Alex Pereira Discusses Most Meaningful Victory, Potential Heavyweight Move

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Avenging a previous loss to Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 320 headliner would be significant, Alex Pereira won’t deny that much.

That'd be huge, really important," Pereira said at a media day in Las Vegas (video via MMAjunkie.com). "I've done everything very quickly in the UFC, more than anyone else, so I'm going to take this opportunity and really seize it.”

Pereira had emerged as one of the promotion’s biggest stars prior to facing Ankalaev at UFC 313. He captured titles at both middleweight and light heavyweight, and he defended the 205-pound belt three times within a six-month period — vanquishing each challenger in impressive fashion. However, that momentum stalled against Ankalaev, who proved to be a difficult matchup for the Brazilian in winning a unanimous decision this past March.

Winning a rematch would further cement Pereira’s legacy, but for “Poatan,” it won’t top his first MMA meeting with Israel Adesanya. Pereira beat “The Last Stylebender” twice in kickboxing before claiming middleweight gold with a fifth-round stoppage at UFC 287. Adesanya would knock Pereira out in their rematch, and the Brazilian moved divisions to begin his run at 205 pounds shortly thereafter.

Pereira: Ankalaev Doing It All Wrong

While there has been some pre-fight animosity with Ankalaev ahead of UFC 320, Pereira says it simply isn’t the same.

"Nothing compares to that win over Adesanya, with the whole history and kickboxing, everything that we went through," Pereira said. "A lot of people sometimes think that to promote a fight, you've just got to say a lot of things and have this animosity, and that's not what it is. You've got to have that history, that background. [Ankalaev is] doing it all wrong.”

Pereira has already enjoyed success in two weight classes in the UFC, and there’s still potential for him to do more. The Teixeira MMA & Fitness representative has already teased a move to heavyweight in the past, and he acknowledged that it remains a possibility in the future.

“I really don’t know. We’ll have to see. Obviously, my body gets heavier. I don’t know how long I can cut to 205,” he siad. “We’re just going to have to see and take it fight by fight.”