Alex Pereira looked sharp in his latest training footage.
The MMA community is still buzzing from Pereira’s title-winning finish against Israel Adesanya at UFC 281. One and a half months after dethroning the long-reigning UFC middleweight champion, ‘Poatan’ is back in the gym preparing for a potential rematch against Adesanya.
Crowd angle of the main event finish.#UFC281 pic.twitter.com/7J6SOe8mii
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) November 13, 2022
Pereira was seen training with striking coach Lee Alves at Team Alpha BJJ. Alves posted the short clip to his Instagram story with the caption saying:
“@AlexPoatanPereira Training with The king”
In the video, ‘Poatan’ was hitting mitts with Alves, showing his quick and powerful combinations. Pereira is a former two-division GLORY kickboxing champion who has the ability to knock out anyone at middleweight or light heavyweight.
Pereira holds a pro-MMA record of 7-1 with six KO/TKOs. The Brazilian world champion trains at Teixeira MMA under former UFC champion Glover Teixeira. After a spectacular emergence in 2022, the MMA community is anticipating what ‘Poatan’ can accomplish in 2023.
The UFC middleweight champ #AlexPereira looking sharp as ever in latest training footage. 🥊 🥊 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/c1rIJXK3xc
— MMA DIRT (@MMADIRTcom) December 27, 2022
What’s next for Alex Pereira?
After building up a 2-1 record with the Brazilian MMA promotion Jungle Fight, Alex Pereira put the entire MMA world on notice at LFA 95 in November 2020. ‘Poatan’ won with a vicious first-round knockout before returning to GLORY for two more fights.
Alex Pereira with an absolutely brutal KO in his LFA debut #LFA95 https://t.co/NJ3eZ9QEEg
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) November 21, 2020
‘Poatan’ signed with the UFC in 2021 after losing his final GLORY fight by a split decision against Artem Vakhitov. The Teixeira MMA product made a statement in his UFC debut against Andreas Michailidis with a second-round flying knee finish. The 35-year-old then took out Bruno Silva and Sean Strickland to earn a middleweight title shot against Israel Adesanya.
UFC 276: Alex Pereira vs Sean Strickland pic.twitter.com/FpxAHWr0G0
— Sodapop | 2 Weeks Until Buck KO’s Ruziboev 😎 (@RuthlessSodapop) December 19, 2022
So, what’s next for Pereira? The obvious choice would be an instant rematch for Adesanya, especially considering he was minutes away from retaining the title. ‘The Last Stylebender’ revealed in the UFC 281 aftermath that he plans to recover from some injuries that could keep him sidelined for the first quarter of 2023.
If Pereira wants to fight before Adesanya heals up, there are two primary options. Robert Whittaker needs a fight after Paulo Costa wasn’t interested in fighting at UFC 284. Most people wouldn’t complain if ‘The Reaper’ gets another title shot. The UFC could also decide to have Khamzat Chimaev skip the line. Nonetheless, as soon as ‘The Last Stylebender’ is ready, the former middleweight champion will get a chance to regain the title.
