Alex Pereira is fully aware of his standing in the world of mixed martial arts right now.
Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) enters his fifth UFC title fight in just 16 months this weekend, and having won titles in 2 weight classes and knocked out a succession of challengers to his light heavyweight crown, ‘Poatan’ is brimming with confidence.
“I believe so,” Pereira said (via an interpreter) at a press conference on Wednesday ahead of his return at UFC 313 this weekend, when asked if he is the biggest star in MMA right now. “I had a busy year with great success. I just keep doing this work, and I believe so.”
The Brazilian faces a massive test on Saturday against Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) which he insists he is not overlooking, but should he successfully defend his title for the fourth time, he knows that will create opportunities for some intriguing superfights.
“I’m not looking past ahead,” Pereira said. “A lot of these things haven’t even came into my mind. But what I think for the future what I have in hand is either Dricus (Du Plessis) or Jon Jones or even fighting Oleksandr Usyk in boxing. Those, I see possibly happening. It doesn’t depend on me. It depends on the UFC. So whatever the UFC wants to do, I’ll do it.”
Pereira Ready For Ankalaev
Stylistically, Ankalaev may be the toughest test that Pereira has faced during his UFC tenure to date. The Dagestani challenger possesses the type of grappling acumen that Pereira’s previous opponents have perhaps been lacking, but the champion insists he’s more than ready to handle anything Ankalaev can throw at him.
“Absolutely, if I was in the same position that I could watch this fight,” Pereira said. “Basically or theoretically, it’s a striker vs. a grappler. So if I was a fan, I’d actually want to watch the fight. As a fighter, I want to fight the fight. … He’s a complete fighter, not only a wrestler. He has skills everywhere. But I’m prepared, too. I’ve been training wrestling, grappling, since before I joined the UFC, since I first came to Connecticut to Glover Teixeira. I came there to be an MMA fighter and I’m ready for this.”
