It is no secret that Alex Pereira has long wanted to crossover to boxing. The UFC light heavyweight champ, of course, comes from a kickboxing background and is perhaps the best striker in the entire promotion at the moment. This is why some believe that he may well be successful in the ring.

But, just how successful he would be in boxing is a bit doubtful simply because of whom ‘Poatan’ wants to fight. The UFC champ went on MMA legend Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson‘s ‘JAXXON’ podcast, where he was asked which boxer he would like to face in the ring. And the Brazilian has only one name in mind- unified heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk, who recently became the first undisputed champ in twenty years.

But Pereira has good reasons for demanding Usyk. “I’m the champ so I’d like to fight the champ. Oleksandr Usyk is the fight I’d want,” Pereira said through a translator in his native Portuguese.

Even Pereira’s most strident fans will admit that this won’t be a very good idea for ‘Poatan.’ After all, Pereira may be a very dangerous striker, but he isn’t the most technically correct. The UFC champ has a tendency to keep his hands down to give his opponents a big target, only to counter them with his thundering blows as they try to hit him.

However, with the limited rule-set of boxing, and the fact that Usyk is the best technical boxer of his generation, who has beaten opponents much bigger and much better at boxing than Pereira (namely, Tyson Fury), Pereira will likely not find much success against the Ukrainian. Not to mention ‘Poatan’ has his hands full for the time being as he faces a potentially title-run-ending opponent two months from now.

Why Magomed Ankalaev could end Alex Pereira’s title run

Alex Pereira faces perhaps the toughest test of his career so far at UFC 313 on March 8. After all, the Brazilian champ is set to defend his title against #1 ranked light heavyweight Magomed Anakalev on the Las Vegas card. And what an intriguing matchup it is.

Pereira, as we have mentioned, is a world-class striker. But the biggest hole in his game is a severe lack of any ground game. His most difficult fight at light heavyweight, as you will remember, was against Jan Blachowicz two years ago. While ‘Poatan’ won that fight, it was through a controversial split decision. The now 41-year-old made Pereira’s life hell during that fight, and many, in fact, think that Blachowicz should have won that decision.

And the Dagestani challenger, although primarily a striker, has a pretty good grappling game, as he showed in his own fight against Blachowicz, which is to say that Ankalaev has all the tools and the ability to beat Pereira, something that hasn’t been true for ‘Poatan’s past few opponents. What do you think about Alex Pereira’s desire to box Oleksandr Usyk?