Hopes To See Alex Pereira In 4-5 Fights: "It's Different Now"
    Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira

    “F***, man, that’s what you do is you’re anxious to fight [someone]. ‘Oh, I can’t wait to fight Alex, but I’ll fight him [after] 15 fights.’ F***, How is he anxious to do it? What does he want? Look, I’ll tell you this — it’s harder for me to get to him than beating him. He knows that. He knows how I beat him. He fought me twice. He won’t admit how difficult I am. He’s not anxious to fight me. He wants me to slip tomorrow so he can say, ‘Is this the guy you want me to fight? Are you crazy? Go back to the end of the line.’ He’ll run from me.” (h/t MMA Fighting)

    Pereira then went on to proclaim that the UFC middleweight champion may be intentionally avoiding him out of fear.

    “Someone crazy for a fight will say, ‘I want this guy, I want to prove I’m better than him,’” Pereira continued. “He’s fooling his fan base. People should pressure him. The least he could do is say, ‘F*ck, I’ll show my fans that I’m the best and that’s why they follow me,’ but that’s not what he’s doing. He’s scared s***. Like Glover [Teixeira] says, he’s scared s***.”

    Adesanya is coming off of his UFC 271 title rematch against Robert Whittaker, earning a unanimous decision win. He’s expected to face Jared Cannonier later this year for his next title defense.

    If Pereira is able to put on another impressive performance against Silva, calls for a fight with Adesanya will start to ramp up. This could give Adesanya the chance to get vengeance after losing twice to Pereira in the kickboxing ring.

    Do you think we’ll eventually see Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira in the UFC?

  • Alex Pereira Claims He Made Israel Adesanya Cry Following Knockout

    UFC middleweight Alex Pereira says he made champion Israel Adesanya cry after knocking him out during their time competing in Glory Kickboxing.

    Pereira is coming off an impressive UFC debut at UFC 268, as he finished Andreas Michailidis with a flying knee and punches in Round 2. Pereira, a former multi-division kickboxing world champion, signed with the UFC last year in a full-time transition to MMA.

    To go along with his incredible combat accolades, he’s also the only man ever to finish Adesanya in any sport. He defeated Adesanya via unanimous decision in 2016 before knocking him out in the rematch in 2017 at Glory of Heroes 7.

    During an interview with PVT’s Marcelo Alonso, Pereira revealed how he shook Adesanya’s confidence following the finish.

    “I don’t know if with his friends, right, with the people close to him, he’s that arrogant guy, that annoying guy, because every time I met the guy, it was all that arrogance, that ego, he was always like that,” Pereira said. “Since our first fight in China, he was a guy who pissed me off a lot, from the weigh-in to the fight. Even losing, when there was the rematch here in Brazil he made a post that I don’t really remember, but it was something like ‘I’ll have to beat Pereira in his backyard and then run out of the favela’. It was something like that, right?

    “I only saw him at the weigh-in and the fight. After the fight I saw him crying outside in Ibirapuera. Sitting on a low wall with his trainer – that’s it.” (h/t SportsKeeda)

    Pereira and Adesanya could be on a collision course once again in the UFC. Adesanya will face former champion Robert Whittaker in a rematch at UFC 271, but the door remains open in the middleweight title picture.

    Adesanya has also previously said that he expects to meet Pereira once again, this time in the Octagon.

    If Pereira can continue his winning ways, he could earn the opportunity to defeat Adesanya for the third time. But this time, Adesanya will have more tools at his disposal in MMA.

    Do you think we’ll see Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya in the UFC?

  • Krzysztof Jotko Alleges Alex Pereira Ducked Him Due To Grappling

    UFC middleweight Krzysztof Jotko is still awaiting an opponent for his Octagon return, but he recently accused Alex Pereira of turning him down.

    According to Jotko, an offer was made for him to fight Pereira on the upcoming UFC 271 card in February. However, he alleges that Pereira turned down the fight immediately.

    Jotko most recently defeated Misha Cirkunov via split decision at UFC Vegas 38. Before that, he had won three in a row leading up to a disappointing loss to rising contender Sean Strickland.

    Pereira, arguably the biggest signing by the UFC in 2021, put on a show in his UFC debut. The elite striker overwhelmed Andreas Michailidis en route to a TKO finish at UFC 268.

    Pereira recently agreed to fight with Bruno Silva after the alleged offer to fight Jotko. After the fight was announced, Jotko ripped Pereira on his Twitter page.

    “Look at this clown,” Jotko said. “I agreed to fight you on February 12! And, you out here running scared fighting someone else cause you can’t wrestle. Why you scared?”

    Pereira is widely regarded as one of the best kickboxers in the world, having won multiple titles in Glory Kickboxing before coming to the UFC. He has been criticized by many, including Jotko, for his relative inexperience with grappling.

    After getting word of Jotko’s comments, Pereira didn’t respond kindly, via a recent Instagram post.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CX-DqPtMK1g/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    “I had never heard of that guy, but my manager mentioned him to me and we came to the conclusion that he was a totally unremarkable and uninteresting opponent,” Pereira said. “I want an opponent who can put on a show like me, not a girlfriend, I’m already a married man.”

    Pereira is the only fighter to ever finish the current UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya in any sport. He and Jotko are both vying for a spot in the UFC middleweight rankings.

    While it appears that these two won’t fight next, their recent back-and-forth on social media could create the push for a clash down the line.

    Who would you like to see Krzysztof Jotko fight next?

  • Alex Pereira To Make UFC Return Against Bruno Silva On March 12

    A potential barnburner between UFC middleweights Alex Pereira and Bruno Silva is in the works for an upcoming March 12 Fight Night event.

    MMA Junkie was among the first to report news of the booking.

    Pereira, a former Glory kickboxing world champion who signed with the UFC this year, is coming off of his promotional debut win over Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268. He landed a vicious flying knee followed up by a barrage of punches to secure the second-round finish.

    Pereira will face a step up in competition against Silva, who has been on a tear with seven-straight wins in M-1 and the UFC. He has won all seven bouts by knockout, including most recently against Jordan Wright at UFC 269.

    The two sides have verbally agreed to the bout ahead of an anticipated formal announcement by the promotion.

    Alex Pereira Looks To Continue His Rise In MMA

    Pereira is well known for being the only man to ever knock out Israel Adesanya in either kickboxing or MMA. During his time in Glory, he earned the light heavyweight and middleweight world titles before making the move to the UFC and MMA.

    Along with his kickboxing accolades, Pereira had put on impressive performances in smaller MMA promotions such as Legacy and Jungle Fight. He registered quick knockouts over the likes of Marcelo Cruz and Thomas Powell.

    The card will be headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between top contenders Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev. The venue and location have yet to be determined for the event.

    What are your thoughts on this UFC middleweight matchup?