Alex Pereira Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Pereira puts Israel Adesanya on notice after moving up a division

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Apr 13, 2023 11:32 AM ET

Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira is moving up a division, but the 35-year-old Brazilian made it clear it’s not because he can’t make weight at 185 pounds as was suggested by UFC president Dana White suggested following his UFC 287 loss to Israel Adesanya on Saturday.

Pereira (7-2, 4-1 UFC), who’s fought exclusively at middleweight, winning a UFC championship in just his fourth fight in the promotion, is moving up to light heavyweight — a weight class more suited to his 6-foot-4 frame.

“My next fight will be at 205,” Pereira said via his YouTube channel. “…I think I did my work at 185, and now I’m feeling good to go up to 205. … I want to make one thing clear: The division 185, I always made weight. A lot of people had doubts, but I always fulfilled my obligation. But now it’s the moment to go up to the next division. This will be better for me.”

A move to a bigger weight class was likely always in the cards, his loss to Adesanya over the weekend — only the third time he’s ever been knocked out in combat sports competition — presumably helped accelerate the process.

Israel Adesanya feels Alex Pereira would have to "do the hard yards" to earn another title shot after their rivalry was "settled" at #UFC287

"Go cause problems at 205 [pounds] and good luck to everybody else, because he’s a m***** f***** to deal with." pic.twitter.com/ggdmo8IfSP
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) April 9, 2023

Though he’s testing the waters at 205 pounds for now, Pereira left little doubt that switching divisions was done solely to avoid a rematch with Adesanya. In fact, he left the door open to a possible trilogy fight with the 33-year-old New Zealander.

“[Adesanya is] behaving like this because Dana White spoke after my fight about my weight,” Pereira added. “And it seems like he’s thinking, ‘Oh, this guy will never make weight again. I can (provoke) him because he won’t do anything.’ I’m sure if I insisted on fighting him immediately, the UFC and my promoters will make it happen. So we will see how Adesanya will behave now and hereinafter. I make this very clear to all of you.”

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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