Alexandre Pereira admits he was caught off guard on Friday morning when the phone notifications arrived.
During a UFC 301 fight week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he will not compete, the promotion’s light heavyweight champion Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is back in the spotlight thanks to a series of tweets from the heavyweight champion -UFC heavyweight Jon Jones.
“Yes, it took me by surprise, especially after I saw the first message. I really didn’t expect to see this this morning. I know we have done a very good job. There’s all this hype around me now. I talked about moving up to heavyweight to fight on this card. I knew I would eventually attract some looks. I didn’t expect it to be so fast. But I was very honored and it was a very respectful message, so it was fun.”
While recovering from multiple surgeries, Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) has expressed no interest in fights beyond his pending showdown with Stipe Miocic, proposed a fight against Pereira and called it “the biggest showdown in MMA history .”
Having already won UFC titles at middleweight and light heavyweight, Pereira provoked a move to heavyweight in an attempt to win an unprecedented third division title.
The biggest hurdle was getting the UFC to approve the change. Pereira thinks the potential superfight could twist the arms of promotional members, however.
“When I said I wanted to move up to heavyweight, I was really excited about that,” Pereira said. “But the UFC didn’t seem very interested in that at the time. When I saw that there was no real interest from them in me moving up, I spoke with my team, with my managers, and decided to focus on the weight category in which I am champion, which is light heavyweight. I’m doing really well there. We kind of left the heavy lifting in the backseat until something changed. Now, I think a lot of interest has been generated and we have to see what the promotion wants.
“… He will be away for a while and wants to have another fight before that. So there are a lot of things to happen in the meantime and I just want to be active. I just want to fight. If the UFC wants to tell me, ‘Hey, this is the way for you to get that heavyweight fight,’ so I can change my plans, that works. But if I have nothing, I prefer not to stray from what we decided. Thinking about things and not seeing them come to fruition would be very exhausting for me and the fans. That’s definitely a fight I’d love to do. For me to move up to heavyweight, I need some time – but not that long because I’m already a big guy. So if they give me the green light and say, ‘Hey, this fight is happening,’ I’m 100 percent preparing for it.”
Pereira didn’t want to theorize whether he could achieve “GOAT” status with a victory over what many consider to be the greatest fighter of all time, Jones. He spoke with nothing but respect for Jones and
“That’s the last thing I think about,” Pereira said. “What I think about this is be ready, be training, keep winning titles and be focused. Everything else is up to the public to decide. Whatever people are watching and seeing my accomplishments there, it’s up to them to decide if I’m the GOAT or not. This is not something I decide. I just want to be ready, do my job and be the best fighter I can be.”
“… We are both professionals. I have nothing against Jon. I respect him a lot. We are both trying to build something. He has an incredible career and has built a lot. I’m building a lot in my career too. I think we would make a really fun matchup for the fans. If that ends up happening, I think it would be fantastic. I would be looking forward to it.
While there is a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds, especially since Jones has at least one fight left before a future showdown, Pereira sees some undeniable truths about the fight proposal: The fight would attract a lot of attention – and deliver.
“We have the fans. We have the athletes. We have the organization,” said Pereira. “I think if you ask the fans, of course, they will love it and be excited for this fight. There are other athletes in the category who need to move on and everything, so we need to see what’s happening. If the UFC gives us the green light and shows interest, we can make it happen. I’m sure everyone will like it.”
“… It would be a war. It would be a really fun showcase for fans. With all the experience and skills that Jon has, but also with all the skills I’ve been developing throughout my career in MMA, all the preparation I’ve been doing and the improvements I’m making. I think it would be a great championship (fight) and everyone would be entertained by it.”
