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via Imago

via Imago

Alex Pereira has done the unthinkable! At UFC 295, Pereira defeated Jiri Prochazka, becoming the UFC light heavyweight champion. He then proceeded to call out former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya for their trilogy bout. However, there might be another fighter – or a fight that Pereira might have to be a part of before he can think about retiring or even fighting Adesanya.

UFC CEO Dana White held a press conference after UFC 295, where he explicitly said that the next fight that makes sense for the light heavyweight division is a title defense for Pereira – against Jamahal Hill. Hill has been in 9 fights in the UFC and has lost only once. His professional MMA record stands at 12-1-0. UFC commentator Jon Anik and former UFC fighter Kenny Florian recently provided the fans with their take on White’s next fight card for Pereira.

Jon Anik and Kenny Florian discuss Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

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After UFC 295, Dana White wasted no time in throwing in ideas for who Alex Pereira should fight next. He said that a fight between Pereira and Jamahal Hill made a lot of sense. Whether the fight happens or not is yet to be seen, but there is another aspect to that bout that two UFC veterans recently delved into.

Former UFC fighter Kenny Florian and UFC commentator Jon Anik recently discussed this in the latest episode of the ‘Anik & Florian’ podcast. Florian seemed to think that the fight made a lot of sense and that Hill could put up a good fight and possibly even get the better of Pereira. “I think Jamahal could be an interesting fight for him. No question about that. I think he is a cleaner boxer – perhaps the cleanest boxer that he would have faced up until that point. So I think that makes it interesting,” said Florian.

He then talked about Hill putting Pereira on his back and the fact that Pereira might consider retiring after the fight against Hill. “I also think Jamahal might be able to switch things up and put Pereira on his back and maybe take it a little bit more advantage there. So, it’s tough to say… I think if he gets by Jamahal, um… you know, he may retire with the belt. Who knows? I don’t know how long he wants to continue fighting,” he said. 

The 36-year-old is making good money in the UFC now and Anik and Florian think he could be making a lot more if he maintains his current form until he is 39 or 40 years of age. Could that be a motivating factor for Pereira to not retire? Be that as it may, Alex Pereira might actually have a lot of potential fights to pick from, including one that he probably didn’t see coming.

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Alex Pereira is the hot topic in the UFC right now. When he defeated Jiri Prochazka and became the UFC light heavyweight champ, all people could talk about was the possible fight between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya (since Pereira called out Adesanya after his UFC 295 win). But now, it seems there are two other UFC fighters who want a piece of him.

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Jan Blachowicz, whom Pereira had defeated when he made his light heavyweight debut at UFC 291, wants to rectify that blemish on his record since he doesn’t believe that he lost that fight. Now, White has said that a fight against Jamahal Hill is also on the table. But wait, there is more.

It just so happens that Alex Pereira might have to fight another fighter, who might be signed to the UFC. But what is so exciting about that? Well, it seems that the fighter in question is Quemuel Ottoni – the fighter who defeated Alex Pereira back in 2015, via a rear-naked choke. Pereira has lost twice in his MMA career – once to Adesanya at UFC 287 and once to Ottoni.

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Rumor is that Ottoni might be getting signed to the UFC. He recently sent out a cryptic message on his Instagram – the message of which was along the same lines as that of Pereira’s callout for Adesanya. All things considered, it truly is an exciting time to be a UFC fan.

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