- Alex Pereira revealed the reason why he was determined to finish Jamahal Hill at UFC 300
- “Poatan” insists he wants to go to heavyweight and reacted to Tom Aspinall’s post
Alex Pereira explained why he was eager to take Jamahal Hill out at UFC 300 and talked about his plan to move up to the heavyweight division.
Jamahal deserved it
Speaking to the media in his post-UFC 300 presser, “Poatan” admitted that he and his team was ready to go five rounds with “Sweet Dreams.” However, Pereira had a change of heart when Hill began disrespecting him as the fight approached.
“I had in mind there for five rounds, but if the knockout happened there, I was going to do that. Because he said he’s respecting me one day, the next day he lacked respect. Everyone knows my stance… I respect my opponents… But he disrespected me and it was the least I could do,” Pereira explained.
The heavyweight is next
Pereira also reiterated his plan to move up to the heavyweight division next. He was then asked to comment on Tom Aspinall’s cryptic social media post, suggesting a potential showdown.
For “Poatan,” it’s up to Aspinall what he wants to happen. As for him, he would move up and the opponent is not for him to decide.
“I don’t know man, only he can respond to that. I’m not going to give names right here, I said I wanna fight at heavyweight so why would I choose [the opponent],” Pereira said.
Alex Pereira reacts to Tom Aspinall's cryptic social media post after his #UFC300 title defense. 👀 pic.twitter.com/gQiYVZ6UVi
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 14, 2024
The boss is not in favor of Alex’s plan
White was also quizzed for comments on Pereira’s desire to enter the heavyweight division. For the UFC boss, that might not be a good decision to make at this point and he wants to see Pereira stay in the light heavyweight a little longer.
“When you think about him moving up to heavyweight, you got Jones, you got Aspinall, the list goes on and on in that heavyweight division. The heavyweight division is nasty,” White said. “I don’t know if that’s the right move for him. He looked damn good tonight in the division he’s in. So, I think he might want to stick around there for a minute. These are all things that we’ll talk about.”
As it stands, Pereira is now one of the best fighters in the UFC. He envisions himself fighting at UFC 301 when the company goes to Brazil. On the other hand, Aspinall has remained open to facing anybody who deserves it as he doesn’t want to wait and see what happens to the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic title fight for too long.
Watch Pereira’s full presser below:
