Speaking to Ariel Helwani today, \u201cPoatan\u201d revealed that he has signed a new eight-fight deal with the promotion, which could very well keep him in the UFC for the remainder of his professional career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a pretty easy choice when I expressed I wanted to go Heavyweight,\u201d Pereira said when asked about giving up his 205-pound title. \u201cOf course, I had to let go of the belt, but they gave me a new contract and I\u2019m really, really happy with my new contract. I want to thank Mick [Maynard], Hunter [Campbell] and Dana White. With this new deal, I don\u2019t care about letting go of the belt. They took really good care of me\u2026The way they gave me this last contract was so good that I left it open for them to do whatever they wanted\u2014it didn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pereira added that the new agreement will likely be the final contract of his fighting career.<\/p>\n
With \u201cPoatan\u201d now locked into a long-term deal, it all but guarantees that he won\u2019t be competing for another promotion anytime soon. Even if Pereira were to retire early \u2014 say after another four fights \u2014 the contract would prevent him from unretiring to compete elsewhere<\/a>, whether that be for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) or in a potential mega-fight against<\/a> Francis Ngannou outside the UFC.<\/p>\n That said, Pereira likely won\u2019t need to explore outside opportunities anyway. The Brazilian superstar has already made significant money during his short but iconic UFC run, and this new deal will almost certainly place him among the highest-paid fighters on the roster.<\/p>\n