Alex Pereira’s Humongous Size Surprised UFC Veteran: 'I Don’t Know How He Got So Big'

Coming from GSP that carries real weight. He has competed at the highest level for over a decade, and he knows better than most what a physically gifted fighter looks like up close. Pereira, sitting next to him and registering as genuinely enormous, tells you something about the kind of frame the Brazilian is working with.

After middleweight and light heavyweight belts, now he is moving to heavyweight, chasing a third belt across three divisions against Ciryl Gane. This is something that has never been done in UFC history.

Alex Pereira Says Fight Week Version Of Him Will Be Different

Pereira himself is aware that the body he’s carrying right now isn’t the finished product. In a recent video, he addressed it directly and without any attempt to pretend otherwise. “I’m heavy and have a little bit of a belly right now. Very soon, you’ll see the transformation – I’m going to look like a machine,” Pereira said.

Pereira is not in peak condition right now, and he knows it, but the way he says it doesn’t sound like concern. It sounds like someone describing the gap between where they are and where they’re going, with complete certainty that the destination is already decided. Indeed, at UFC Freedom 250, fans might see history if Pereira wins.