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Alex Pereira is the former UFC middleweight champion. Unfortunately, his long streak of wins over Israel Adesanya, which extended from kickboxing all the way into mixed martial arts, came to a screeching halt at UFC 287. There, 'The Last Stylebender' avenged his past losses to the Brazilian with an emphatic knockout.
In the wake of his defeat and the difficult weight cut he endured ahead of his last middleweight outing, 'Poatan' made the decision to move up in weight. He is now scheduled to face former light heavyweight titleholder Jan Błachowicz at UFC 291. To prepare for the bout, 'Poatan' has bulked up considerably.
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Glover Teixeira offered fans an update regarding his close friend and training partner's weight, claiming that Alex Pereira currently weighs 230 pounds. Meanwhile, a picture of him standing next to UFC heavyweight Parker Porter, over whom he towers, made the rounds on Twitter. Naturally, fans reacted with shock.
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"Barely visible abs bro... He's in good shape but he's like 15%," one fan wrote.
Another fan expressed astonishment:
"How he was fighting at 185 is silly."
One fan offered a more humorous take:
"Bro needs to tell @JonnyBones his secret! He moved up and it didn’t take him three years! And he’s not FAT!"
Meanwhile, some fans doubted that Pereira has 8% body fat in the picture:
"8% more like 12-13."
While another said:
"Definitely not sub 10% BF but impressive none the less."
Below, a collage of fan reactions can be seen:
Was Alex Pereira a light heavyweight champion in kickboxing?
Much of the intrigue surrounding Alex Pereira was due to his past fights with Israel Adesaya during their shared time in kickboxing. It's the only reason 'Poatan' earned a title fight in only his third UFC fight after knocking out Sean Strickland in spectacular fashion.
Pereira had a storied kickboxing career. While he is now set to make his light heavyweight debut in MMA, the Brazilian is no stranger to fighting at 205 pounds. During his time under the Glory Kickboxing banner, he captured both the promotion's middleweight and light heavyweight titles.
