UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira shocked the world by becoming a two-division champion in both MMA and kickboxing. Furthermore, ‘Poatan’ did this in a short span of just 2 years. He will most probably defend his championship against former champ, Jamahal Hill next. However, UFC legend Alistair Overeem believes that Pereira’s reign at light-heavyweight won’t last long.
According to former UFC heavyweight and kickboxer, Alistair Overeem Pereira’s striking is decoded by other light-heavyweights. it will be the end of his reign. “I think at this moment they have difficulty figuring him out but the moment they figure him out they are going to destroy him,” said Overeem.
“He’s so good in the striking department, other fighters are unable to take him down,” said Alistair Overeem. Furthermore, he claims that Alex Pereira has excellent striking but lacks in the department of wrestling and jiu-jitsu. While Pereira did quite well against Jan Blachowicz on the ground, it will be interesting to see ‘Poatan‘ facing an elite grappler like Magomed Ankalaev.
Alex Pereira wants to fight Magomed Ankalaev over Jamahal Hill
Many people in the MMA community still believe that Alex Pereira will have a lot of issues dealing with an elite-level wrestler. When it comes to high-level wrestling in the light heavyweight division, one of the top names is Magomed Ankalaev.
Furthermore, some fans believe that Ankalaev would be a nightmare matchup for ‘Poatan’. However, Pereira claims that he’s up for the challenge. “I have heard a lot of people say that he (Magomed Ankalaev) would be a bad matchup for me, I like that,” said Pereira in his YouTube video.
Alex Pereira prefers Magomed Ankalaev next over Hill. #UFC pic.twitter.com/JfENon7J1w
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) November 29, 2023
While he accepts that Ankalaev is a harder fight than Jamahal Hill he still prefers to fight the Russian grappler over Hill. “If I could choose, I’d pick him over Hill,” said ‘Poatan.’ Furthermore, he claims to have a strategy for dealing with Magomed.
On the other hand, Pereira feels that Jamahal Hill is a good opponent for him. Apart from that, he feels that Hill is “a little bit overconfident” since he promised to KO ‘Poatan‘ without taking the fight to the ground. However, Alex Pereira feels that he won’t stick to the promise. “I’m sure he wants to strike but when he sees it’s not working, he will go on the ground as well,” claimed Pereira.