UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira remains a force to be reckoned with. After successfully defending his title for a second time against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, his resilience continues to impress. Pereira accepted the fight on short notice after Conor McGregor pulled out due to injury.

Furthermore, We can’t forget his first title defense at the historic UFC 300 a few weeks earlier, where he dominated  Jamhal Hill via knockout despite battling an injured toe. Now, in his exclusive interview, Alex Pereira shed more light on the toe injury he sustained while training for UFC300.

Alex Pereira speaks on his toe injury

These days, Alex Pereira is emerging as a promising fighter, delivering back-to-back fights over the last few months. It’s would not even be a stretch to call him the new face of UFC. After winning the light-heavyweight title last year against Jiri Prochazka, Pereira defended it twice: first at UFC 300 and then at UFC 303, both knockout victories, despite being injured both times.

Now, Pereira has shed more light on his injury through his YouTube channel, revealing he was sidelined from training both before and after his UFC 300 win. Furthermore, he claimed that he never hesitated to inform his fans about his injury.

“I was training for my fight against Jahamal Hill.” Pereira said, ” I went 30 days without training because of my broken toes. After recovering, I had about 30 days without training, doing nothing but resting. After 4 weeks, I went back to training slowly. I started to work on the travels at the same time as training.”

Now, he is finally taking a step back to recover. The light heavyweight champion of the UFC will take a much-needed break and is aiming t return at the end of the year. An MSG return in November or an appearance on the final PPV of 2024 in December are options. If he gets the itch to compete before these dates, he could even face Magomed Ankalaev in October in Abu Dhabi, a date and venue the challenger has been calling for over the last few months. But ‘Poatan’ is not worried about all that now.

In his sit-down, Alex Pereira further emphasized the importance of separating training and work. Despite battling a broken toe during his dominant victory over Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, Pereira has shown remarkable empathy for fellow fighters. This was evident last month when a reporter asked for his thoughts on Conor McGregor’s withdrawal due to a pinky-toe injury, an injury Pereira himself had also sustained.

Pereira comments on Conor McGregor’s UFC 303 withdrawal

Conor McGregor has been absent from the Octagon since 2021, During his recovery, he pursued various endeavors, including a Hollywood debut, issues with doping agencies, and launching business ventures. however, his much-anticipated return was derailed by a training injury just weeks before the fight, paving the way for “Poatan” to step in as a last-minute replacement with a broken toe.

During a UFC 303 media day, a reporter asked Alex Pereira about Conor McGregor’s withdrawal due to injury. Pereira, himself a fighter who had competed with a toe injury, offered a nuanced response. He said, “I can never judge people’s pain, and it’s different scenarios, different situations.”

Pereira further elaborated, acknowledging the influence of McGrego’s financial success,” He made his name, he made his money, and I’m kind of halfway there. I fought with a broken toe in my situation, but maybe if I were in his situation, maybe I would’ve not fought, so I can’t judge.”

Now, all eyes are on Alex Pereira, who is currently healing from his injury. We can see him on social media enjoying his time with his family. There is no date set for his return yet, but as soon as it arrives, we will let you know. Stay tuned!