UFC light heavyweight Dominick Reyes (L) looks more like a middleweight when standing next to the massive Alex Pereira.
UFC middleweight contender Alex Pereira will go to war with reigning 185-pound titleholder Israel Adesanya in the UFC 281 pay-per-view (PPV) main event on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, a five-round showdown that marks the third meeting between “Poatan” and “The Last Stylebender.”
Pereira holds two wins (and one knockout) over Adesanya on the kickboxing circuit.
Prior to their “Big Apple” battle, Pereira has been uploading photos of his training and preparations for UFC 281, which illustrate the size of the massive Brazilian. Unlike Paddy Pimblett, who looks like Jonah Hill in War Dogs when he’s not in camp, Pereira walks around with less than 10-percent body fat.
Have a look:
Alex Pereira is currently 226 pounds with 9.8% body fat.
74 days until #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/Nii5XEVTwE
— MMA mania (@mmamania) August 31, 2022
Here’s Pereira standing next to former light heavyweight champions Glover Teixeira and Lyoto Machida:
Alex Pereira is massive pic.twitter.com/E0wYebnrDv
— MMA mania (@mmamania) August 30, 2022
Fans are not feeling optimistic about Adesanya’s chances (via Sportskeeda).
“RIP Izzy”
”Adesanya a dead man”
“Ngl Izzy is fooooked and I’m a Izzy fan saying this”
“Why is Pereira not fighting at 205!? Omg”
“I’m worried for Izzy”
The fact that Pereira can make the middleweight mark without issue is astonishing but “Poatan” will have to subtract an extra pound for UFC 281. Unlike non-title fights, there is no one-pound allowance when the belt is on the line so it’s 185 or bust when the Brazilian hits the scale later this year in “The Empire State.”
See who else is fighting at UFC 281 right here.