Alex Pereira’s coach reveals grueling "40-pound" cut to middleweight, compares it to kickboxing days

Alex Pereira's coach recently detailed his pupil's grueling weight cut when he competed at middleweight and explained why he didn't have difficulty when competing in kickboxing. The Brazilian never failed to make the 185-pound limit, which is remarkable considering the amount of weight he was cutting.

'Poatan' last competed at 185 pounds at UFC 287 in 2023, where he lost his middleweight championship to longtime rival Israel Adesanya. Following the bout, Pereira made the decision to move up to 205 pounds and went on to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion and earned three successful title defenses.

During their latest appearance on Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's JAXXON PODCAST, 'Poatan's coach, Plinio Cruz noted that his MMA training resulted in his pupil putting on more mass and at the same time, a more difficult weight cut. Cruz mentioned that Pereira cut a total of 40 pounds for his rematch against Adesanya, which included the 20 pounds he cut the day before the weigh-ins:

"[Pereira] started picking up [size] naturally because the grappling training get you stronger...When he was a kickboxer, that weight cut was much easier. So throughout the camp, he was already getting to a size of a 205 [pounder]. He had to...lose 20 pounds to get to the day of the cut, so he was about 40 pounds heavier a month before the fight."

Check out Plinio Cruz's comments regarding Alex Pereira below:

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Alex Pereira's coach highlights major risks associated with weight cutting

In addition to detailing Alex Pereira's grueling weight cut to make the middleweight limit, coach Plinio Cruz highlighted the major risk associated with weight cutting.

During the aforementioned appearance, Cruz mentioned that fighters cut more than water when completing drastic weight cuts and the fluid depleted from their spine and brain could put them at risk of being knocked out easier:

"When you lose liquid, but the liquids from our spine and brain is not only water, it's thick liquid. So, it kind of can affect your pain tolerance. That's a thing that doesn't come back overnight, so that probably played a big part [in his knockout loss to Adesanya]."

Check out Alex Pereira officially weighing in at 185 pounds below: