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EXCLUSIVE – Alex Pereira tipped to struggle in UFC light heavyweight move: ‘He’s gonna have problems’

Alex Pereira tipped to struggle in UFC light heavyweight move he's gonna have some problems Slated to make his light heavyweight division move later this year, former UFC middleweight champion, Alex Pereira has been backed to struggle in his move to 205lbs by former title challenger, Anthony Smith – who touts the Brazilian’s size for the division, albeit. Pereira, who headlined UFC 287 earlier this month in a title rematch […]

Slated to make his light heavyweight division move later this year, former UFC middleweight champion, Alex Pereira has been backed to struggle in his move to 205lbs by former title challenger, Anthony Smith – who touts the Brazilian’s size for the division, albeit.

Pereira, who headlined UFC 287 earlier this month in a title rematch against Israel Adesanya, dropped his undisputed middleweight crown in an eventual second round KO to the latter, suffering his first defeat in the promotion to boot.

Seeing an immediate title trilogy rubber match with Adesanya shot down, Sao Paulo striker, Alex Pereira – who had held gold at the light heavyweight and middleweight limit under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, confirmed he would be moving to the 205lbs ranks next.

Anthony Smith expects Alex Pereira to face some problems at light heavyweight

Despite being picked to handily defeat the likes of Jiri Prochazka, and champion, Jamahal Hill in the coming years to win division gold, Pereira has also been tipped to struggle to transition at light heavyweight – according to Nebraska native Smith.

“It is what it is – it’s just another dude,” Anthony Smith told LowKick MMA reporter, James Lynch during a recent interview. “I think he’s (Alex Pereira) gonna have problems at 205 [pounds]. “He’s a monster light heavyweight. Like, put that dude next to Aleksandar Rakic and that dude will make him look tiny. He’s just a regular-sized 205er in the top seven or eight.”

“Obviously, I’m a little bit on the smaller side compared to some of those guys,” Smith continued. “Jan Blachowicz is big. Jiri Prochazka is big. Jamahal Hill is big. Magomed Ankalaev is big. Aleksandar Rakic is absolutely huge. His size was a huge advantage at 185. I think he’s great. I think he’s a fantastic striker. There’s more grapplers and guys that are – I guess I can’t really say that, there are a lot of grapplers at 185, too. Just none that he ran into. Ankalaev would get a takedown on him, it’s just if Pereira can get up. I would rather see him with Rakic.”

Clinching the middleweight title back in November of last year at Madison Square Garden, Pereira rekindled his rivalry with Adesanya – shocking the Nigerian-Kiwi with a stunning come-from-behind fifth round standing TKO victory.

EXCLUSIVE – Jiri Prochazka previews potential future UFC clash with Alex Pereira: ‘He’s very good’

Jiri Prochazka has heaped praise on former middleweight champion, Alex Pereira ahead of his move to the promotion’s light heavyweight ranks, as rumors continue to link the two former UFC champions to a future showdown. Prochazka, the current #1 ranked light heavyweight contender, has been sidelined from the Octagon since June of last year, suffering […]

Prochazka, the current #1 ranked light heavyweight contender, has been sidelined from the Octagon since June of last year, suffering a shoulder injury last December ahead of a championship rematch with former gold holder, Glover Teixeira.

As for Pereira, the former undisputed middleweight titleholder, slipped to #1 in the official division pule following UFC 287 earlier this month, dropping a second round knockout loss to Israel Adesanya in their championship rematch.

Previewing his expected Octagon return later this year, Czech Republic native, Jiri Prochazka confirmed his plans to fight potentially as soon as September, eyeing an immediate championship fight with newly-minted gold holder, Jamahal Hill.

Jiri Prochazka heaps praise on Alex Pereira

Slated to make his light heavyweight division debut later this annum, Pereira has been tipped to topple both Hill and Prochakza in pursuit of a second UFC championship belt. And Prochazka has so far sung the praises of the Sao Paulo striker in anticipation of a potential future pairing.

