UFC middleweight Alex Pereira made a huge splash in his debut performance at UFC 268.
The middleweight contest took place in New York, inside the legendary Madison Square Garden venue. The pay-per-view truly had it all and featured a cocktail of exciting fights. The preliminary action was headed off by a former opponent of Israel Adesanya. Alex Pereira raised eyebrows with a scary flying knee knockout against Andreas Michailidis.
Alex Pereira is well-known in the kickboxing world and holds two victories over middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. In their first encounter in 2016, the Brazilian earned a decision victory against “The Last Stylebender” in a kickboxing contest. In 2017, the two met once more, and Pereira became the only man to stop Israel Adesanya in a sanctioned mixed martial arts contest.
UFC Middleweight Alex Pereira Releases Statement After Wild Flying Knee KO
Following Alex Pereira’s performance against Michailidis, fans, pundits, and media are already calling for the former Glory Kickboxing champion to face a ranked opponent. After the dust settled, Alex Pereira issued his first statement since the wild KO at UFC 268.
“I want to thank God for this great victory, my family that I haven’t seen them in four months, my wife and my two children I’m missing, thank everyone who was part of my preparation, everyone who helped me in some way from the beginning of my career and everyone who cheered and sent messages of support, I hope you enjoyed my debut, a strong hug to all and God bless our lives.” Alex Pereira posted on Instagram late on Sunday night.
Alex Pereira has had five professional MMA bouts. The Brazilian’s knack for scoring knockouts is eerily similar to the way Israel Adesanya measures length inside the Octagon. While it seems likely UFC matchmakers could fast track the rising star, perhaps a slow boil is what will be best for a potential MMA showdown between “Poatan” and “The Last Stylebender”. The 34-year-old will be the talk of the town now that he has been coronated by the UFC.
The rising middleweight contender is still far off from reaching Israel Adesanya, but the 185-pound division certainly got an infusion of new blood. It’s nice to see a new face at middleweight, as some are suggesting that the 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya is beginning to lap his competition.
How far do you believe the rising Alex Pereira will go in the UFC’s middleweight division?
