Alex Pereira Announces Next UFC Bout Will Be at 205 Pounds

Alex Pereira is headed to the light heavyweight division.

“Poatan” announced the move on his YouTube channel on Wednesday night. Pereira is coming off a loss to Israel Adesanya in a middleweight championship rematch in the UFC 287 headliner this past Saturday.

I think I did my work [at] 185 and now I’m feeling good to go up to 205,” Pereira said. “Like I told you, when I’m feeling good — this will be something natural … and now I think it is.

“But as well I want to make one thing clear. This division 185 … I always made weight. A lot of people had doubts, but I always fulfilled my obligation. But not it’s the moment to go up to the next division. This will be better for me.”

It was the first victory for Adesanya against Pereira in a series spanning four bouts in kickboxing and MMA. Pereira had won his previous seven MMA appearances, a run that saw him claim middleweight gold with a fifth-round stoppage of his rival at UFC 281 this past November. Pereira is confident that if he asked for an immediate trilogy against Adesanya it would happen, but he feels that moving to light heavyweight is the right move to make at this point in time.

“All of you saw the provocation from Adesanya after the fight. He acts as if he has won against me three times. But it’s not like this. But I understand, or try to understand the happiness he has. It was his dream to win one time against me, and now he did,” Pereira said.

“But I’m sure if I would stay in this division, I can fight against him directly. Let’s see how he behaves … I’m not going up because I can’t make the weight anymore. I will always be able to make 185. Let’s see the behavior of him. He’s behaving like this because Dana White spoke after the fight about my weight.

“And it seems like he is thinking like, ‘Oh this guy will never make weight again — I can [provoke] him, because he won’t do anything. I’m sure if I insist to fight him again immediately, the UFC and my promoters will make it happen.”

Pereira, who was a two-division kickboxing champion in Glory, currently does not have a date or opponent set for his 205-pound debut.