“Nice stand-up style guy,” Jiri Prochakza told LowKick MMA of Alex Pereira during a recent interview. “[He has] a lot of skills and I’m looking forward to seeing him in our division because he is high [level]. He’s very good for our division. Good feeling in his movement, good timing – I’m glad to see guys like him in our division because it’s a new opportunity to show the best from us, because he’s a good stand-upper, it’s something good in our division.”

“Alex (Pereira) is a good warrior, he has a very nice style,” Jiri Prochazka explained. “I like the style because it’s very simple, useful, and precise.”

Winning light heavyweight spoils back in June of last year in the main event of UFC 275, Prochazka submitted the above-mentioned, Teixeira with a fifth round rear-naked choke submission in Singapore.

Exclusive | Preston Parsons hunting a finish in Texas following surgery layoff: “I’m gonna stay right in his face.”

Following a year-long injury layoff, Preston Parsons lands in San Antonio to face Trevin Giles at UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Sandhagen. Although he may be coming off a victory, Parsons suffered a broken hand that required surgery and forced him out of action for nearly a year. In his youthful UFC career, Parsons has […]

Following a year-long injury layoff, Preston Parsons lands in San Antonio to face Trevin Giles at UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Sandhagen.

Although he may be coming off a victory, Parsons suffered a broken hand that required surgery and forced him out of action for nearly a year. In his youthful UFC career, Parsons has never fought in front of a live crowd, but he will have the chance to do so on March 25 against the Texan, Giles.

Speaking exclusively with LowKickMMA’s Frank Bonada, Parsons says he enjoyed his time in the UFC Apex, but assures he is ready and excited to face a motivated Giles fighting at home.

He was quick to credit Giles for his vast experience in the UFC, fighting on massive pay-per-view cards in the past, as well as dabbling in multiple weight classes as high as 205. Yet he believes this also plays as an advantage considering Giles may have a significant amount of time focusing on his weight cut.

“He’s probably stressing about the weight way more than I am.”

Parsons sometimes finds himself in situations where he may not be the bigger man in the cage, such as his only UFC loss against Daniel Rodriguez, where he says he felt the difference. But he firmly believes the result ultimately came down to his own errors he made during the fight.

“I made some tactical mistakes and he capitalized on them.”

Preston Parsons lays out his route to victory vs. Trevin Giles

After redeeming himself with the first victory of his career decided by the judges, Preston Parsons does not plan a similar route to victory this time out.

“I’m gonna do what I did in my last fight, I’m gonna stay right in his face, and I definitely plan on finishing it. Whether it be knockout, catching him with a short punch, taking him down, submitting him. Or just grinding him out until I get my hand raised. But I’m definitely gonna stay in his face the entire fight, make it a tough fight. Try to wear him out.“

Parsons features an impressive 90% finish rate amongst his winning resume, solidifying himself as a ground specialist considering every finish resulted in submission. Once he concludes his bout with Giles, Parsons says he’s ready to be an active fighter again, returning in the summer and fighting a total of three fights this year, setting a goal of fighting up to five times next year.

Preston Parsons on Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman III

The welterweight belt is on the line a week prior to Parsons’s bout, and having fought Kamaru Usman’s teammate in the past, he believes Usman will regain his gold and wishes for Usman to be his final test.

“I wanna see him win that belt back. I wanna see him retain it for as long as it takes for me to get there and take it from him.”

With a long road ahead of him, Parsons claims he doesn’t look past anyone in the welterweight division.

“I keep my eye out on all the guys in that weight class.”

He also happens to have an eye on the lightweight division, and teases a future career route that could very well involve him at 155, a division he fought every amateur bout in. This is a decision he says will be thought over once he flies to Vegas following his next bout, and consults with experts at the UFC Performance Institute.

Elevate MMA

Parsons fights out of Elevate MMA in Jacksonville, Florida, which he has been running since its 2020 introduction. He takes it upon himself to grow the gym and make a name for it with his career success.

“We’re not a known gym yet, but I plan on changing that.”

Check out the full interview right here:

How do you think Preston Parsons will fare against Trevin Giles?

Exclusive | Undefeated Lerone Murphy details dream UFC fight and previews UFC 286: “That’s the biggest fight in the world.”

