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Pereira (13-3) is currently eyeing a move up to heavyweight to either fight Jon Jones at the White House or fight for the title. Perennial heavyweight contender Blaydes would prefer if that didn’t happen, as he believes it would clutter the title picture.
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Blaydes also believes Pereira should wipe the light heavyweight division clean before moving up to heavyweight. However, Blaydes thinks Pereira is being fast-tracked to heavyweight because the UFC wants to get the most out of an aging “Poatan.” While Pereira made his MMA debut a decade ago, Blaydes notes that combined with his kickboxing background, the Brazilian’s combat sports career spans over two decades.
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“That kind of sucks. That would screw up the division. I would rather that it didn’t happen,” Blaydes told Home of Fight. “I think you only get to move up if you’ve swept your division… I think there’s a rush or a pressure to get Pereira in heavyweight because he’s getting older. He’s had wars. How long has he been active in combat sports? 20 years? That’s a long time. That’s a lot of sparring rounds, a lot of wear and tear. They probably want to get the value out of him, before his body starts to breaking down.”
Pereira won the middleweight title against Israel Adesanya in 2022 and lost in their rematch. The Brazilian then moved up and won the light heavyweight title and defended it thrice within a year before losing to Magomed Ankalaev this past March. Pereira regained the title in October with a first-round knockout win over Ankalaev. The former Glory Kickboxing champion has since been plotting a move to heavyweight for his next fight.
😅🗿 Alex Pereira moving up to Heavyweight ‘kinda sucks’ because it would screw up the division:
“I think there’s a pressure to get Pereira in Heavyweight because he’s getting older. He’s had wars.
How long has he been active in combat sports? 20 years? That’s a lot of sparring… pic.twitter.com/9FPv5bC3ty
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) December 9, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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