Alex Pereira has not entered the octagon since last October when he defeated Khalil Rountree Jr. via fourth-round TKO to defend his light heavyweight title for the third time in a six-month span. He is set to make his return in March against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in a highly anticipated bout.
‘Poatan’ recently expressed interest in a boxing match against two-time undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk. Speaking on the JAXXON Podcast, Pereira stated, via his coach and translator Plinio Cruz:
“That’s something he really wants, but he’s under contract with the UFC. We know [Conor] McGregor did it. Don’t know how he would, but someday he would really like to do it… He’s the champ, he would like to fight a champ so Oleksandr Usyk is the one that he wants… He feels that he could do really good. People talk about boxing, but boxing is one of his strongest parts.”
Cruz continued:
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“He’s supposed to fight the champ. He wants to fight the champ so he’d fight Oleksandr Usyk. He thinks he could go head-to-head with him. He thinks he’s up there. Me, personally, I’ve put him already to spar some world class, top-10 heavyweight boxers. Guys with names, real good names, not that I’m going to mention, but he did really good, bro, so I think he could do good. I believe in him.”
Check out Alex Pereira and Plinio Cruz’s comments on facing Oleksandr Usyk below:
Fans shared their reaction to the comments from the light heavyweight champion and his coach. @TalkingChalk101 claimed that he should not take the match as it would be a murder:
“Please no. That would be a murder”
@TedlaJacob shared that he would rather see him face the winner of Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall:
“The thing is with Alex is that it takes one left hook to end the fight. But I’ve seen clips of him get pieced up by boxers at a lower level [namely in Korea], so idk if its a good idea. Rather see a super fight with the winner of Jones vs. Aspinall”
@PenaCartel suggested that it would be an easy night for Usyk:
“Love Poatan, but absolutely not. Usyk does whatever he wants in that fight without leaving first gear”
Check out the best fan reactions below:
Alex Pereira shares shadowboxing footage ahead of Magomed Ankalaev clash
Alex Pereira is set to make his return to the octagon in March as he looks to defend his light heavyweight title for the fourth time against Magomed Ankalaev. ‘Poatan’ recently took to X to share footage of himself shadowboxing, captioning the post:
“CHAMA 🔥”
Check out Alex Pereira’s post below:
Pereira’s clash with Ankalaev has had plenty of build up as the two spent much of 2024 exchanging words. While the No.1-ranked light heavyweight accused the champion of avoiding the matchup, ‘Poatan’ claimed that he is the one who pushed for the fight. The two will have the opportunity to settle their differences at UFC 313.
Edited by Jigyanshushri Mahanta
