In a move that will likely disappoint UFC fans everywhere, Alex Pereira will not be fighting Israel Adesanya in a trilogy fight next.
Adesanya got one back as he became a two-time middleweight champion following his emphatic knockout win over Pereira in the UFC 287 headliner this past weekend.
Given that the score was tied at 1-1, at least in MMA alone, it's only natural to expect a trilogy fight to settle the score once and for all.
However, UFC president Dana White and Adesanya himself poured cold water on that suggestion, instead suggesting Pereira move up to the light heavyweight division.
That looks to be the plan as “Poatan” confirmed his next fight would be at 205 pounds as he feels he's done his part at middleweight.
“Many people questioned [my weight cut] but I always went there and fulfilled my obligation, but now is a great moment to move up a division,” Pereira said in his native Portuguese on his YouTube channel (via MMA Fighting). “You see Adesanya’s post-fight provocations, he treats this win like it’s 3-1 for him and it’s not quite like that.
“I understand his joy — or try to understand it — it was his dream to win once against me and he’s done it, but let’s see what his behavior is now.”
For now, there is no date or opponent for his light heavyweight debut.
Pereira moving up to light heavyweight was inevitable given how much weight he cuts to make the 185-pound limit. It's also a weight class he became a champion in during his GLORY Kickboxing days.
However, he wants to make sure people are aware that the move up was not because of his weight struggles as he could have easily gotten an immediate rematch with Adesanya. It's just the right move for the Brazilian at this point in time.
“I’m moving up a division now, and that’s my decision, but I’m sure that if I stayed in this division I can could fight him immediately. Let’s see how he behaves,” Pereira added. “I’m not going up because I can’t make the weight anymore. I can make the weight at any moment.
“He’s behaving like that because Dana White talked about my weight right after the fight and it looks like he thinks, ‘This guy will never make 185 again so I’ll provoke him and there’s nothing he can do’. I’m sure I could fight him immediately if I insisted on this, the organization and my managers would make this fight.”
A penny for UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill's thoughts?
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