Alex Pereira, the man who’s taken the UFC by storm since his debut in 2021, is never far from the headlines. On October 5, at UFC 307, he successfully defended his light-heavyweight crown against Khalil Rountree Jr. Scoring a technical knockout in the 4th round against the dangerous contender, the fans are now already clamoring for his return. But when will we see him back in the Octagon? It might not be too long. After all, Pereira is the most active champion in UFC history at 37. How active?

175 days, 3 title fights, and that too with a perfect 3-0 record with KO wins!

• Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 in April
• Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 in June,
• Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 two weeks ago.

So, when he speaks about his return, that is not just a statement, it has to be given due consideration, howsoever unbelievable it might sound. During his recent appearance on ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’, ‘Poatan’ talked about the same.

Pereira stated through his translator, “Ideally, he would fight around June, it would be ideal, but he would maybe like to fight around March, even, but honestly, say, if it were up to him, he’ll fight in December right now.”

He admitted that business commitments and back-to-back fights have delayed his return, pushing his ideal timeline further into next year. And it seems the logistics of being a world-class fighter extend beyond training and fighting. As such, the Brazilian champion further went on to state, “The guys who organized it understood, but we have some obligations to do so he feels that around March is a good date.” This declaration raises the obvious question. Who will be the fighter opposite Pereira?

The name that is coming up strongest as Pereira’s next opponent is Magomed Ankalaev. Ankalaev will have the opportunity to secure the light heavyweight title shot at UFC 308 when he faces Aleksandar Rakic. UFC president Dana White has already confirmed that the Russian will be next for Pereira if he is victorious and puts in a good performance against Rakic in Abu Dhabi. But wait, Poatan has something to say about it.

“I’m going to be honest man I don’t have nobody in my mind. The organization came with Khalil last time, and it was a surprise for me too. Some people say Ankalev. But I’m gonna be honest with you. His manager has been talking a lot of crap saying that Alex Oh Alex don’t want to fight this and that, but the reality is the organization don’t want him to fight, because he’s Boring. People don’t like to watch him fight. He’s not a guy that sells pay-per-view but now because they keep saying that keep disrespecting maybe I’ll make a little bit even harder for them to fight me,” Pereira said on the show.

Despite all this, we have every reason to believe his eagerness to fight as early as possible, especially after he revealed how he pushed himself despite injuries last year.

As reported by ESPN, Pereira had been fighting through a knee injury he sustained in training camp for his July 2023 fight against former champion Jan Blachowicz. “The knee had come out of place and I had to stop training. We, as a camp, thought about canceling the fight but pushed through. During training, I had to stop to put the knee back in place. I didn’t know if my knee was going to surrender or not,” Pereira had said ESPN last month through an interpreter. The signs of injury were visible in the fight.

Pereira went through with the fight against Blachowicz but was “very, very, very limited.” It was far from the explosive performance fans were accustomed to seeing from him. Even then, He got away with a split-decision victory. Following this, Pereira was supposed to have knee surgery in December, But one more opportunity came his way.

The UFC offered him to challenge for the vacant light heavyweight title against Jiri Prochazka in November. Pereira was not the one to let it go. So, he fought again with the injured knee and stopped Prochazka in the second round. That made him the fastest two-division champion in UFC history. But that was not without scare.

“When I was throwing elbows on Jiri, after the knockout I did a front roll. The front roll wasn’t me celebrating, it was me scared to post on the leg because it may have surrendered for good,” he had said. Imagine how dangerous Pereira could have looked, had he been in his full health. Pereira also knows that. Therefore, he is all in to make up for his injury-plagued 2023.

“I was able to fight with such bad conditions with my leg, and now that I have had the surgery and am 100 percent healthy, I want to fight all the time,” Pereira had said. We are already seeing that! But Pereira’s statement has drawn a flurry of reactions from the fandom. Torn between wanting to see him fight as soon as possible and urging him to take the necessary time to heal and recharge, here’s a look at what the netizens had to say!

Fans raise concerns about Alex Pereira’s recovery

Some fans humorously claimed that Alex Pereira’s decision to fight next year should lead to him being stripped of the title! Jokes aside, the Brazilian’s activity is astounding. It took him just 736 days and 7 bouts to become a ‘champ-champ’ in the promotion. As such, it’d make sense why he’d be open to the possibility of a longer break between his return next year.

“It’s been over a week since he fought?!?!? Strip him due to inactivity this is ridiculous”

Pereira is still considering a move back down to middleweight to challenge 185-pound titleholder Dricus Du Plessis. On the other hand, he has not even ruled out a move to heavyweight. When asked if he would finally take some time off after UFC 307, Pereira response was intriguing. “Bro, I’m not going to respond to that because it is hard to say, I don’t know,” he said. We can not disagree with the fans when they say “Guy is a promoters dream and every contender’s nightmare.” Even Dana White was also full of praise for ‘Poatan’s schedule and willingness to take on all challengers!

But could his record-breaking activity be a double-edged sword? One fan brought up a pressing concern as they pointed out that recovery and rest are essential for a fighter in a sport with such small margins of error like MMA. Using the example of Alexander Volkanovski, who suffered back-to-back knockout losses in his past two fights, the fans are concerned that Pereira might be pushing himself too far. 

“he should take time off before he becomes Volk, when u fight that frequent and dont take time to heal and train the right way, u become sloppy and 1 mistake and bad timed shot and ur out cold”

Some fans even claimed that all of his UFC performances in the past year have had some issues that may have prevented Alex Pereira’s full potential inside the cage. After UFC 307, the champion revealed in the post-fight press conference, “I had a fever, I had a bad throat, and a lot of things happened. Also, going back: when I was in Brazil, I hurt my rib. It was an injury that I had about a year ago, and it came back, so that was also something that I was dealing with.”

“imagine poatan with a full camp and rest! my gosh good luck to anyone”

However, some fans believe that if it were up to ‘Poatan’ he would try to fight as soon as possible. But it appears as though the team around him is taking note of the toll his activity has taken on him and has advised him to give his body time to heal.

“Coaches prob forcing him to take off”

To wrap things up, Alex Pereira has proven time and again that he’s a force to be reckoned with inside the Octagon. But as fans celebrate his successes, the conversation around rest and recovery becomes more pressing. With back-to-back fights and a series of injuries, it’s clear that even the most elite fighters need time to recharge. While Pereira’s heart may be set on a quick return, his team seems to be making the smart move by urging caution.

Who do you think will step into the cage against him in March? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!