Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) top Heavyweight contenders aren’t sure about Light Heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira’s, chances in their division.
UFC 304 features not only an interim Heavyweight title tilt but a defense for said title. In the co-main event, the champion, Tom Aspinall, will rematch his lone UFC successor, Curtis Blaydes.
Ahead of UFC 300 when Pereira made his first 205-pound title defense against Jamahal Hill (watch highlights), rumors started to swirl that Pereira was going to move up to challenge Aspinall. That never happened but the thought of match ups like that has now spread after another big knockout over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 last month (June 29, 2024). Ultimately, if Pereira does ever fight at Heavyweight, Aspinall’s next opponent, Blaydes, doesn’t expect positive results.
“Bad idea,” Blaydes said at UFC 304 media day (h/t MMA Fighting). “[Against] Him, I’ll give you my premeditated plan: I’m going to shoot. Immediately. Why would I give him any chance to knock me out on the feet when I know I can take him down at will? I’m sure he has to know that. I think he’s looking for a specific Heavyweight, not any Heavyweight.
“He has matchups against — I can see him beating guys like Tai [Tuivasa],” he continued. “We watched him sparring Tai Tuivasa. Maybe some other guys in the bottom of the top 15. But you give him a top-five guy with some real weight, he’s not winning.”
Theoretically, Blaydes is the most nightmarish match up possible for Pereira. Each is elite at their strengths of wrestling vs. striking and with the massive size advantage for “Razor,” it wouldn’t be crazy to see him do what he does best against the Brazilian champion.
Comparatively, Bladyes is no stranger to elite-level strikers, having earned previous victories over some of Heavyweight’s most dangerous knockout artists.
“I’m going to eat that knee,” Blaydes said of Pereira’s creative strikes. “I ate one from Alistair [Overeem]. You think he throws harder knees than Alistair? I know he’s got the aura going on right now, but I ate a knee from 265-pound Alistair. I’m good with eating knees.
“Yes [I would welcome a fight],” he continued. “Yes. I know that’s what everyone wants. I would f*ck up Alex Pereira. It’s not because he’s not good. I’m heavier than he is. A Heavyweight, gravity, weight matters. It’s not a skill basis. It’s just how it is.”
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 304 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
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