Alex Pereira has successfully made his light heavyweight debut after his defeating Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291. Blachowicz has a track record for taking out middleweight fighters moving to the light heavyweight division. Jan made sure to use all his skills as a veteran and defeat Alex Pereira.
The Polish fighter had a good ground control time over Alex in the first round. He also almost submitted Poatan via a rear naked choke but did not succeed. Due to this Pereira made sure to keep the fight on his feet and damaged Blachowicz.
In the end, Alex Pereira won the fight via a split decision and will soon fight for the light heavyweight title next. Although many believed Pereira’s win over Blachowicz was valid, the Polish fighter thinks otherwise. Jan believed he had done enough to win the fight but the judges robbed him of his victory.
Jan Blachowicz claims robbery in UFC 291 loss to Alex Pereira: ‘Bunch of thieves’ https://t.co/98n16blEis
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 30, 2023
Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who was watching this fight live also validated Pereira’s win. “Alex won, looked good at light heavyweight, also elevation we have to consider that as well. Crafty from Jan he did the right thing to sneak in the victory but wasn’t enough,” said Adesanya. Jan later expressed his displeasure with the result by posting on Instagram by writing, “Bunch of thieves, they robbed me.”
The middleweight champion also criticized Jan for not raising his hands after a close fight as it influences the decision. “Don’t ever do that, do what Alex did, get up and put your hands up,” added Adesanya.
All three judges had Blachowicz winning the first round and Pereira in the second, while Blachowicz managed to score a takedown in the last round it was very uneventful. In the end, like Adesanya, many believe Alex Pereira won the fight and successfully cemented himself as a contender for the Light heavyweight title.
With the light heavyweight title vacant, it is not known who will fight Poatan for the title. However, he has made it clear that he will challenge Adesanya for a trilogy in the future.
Alex Pereira wants to fight Israel Adesanya at the middleweight
Alex Pereira’s debut in the light heavyweight division at UFC 291 was a huge success. Although Poatan did not manage to finish his opponent Jan Blachowicz he made sure he had done enough. The judges scored the fight in Pereira’s favor and the Brazilian fighter won via a Split decision.
With a win over a former light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira will be fighting for the title next. However, it seems that Poatan has not forgotten about his loss to Israel Adesanya.
Alex Pereira was the only fighter to defeat Israel Adesanya in the middleweight division. Although Alex made the mark with 185 lbs, he was tired of cutting too much weight, after his loss at UFC 287, Alex decided to take a break and move up a weight class.
Alex Pereira says he wants one more fight at light heavyweight and then the Israel Adesanya trilogy fight at middleweight 👀 #UFC291 pic.twitter.com/oGOUdo0Xyp
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 30, 2023
With things looking great for Alex after his recent win, he was asked about a trilogy fight with Adessnya. While Poatan made sure he will have the third fight, he made it clear that it will be in the middleweight division.
“I want to do one more fight at light heavyweight, take some time from all those cuts, and then I actually want to fight in the lower weight class again – middleweight. In my mind, we are 1-1 at middleweight. I won one at middleweight, Israel won the other one, so nothing more fair than making the trilogy at middleweight.,” said Pereira.
If Pereira manages to win the light heavyweight title, fans might see Israel Adesanya make a second run at the light heavyweight division. This makes their rivalry more interesting and adds another chapter. Who do you think will win the trilogy bout? Let us know in the comments below.
