Alex Pereira has a heavyweight title camp to finish, but his coach Plinio Cruz may have his own fight waiting after that. Cruz says he is negotiating a Misfits belt fight for late summer once Pereira’s June 14 matchup with Ciryl Gane is handled.
Cruz revealed the plan on Pereira’s YouTube channel, explaining that the comeback idea started after he turned 40, began dropping weight, and got pushed by “Poatan” to compete again.
“I turned 40 and I started to lose weight here, chilling,” Cruz said. “I started training and ‘Poatan’ started talking to me about fighting again. So I said the offer has to be good for me to put my cigar on the table and sign the contract. Then there came a good offer that we’re negotiating with Misfits. So most likely I’ll be fighting for the Misfits belt at the end of the American summer, which would be between August and September.”
Cruz is best known now as Pereira’s coach, translator, and close friend, but he has his own fight history. He competed professionally from 2008 to 2019, went 8-9 in MMA, and fought under Bellator, M-1 Global, and Cage Fury. His career also moved through several weight ranges, from middleweight up to heavyweight and super heavyweight.
Watch Cruz discuss the comeback below:
Cruz Has Pereira’s Heavyweight Chase First
Pereira’s next fight is the priority. He is scheduled to face Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title at the UFC White House card, where a win would put him in rare territory after already winning UFC belts at middleweight and light heavyweight.
The background makes Cruz’s role more important than standard corner work. Pereira was already a two-division Glory kickboxing champion before his UFC rise, and his official profile lists Cruz among his trainers. Pereira is also listed as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Cruz, so this is not just a hype-man situation with a towel over his shoulder.
“So I’ll get ‘Poatan’ ready, I will help make him a champion, then it’s dad’s turn, right? Stay tuned, Daddy’s back.”
The Misfits side still needs hard details. Cruz did not name an opponent, and he did not say whether the bout would be MMA or boxing. Misfits has built its lane around crossover fights and strange matchmaking, so the format matters before anyone starts fantasy-booking chaos.
Cruz still has Pereira’s camp to finish before anything becomes official. Once the Gane fight is handled, the Misfits talks can decide whether “Big Daddy” goes from corner duty back to competition.
