Boxing finds a cozy corner in Alex Pereira’s heart. Last year, Poatan got a call out from none other than Jake Paul. After Paul knocked out UFC veteran Mike Perry at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., Paul called out arguably the most dangerous striker in the UFC today. “I want you, Alex Pereira. … I just beat a BKFC champion. I’ve beat multiple UFC champions. He said he wants to box. So Alex Pereira, after Mike Tyson, let’s make it happen,” Paul said during his in-cage interview with Ariel Helwani. Can you imagine how enthusiastic Pereira was about it?

While Paul was still in the ring giving post-fight remarks, Pereira quickly connected with Paul on a video call. “Hey, let’s run it,” Paul said. “Let’s go, my brother,” Pereira replied. “Hey, will Dana (White) let you out (of your contract)?” Paul questioned. “Tell Dana. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. You light work.” This has yet to become a reality, but Pereira remains equally excited about a crossover between the MMA and boxing. Last year when Dana White announced he was coming to boxing, Pereira did not hide his elation.

“Honestly, man, I feel very good about this,” Pereira said. “I like boxing. I’ve wanted to fight in boxing for a while. For the unversed, Pereira, a former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion, fought once professionally in boxing, scoring a third-round TKO of Marcelo de Souza Cruz in June 2017. Interestingly, Pereira had also hoped, “I feel the partnership will start with me.” With that love and confidence, last month, he had called for a fight with Oleksandr Usyk. “I’m the champ. I would like to fight the champ. So Oleksandr Usyk,” the 205lbs god-king said in a recent podcast appearance when ‘Rampage’ Jackson asked him if he wanted to box in the future.

The Ukrainian boxer, of course, became the first undisputed heavyweight champ last year, and most felt he had better and bigger things to do than box Pereira. Or so people thought. In fact, it seems that the boxing champion himself positively wants to fight ‘Poatan’ in the ring and do it in the not-too-distant future, perhaps as his swansong before retiring, which is already on the horizon.

“I think two years, one-and-a-half [left in boxing] and I feel great myself. I feel I have two fights to prepare [for], not more – just two,” the heavyweight champ said in a recent interview. And the former cruiserweight champ also knows exactly who he wants these next two fights to be against.

First, he wants to fight the winner of the upcoming Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker IBF heavyweight title clash on February 22. “Next, a show fight with Alex Pereira. Maybe. Why not? Alex wanna,” Usyk said. The key word here is ‘show fight’, which makes it seem like an Usyk-Pereira clash would not be for the Ukrainian’s titles (if he still holds them going into a potential Pereira fight). And that means that their cross-over fight would be a spectacle purely for commercial purpose and to please the fans.

But why would Usyk want to do it at all? Well, probably because of the runaway success of the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match eight years ago. That fight had made obscene amount of money since it appealed to two huge fan bases: the boxing and MMA fans. And maybe Usyk wants a similarly large payout before he hangs up his gloves for good. But even if the Ukrainian and the Brazilian are on board, there is one problem- they will need the UFC to be on board!

Will the UFC allow Alex Pereira to box Oleksandr Usyk?

Alex Pereira is signed to the UFC and will need Dana White‘s blessings to make a Usyk boxing match happen. In fact, the Las Vegas-based promotion would probably want to co-promote the fight to get a part of that pie. At least that is what they did for McGregor-Mayweather.

But will the UFC allow Pereira to box Usyk? After all, the promotion has not been interested in any of its fighters wanting to crossover since McGregor, and for good reason. Since it is unlikely any UFC fighter would beat an elite-level boxer in boxing. So, the UFC probably doesn’t want to take the risk of besmirching the brand. More importantly, not in the form of the golden goose of the promotion.

This is even more likely in the case of Usyk and Pereira. After all, the UFC champ isn’t the hardest guy to hit because he tends to keep his hands down. On the other hand, Usyk is probably the best technical striker in the entire sport at the moment, and is likely to dominate ‘Poatan’.

Since the Brazilian is the UFC’s veritable face at the moment, it is unlikely the promotion would allow Pereira to cross over and fight Usyk. Unless Pereira, who turns 38 this year, chooses to box Usyk after retiring. This could well be done this year or the next. What do you think about Oleksandr Usyk’s willingness to box Alex Pereira?