At UFC 281, Alex Pereira defeated ‘Stylebender’ Israel Adesanya. However, when the two faced off again at UFC 287, Adesanya evened the score and won that bout. The two had a bitter rivalry, which later turned into a relationship of respect. Combat fans loved seeing this explosive duo go at it within the ring, but sadly, it seems difficult at the moment.
After suffering his defeat at the hands of UFC Middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira made an audacious move. He decided to move up a weight class and now is part of the UFC Light Heavyweight roster. He won his first bout in the division, making his inauguration a legendary one. However, it seems like a mammoth task awaits him next.
A move up that shook Israel Adesanya – Alex Pereira’s first Light Heavyweight win
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An interesting fact to know about, before diving into this part of the article – Israel Adesanya had an undefeated streak in the UFC Middleweight division. His first defeat came at the hands of UFC Light Heavyweight legend Jan Blachowicz when the Stylebender decided to climb the ranks. When Alex Pereira decided to move up a weight class, people thought he would meet with the same fate as Adesanya. Jan Blachowicz was, once again, the fighter to welcome him to the division. Shutting the mouths of all naysayers, Alex Pereira walked out with a split decision win.
Now Pereira has yet another challenge ahead of him. Light Heavyweight menace Jiří Procházka happens to be Pereira’s next opponent. Although no date or location has been confirmed yet, the fighters have started their training camp. A video has been circulating where Alex Pereira has been seen sparring. In that video, the Brazilian puts his sparring partner in a hybrid Anaconda lock and forces him to submit. Some of the fans were left impressed, while others were not.
I’ve seen enough, Pereira submits Jiri via Darce Choke pic.twitter.com/eabzOlBzmU
— Aj (@AjDuxche) August 21, 2023
What makes this fight interesting is that Alex Pereira and Jiří Procházka will be fighting for the vacant Light Heavyweight title, which was vacated by Procházka last year, owing to an injury. This will be Pereira’s second fight in the division and he has already earned himself a shot at the title. But will he be able to overpower and out-perform the Czech champion?
However, it has to be emphasized that the fight card hasn’t been finalized yet. Although there are rumors that the speculated fight makes sense, there has been no official nod from the UFC yet.
Fans divided over Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira’s sparring video ahead of Jiří Procházka fight
Alex Pereira securing a win over Jan Blachowicz was a really impressive feat. However, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the decision. Now, there is a more important matter at hand – to see if he can do it again. Sources suggest that his next fight will be against the King of the division he has just entered.
His sparring video, which has been going viral, has some of his fans worried. The caption of the video read: “I’ve seen enough, Pereira submits Jiri via Darce Choke“. That was a tall claim to make. The fans shared their responses to the video in the comment section.
Some fans were thrilled by the excitement that the ‘potential’ fight was already causing and started sharing their version of the results.
Pereira by sub would be crazy
— ℕ𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠 (@casualnando) August 22, 2023
That fight is gonna be so wild I wouldn’t be surprised
— Knuckles 👊 (@knuckles_stan) August 22, 2023
Another fan made a big comparison between the two fighters and some of the most legendary boxers.
Pereira beating Jiri is going to be like Tyson avenging Ali by beating Larry Holmes
— 𒅌° 𒅃 𒈟.‱ஹ௸௵꧄.ဪ꧅⸻ (@privacydied) August 22, 2023
One fan seemed really impressed with Pereira’s ground game.
Is there anything this lad can’t do
— Hamza Great (@patekmainplug) August 22, 2023
One fan didn’t seem impressed and even corrected the caption, which claimed it was a ‘Darce Choke’.
I hate to be that guy but that’s an Anaconda Choke… and not a very good one.
— Kenny (@KennyBoyMMA) August 22, 2023
Others seemed convinced that Jiří Procházka would take the win.
Idk. Excited for the fight, but I'm betting jiri will have the fight IQ to go for subs and takedowns. If he does that Perera gonna have a short night.
— Luke (@govmntisbadmkay) August 22, 2023
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One fan even said he would stop watching MMA if Alex Pereira won.
If that somehow happened, I might have to stop watching MMA for a while
— FIGHT GUY (@FightingPetah) August 22, 2023
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Everyone was under the impression that Jan Blachowicz would beat Pereira to a pulp. In the end, everyone bit their own lip. Will Pereira’s next fight be a repetition of history? Will Pereira become the new Light Heavyweight champ of the UFC? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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