Light Heavyweight Champ Alex Pereira Inks New 8-Fight Contract with UFC

It appears that Alex Pereira will be with the Ultimate Fighting Championship for the foreseeable future.

The reigning light heavyweight champion revealed Wednesday on "The MMA Hour” that he signed a new eight-fight contract with the UFC this past Friday.

“Starting this fight, there’s eight more,” Pereira said. “My relationship with the UFC is very good. I’m very grateful how the UFC and my management team get together. They’ve been doing great things together. I think the UFC also appreciates who I am because I’m a composed guy, I’m focused and I deliver.”

Pereira, who turns 37 in July, is scheduled to face Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 headliner on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The booking came together at the last minute as the promotion struggled to find a suitable feature bout for a landmark event.

The former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion has found great success in the UFC, vanquishing longtime rival Israel Adesanya to capture middleweight gold before making the move to 205 pounds. After edging Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291, “Poatan” claimed the vacant light heavyweight strap with a second-round TKO of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 this past November.