John Wood believes we’re about to see the real Alex Pereira return this weekend.
Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) lost his light heavyweight title at UFC 313 in March against Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC). Now, ahead of their rematch in the main event at UFC 320 this Saturday, Wood — one of the top coaches in the fight game — expects a far better-prepared version of “Poatan” than the one we saw in his last outing.
“I do think it's going to be different, I really do,” Wood told Fighters Only. “I think that from what I've heard and what I have seen, I think Pereira has taken this one much more seriously. I think that the first one wasn't potentially taken that seriously from what I've saw. From what I've heard, it wasn't like a ‘full on’ camp like this one is.
“And I think that until Pereira has officially lost a step (which I don't think has happened), you're talking about one of the most violent, powerful men in the UFC. And anytime you have that, and you have the determination, you have a good camp behind it, I think you're looking at a very, very dangerous man.”
The March bout marked Pereira’s eighth UFC appearance in under two and a half years — seven of them title fights. The Brazilian didn’t showcase the elite striking fans have come to expect from him, but Wood believes things will be different this Saturday night.
“I think that Pereira is going to come out and put it put it on him a little bit more this time,” Wood said. “And then when you get that guy throwing, you're only this far away from getting a knockout at any point in time. The man has death touch. So now, does that open him up for more takedowns? Does that open him up for things to happen? Of course it does.
“But I really, truly believe that if you have Pereira throwing at a hundred percent, fighting at a hundred percent, you know his mental ability (is at) a hundred percent, I just don't know that there's still that many people that can beat him. I think this fight’s going to look different and I think there’s a good chance that he gets his belt back.”
