Alex Pereira previously held the UFC middleweight title and is now the light heavyweight champion. However, he has recently expressed interest in facing middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, despite having moved up in weight. Here are UFC CEO Dana White’s thoughts on the situation:
Dana White had a strong reaction to Alex Pereira‘s recent call for a middleweight title shot. As such, he addressed Alex Pereira’s plans for a return to the middleweight division at the DWCS 70 post-event press conference. The UFC head honcho actually praised Pereira’s versatility and fighting spirit.
My take on him is, he’s f*cking nasty. That’s my take on him. He wants to move up. He wants to move down. He wants to go everywhere.
Dana White at the DWCS 70 post-event press conference
He admired Pereira’s willingness to fight at various weight classes and take on any challenge. White highlighted that it is what made him appealing as a fan favorite in the first place. White also complimented the Brazilian for being a fighter that provides the UFC with a lot of matchmaking options.
🤝Dana White gives his thoughts on Alex Periera moving back down to middleweight after his fight against Khalil Rountree:
“My take on him is he’s f*cking nasty, that’s my take on him. He wants to move up, he wants to move down….that’s why people love him, those are the type of… pic.twitter.com/Jd1K40hH1N
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) September 4, 2024
While Pereira has expressed interest in returning to middleweight, his immediate future involves a matchup against #8 ranked light-heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307. Interestingly, Pereira had also talked about moving up the weight classes for an attempt at the UFC heavyweight title. It will be interesting to see who the Brazilian champion gets matched up with next for his next couple of fights.
Dana White says Jake Paul calling out Alex Pereira was just for attention
Dana White had a dismissive and humorous reaction to Jake Paul’s callout of UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. He expressed his thoughts on the matchup during his recent appearance on the Full Send Podcast.
Dana White on Jake Paul vs Alex Pereira (Image via Imago)After Jake Paul’s win over Mike Perry, he challenged Pereira to a boxing match. White, however, quickly shut down the idea, stating that Pereira would “kick Jake Paul’s head to another planet” if they ever fought. He emphasized that Paul’s callouts are often publicity stunts aimed at gaining attention.
Alex is a superstar right now, so Jake called him out and Jake gets press. Jake says that I tried to assassinate him and said, it’s all lies..
Dana White on the Full Send Podcast
White further downplayed the potential matchup by pointing out the disparity in pay-per-view sales between the two. The UFC CEO claimed that Pereira sells 400 times more PPVs than Paul. He suggested that a fight between them was highly unlikely and even questioned if any commission would allow it.
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