How long was Alex Pereira out for? Exploring 'Poatan's' injury layoff post UFC 287 knockout loss to Israel Adesanya

Alex Pereira had a whirlwind of a year in 2023 as he began the year as the reigning UFC middleweight champion. But, his reign was short-lived as he lost the title to Israel Adesanya via devastating knockout in his first title defense.

It was the fourth time that 'Poatan' and 'Izzy' had competed against each other in their combat sports career, with the Brazilian getting his hand raised in all previous meetings. The knockout loss resulted in a medical suspension for the former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion as the MMA Fighting reported that the Florida Athletic Commission handed him a 60-day suspension.

The 60-day edical suspension is quite common and understandable with knockout losses, especially considering the manner in which Pereira was knocked out.

During that period, Pereira was in a position where he was contemplating his next move, as there could have been a possibility for another rematch against his rival Adesanya to end their MMA trilogy or move up to light heavyweight, which had been long discussed.

After weighing his options, 'Poatan' officially announced that he was putting his rivalry with 'Izzy' behind him and moving up 205-pounds. The knockout loss to Adesanya was on April 8 and he returned to action on July 29, which was a fairly quick turnaround.

Despite the knockout loss, Pereira didn't lose a step, as he went on to earn a split decision over Jan Blachowicz and followed that up with a second-round TKO win over Jiri Prochazka to win the vacant light heavyweight championship at UFC 295.

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Jiri Prochazka predicts outcome of Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

Alex Pereira is set to headline a historic event as he defends his light heavyweight championship against Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300.

'Poatan' will look to earn his first successful title defense, which he was unable to achieve when he was the middleweight champion. Jiri Prochazka, who is no stranger to being in the octagon with the Brazilian, recently spoke to Inside Fighting, where he weighed in on the upcoming light heavyweight title clash.

Prochazka mentioned that he believes the former champion will have to be aggressive early, but the champion could gain momentum the later the fight goes. He said:

"Jamahal Hill, I think he will have the better chances on the start of the fight. And when the fight will go continue, there is more chances for [Alex] Pereira. But we'll see, let the best man win."