Brazilian kickboxing ace Alex Pereira could be joining the UFC soon. The 32-year old kickboxer has a professional record of 41-6-0 with 30 KOs. He knocked out current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in 2016.
Pereira became the GLORY world middleweight champion in 2017 and then won the interim GLORY light heavyweight championship in 2019. He is ranked #1 in the GLORY light heavyweight rankings.
Over the years while Alex Pereira has solely focused on kickboxing, he does have professional MMA experience. He is 2-1 as a pro and hasn’t competed inside the cage since 2016.
UFC welterweight Laureano Staropoli, who is the teammate of Alex Pereira took to social media to announce the arrival of the kickboxing star inside the UFC octagon.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_AbIpNn0NW/?utm_source=ig_embed
“Adesanya’s daddy is ready for his ufc debut. in a little while we will see him in the biggest octagon in the world punching his son and taking his Belt,” Laureano Staropoli.
Alex Pereira last stepped inside the ring back in December of 2019 at GLORY 74: Collision 2. He fought Ertugrul Bayrak and knocked him out in the first round.
ALEX PEREIRA ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?
Another highlight reel KO for the CHAMP-CHAMP! @mypowerdot #GLORY74 pic.twitter.com/g8awnxZilq
— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) December 21, 2019
Alex Pereira wants to fight Israel Adesanya
Last December, prior to his fight against Ertugrul Bayrak expressed his desire to fight Israel Adesanya inside the Octagon.
“For the sport of MMA, Adesanya is one of the best strikers in the sport, but for kickboxing, he is like many others – a guy that’s good, but over a long time didn’t evolve,” Pereira told MMA Junkie’s John Morgan. “He’s just one of many.
“I’m not criticizing Adesanya. I know that when you go to MMA, it’s normal that your striking, due to the wholeness of the game, it downgrades a little bit. I’m sure when I go to MMA, my striking is also going to go down a little bit, so maybe that’s what happened to Adesanya, too.”
“The only place in this world that Adesanya is better than me is in speaking English,” Pereira said.
Alex Pereira’s addition into the UFC could definitely spice up the middleweight division.
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