"I love the idea" - UFC lightweight champ Alex Pereira could move to heavyweight pending minor weight gain, says head coach

Alex Pereira is set to defend his light heavyweight title for the first time when he faces Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300. Prior to the announcement of the bout, there had been rumors that the light heavyweight champion was interested in facing interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. 'Poatan's' head coach revealed that he could still make the move to a third weight class.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, Plinio Cruz stated:

"He's a big guy. He walks around right now he's probably about 230, 235 [pounds]. Heavyweight is maybe 260. If he can go up to 240, 250, he doesn't have to kill himself to be a heavyweight."

Helwani asked Cruz if he liked the idea of Pereira moving up, to which the latter responded:

"I love the idea because it's different than going to middleweight that you have to kill the body for a weight cut. It actually helps [to be] happy [and] healthy. He's a big guy. It's not like he's 5'7 going to heavyweight, he's 6'4. He's as tall as many heavyweights that we have at an elite level. I think he hits like a heavyweight so why not?"

Check out Plinio Cruz's comments on Alex Pereira moving to heavyweight below:

While Pereira's interest in facing Aspinall did not materialize to anything, the possibility of him moving to a third weight class remains. If he is able to capture a heavyweight title, 'Poatan' would be the first three-division champion in promotional history.

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Alex Pereira confirms interest in fighting at UFC 301

While Alex Pereira is set to defend his light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, he has not ruled out a quick turnaround to compete at UFC 301. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, with his head coach translating, 'Poatan' stated:

"If everything goes as planned, goes right the way it goes in his mind - first of all, he has to win this fight. Let's say that he wins this fight, he's got to [be] injury free. Every single fight that he's fought in the UFC, he carried some injuries and had to take some time. Previous injuries. There's not even one fight in the UFC that it took him two, three, four weeks to recover. He was fine. Like he didn't get hurt in the fight. If this fight is the same way, he'll be fine to do it."

Check out Alex Pereira's comments on fighting at UFC 301 below:

Cruz noted that Pereira has never needed time off to recover due to injuries suffered in the fight, only ones that he entered the bout with. He revealed that the light heavyweight champion is going into UFC 300 injury-free.