Alex Pereira wants to become a three-sport world champion before he officially calls it a career.
Pereira, 38, is already one of three fighters inducted into the GLORY Kickboxing Hall of Fame, and will be a part of the UFC Hall of Fame the second he hangs up his gloves. But ‘Poatan’ wants to add to his already impressive resume and still wants to have a few boxing fights before he packs it in.
“I am definitely going to box,” Pereira said on the Connect Cast podcast, via MMA Mania. “Look, I made it clear that I want to fight boxing. Same thing, right? When I got into kickboxing, they didn’t believe me. MMA, same thing. Boxing, they’ll say the same thing. But I’m used to it, I don’t care. I just want to go out there and fight. It’s not about aiming for more money. I like a challenge. I want to be the best.”
Pereira noted that he first wants to wrap up his UFC career with a few more legacy fights. Despite reigning over the 205-pound division, Pereira appears intent on a move to heavyweight, naming Jon Jones as his ideal next opponent.
Pereira is fresh off a first-round TKO victory over Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, a win that allowed him to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title. The Brazilian star is now 13-4 in MMA, with half his career spent in UFC title fights.
Before he transitioned to MMA, Pereira compiled a 33-7 record in kickboxing, ending his career as a two-division GLORY Kickboxing world champion. He collected notable wins over Israel Adesanya, Artem Vakhitov, Ertugrul Bayrak, Cesar Almeida and Yousri Belgaroui before departing for the UFC.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Making another transition at this point in his career will be difficult, but Pereira has already conquered two sports. Few believed that he would even make a dent in the UFC when he made his debut as a 34-year-old, but he has gone on to carve out one of the greatest careers in the sport’s history.
Pereira’s name has already crossed over into boxing, with Jake Paul calling him out after his win over Mike Perry, and Oleksandr Usyk suggesting a potential crossover bout. Usyk and Paul are arguably the two biggest fights he could potentially obtain in boxing, so he is already off to a good start without even dipping his toes into the pool.
At 38, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to begin a championship-level boxing career, even an athlete as accomplished as Pereira. However, Francis Ngannou has paved the way for MMA superstars to potentially secure a few lucrative bouts in marquee crossover events at the tail end of their careers.
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