Alex Pereira expects to be part of Dana White’s yet-to-be-announced boxing venture.
After years of teasing his move into the sweet science, the UFC CEO revealed that he will finally jump head-first into the world of boxing with more details expected to come in 2025. While White is expected to try and bring his UFC model to the sport almost as old as human civilization itself, the Sultan of Power Slap recently suggested that there will be no roster jumping between UFC and his boxing endeavor.
Dana White is asked if he expects to bring the “UFC model” to boxing by having all the best fighters under one promotion:
“Listen, I think if you ask anybody… the UFC model works. It works.”
@ufc #UFC #MMA #Boxing pic.twitter.com/IXLeaMeMeh
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 25, 2024
Still, that hasn’t deterred the UFC’s light heavyweight champion from thinking that he’ll eventually lace up the 10-ounce gloves for White inside the squared circle someday.
”Honestly, man, I feel very good about this,” Pereira told Kevin Iole in a recent interview. “I like boxing, I wanted to fight in boxing, I’ve been saying for a while about this. I’m gonna release action in the next few days, I’ve a video of me sparring the best heavyweight boxer in Brazil…Dana White made the announcement, to be honest, nothing was spoke, nothing was talk between us in the organization, but I feel that this partnership with Dana White will start with me” (h/t Sportskeeda).
Pereira has since released the aforementioned footage of him sparring with Brazilian boxer Igor Adiel Macedo who boats a 13-1 record with all 13 of his wins coming by way of knockout. You can check it out right here.
Alex Pereira is a Hall of Fame kickboxer
‘Poatan’ has never competed in traditional boxing, but he’s been a formidable force in the world of kickboxing. Under the GLORY banner, Pereira is a former two-division champion having captured the promotion’s middleweight and light heavyweight titles. In 2023, Pereira was inducted into the GLORY Kickboxing Hall of Fame.
It was in GLORY that Pereira scored an absolutely brutal knockout against Israel Adesanya that required the ‘Stylebender’ to receive oxygen while still laid out in the ring.
On Saturday night, ‘Poatan’ will look to continue his dominant run in the light heavyweight division when he squares off with heavy-hitting contender Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. It will be Pereira’s third time defending the 205-pound title in 2024 after scoring highlight-reel knockouts against Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka.