With UFC 286 just over two weeks away, featherweight prospect Lerone Murphy is ready to go, but he still hasn’t found an opponent willing to step up. After a substantial time away from the octagon, it seemed as though Murphy’s return to home soil was confirmed against his English counterpart Nathaniel Wood. Although with a […]

With UFC 286 just over two weeks away, featherweight prospect Lerone Murphy is ready to go, but he still hasn’t found an opponent willing to step up.

After a substantial time away from the octagon, it seemed as though Murphy’s return to home soil was confirmed against his English counterpart Nathaniel Wood.

Although with a month to spare, Nathaniel Wood disappointingly announced that he had to pull out from the fight due to a sliced knee he suffered in training. Wood described it as a “freak accident” during wrestling practice, and says that movement in his knee is severely limited until his stitches are removed.

Based on Murphy’s recent tweet, he may not see it the same way Wood does.

Just for the record I entered my debut on a grade 2 mcl tear on 3 weeks notice. Same with my second bout against ramos, I even had a elbow tear in that one too. If I sign up I make it, unless I’m bed bound.

— LERONE MURPHY (@LeroneMurphy) March 1, 2023

Murphy’s last fight came in October of 2021, when he managed to knock out the highly experienced Makwan Amirkhani in the second round. He currently holds an 11-0-1 record featuring seven knockouts, with six of them coming in the very first round.

Lerone Murphy LowKickMMA Exclusive

Speaking in a recent interview with LowKickMMA’s Tim Wheaton, Murphy says he feels like he’s in ideal shape and on schedule with his weight cut.

Without any limitations on who he may stand across come March 18, Murphy says if it was up to him the obvious answer would be Conor McGregor. He praised McGregor’s legacy in the UFC and says he began watching the UFC during McGregor’s early featherweight dominance to stardom, stating:

“That’s the biggest fight in the world. Everyone knows that, no one needs to shy away from it.”

Murphy also previewed the exciting trilogy headlining the O2 arena for UFC 286 and backed his fellow countryman Leon Edwards to conclude his business with Kamaru Usman and come out with a victory. He believes that after the incredible run Usman managed at welterweight, running into the catastrophe that occurred in the final round against Edwards will determine his future.

“You’re not gonna come back the same fighter.”

He attributes his prediction to the massive advantage he could have in his home nation, and the elimination of the high altitude which Murphy believes may have gassed Edwards out in their previous matchup.

Murphy also believes that Usman should’ve taken at least one year off to recover from the shocking knockout at UFC 278.

Looking back at his own career, Murphy does not care who the UFC offers him, as long as he finds an opponent.

He rates himself highly among his featherweight company, and if he manages to find an opponent and convincing win on March 18, then he may very well find himself ranked among the top 15.

Murphy understands he is still human and has questioned himself just days away from fights before.

“Why did I pick this life?”

He has kept his head up despite the missing opponent he’s been looking for, and has kept a positive mindset by training as if his matchup was confirmed.

“With preparation comes confidence.”

Will someone step up in time to face Lerone Murphy?

Ode Osbourne Wants ‘Banger’ Against Matt Schnell After UFC Vegas 70 Win (Exclusive)

UFC flyweight prospect Ode Osbourne is looking to put on an “electric” show for the fans next time out — and for that, he knows just the man to call. Osbourne made his first appearance of 2023 last weekend at UFC Vegas 70. Following the wit…

Continue Reading Ode Osbourne Wants ‘Banger’ Against Matt Schnell After UFC Vegas 70 Win (Exclusive) at MMA News.

Goiti Yamauchi Feels He’s An All-Around Better Fighter Than Michael ‘Venom’ Page (Exclusive)

Bellator welterweight contender Goiti Yamauchi expects to have an advantage over Michael “Venom” Page when it comes to boasting a well-rounded skillset. After an impressive run in the cage, Yamauchi is set for the opportunity to stake his claim for a shot at gold. The Japanese-born Brazilian has impressed with a three-fight winning streak since…

Continue Reading Goiti Yamauchi Feels He’s An All-Around Better Fighter Than Michael ‘Venom’ Page (Exclusive) at MMA News.