The lone soldier to snatch the consciousness from Israel Adesanya, Glory Kickboxing champion Alex Pereira will make his debut at UFC 268.
Sources close to BJ Penn asked to remain anonymous until the fight contracts have been signed and once the company has made the bout official.
The 34-year old Brazilian will make his debut performance against Andreas Michailidis. As of now, he remains the only man in mixed martial arts to knock out the current undisputed middleweight king Adesanya. The initial report indicates that the UFC PPV event will go down on November 6. With both sides locked into a verbal agreement, the fight will take place in Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
As a decorated kickboxer, Alex Pereira has compiled a stellar record of 33-6 in professional competition. Since two of those wins come against the current 185-pound champ in the UFC, there is plenty of interest to see the Brazilian take his services to a new organization. Before competing in the UFC, Pereira was able to capture both the middleweight and light heavyweight Glory belts.
This isn’t Pereira’s first rodeo, as the middleweight has made his foray into MMA before. First, in 2015 he made his debut with a Brazilian promotion called Jungle Fights and lost his first MMA bout. However, he eventually bounced back with some follow-up wins.
In the opposite corner, Michailidis will be making his third UFC Octagon appearance. In his debut performance with the promotion, the Greek prospect lost to Modestas Bukauskas, who happens to fight Khalil Rountree at UFC Vegas 36 this Saturday. After his loss to Bukauskas, Michailidis regrouped and got his first infusion of momentum when he outscored KB Bhullar in a unanimous decision victory.
There is plenty of intrigue surrounding this fight, as MMA fans are salivating at the idea of seeing Pereira perform in Adesanya’s proving grounds. It will take time and some big performances if the Brazilian is ever to touch the sky-high accolades he dreams of reaching.
Who do you favor in the matchup between Alex Pereira Michailidis?
