36-year-old Alex Pereira defended his light heavyweight title for the second time at the recently concluded UFC 303 event. The Brazilian defeated Jiri Prochazka with a devastating leg kick, which knocked him out. This was the second time when the pair fought each other. However, on both occasions, ‘Denisa’ was on the receiving end of Pereira’s brilliance.

‘Poatan’ has made a name for himself in the sport in a concise span of time. Not only does he have the power, but he also has the fighting intelligence inside the Octagon. However, this time, he received some assistance from his team, which helped him change his game plan.

Alex Pereira changed his game plan after watching Prochazka’s training video

Championship Rounds shared a video on their X account after the fight where Pereira shared his game plan. He said, “My coaches showed me the videos of Jiri warming up. And I saw that he was trying to attack the calf kick with a fake encounter. So I saw he was not focused on taking the kick and he was keeping his hands down and leaving the head exposed. So I told him I am going to explore the high kick.” The Brazilian was able to switch his game plan in the fight which helped him defend his title for the second time.

Pereira surprised everyone when he took on the fight at such a short notice. Although, he did face Prochazka previously the Brazilian had very limited time to prepare for the fight. However, it seems he has made a habit of knocking out former champions. He has now successfully defended his title for the second time this year. While he did show his willingness to feature at UFC 300, the UFC finally gave him the opportunity to be a part of the UFC 303 event. But what’s next for the current light heavyweight champion.

Pereira is a former two-division champion and the fans now want him to make a move to the heavyweight division. The 36-year-old previously showed his willingness to challenge himself by going up a division. However, it seems he now wants to take a cautious approach before making a move next.

Alex Pereira doesn’t want to rush things in his career next

During the post fight press conference Pereira was asked about making a move to the heavyweight division. The 36-year-old gave a positive response and said, “…in my future.” The crowd cheered on the champion and were excited to see him in a new division. With only eleven MMA fights under his belt ‘Poatan’ has achieved what most of the athletes couldn’t. However, it now seems he might just be able to win a third belt if he plans on moving to the heavyweight division. But, it seems the 36-year-old is taking a very cautious approach for his next move.

During the post-fight press conference he made it clear that he is in no hurry at the moment. He said, “Man, for heavyweight, it’s something I gotta do preparation, I gotta be prepared so I don’t know for next step right now. You guys saw I took this fight on two week’s notice, for heavyweight gotta be more planned so right now, I’m just focused on defending my title.” The heavyweight division is a completely different ball game and some of the best fighters feature in the division. However, looking at his recent performances, Pereira might just prove to be a good addition to the division.

Will the 36-year-old make a move to the heavyweight division next? Let us know in the comments below.