Alex Pereira has not shortage of options for his first UFC fight at light heavyweight.
With “Poatan” announcing that he is ready to make the move from 185 pounds to 205 pounds, several marquee names have made it clear that they’d gladly welcome him to his new division, including UFC champion Jamahal Hill.
Hill posted a short video clip to Instagram directed at Pereira, along with a caption reading, “Welcome can’t wait to see you.”
See Hill’s post here:
Pereira had the following response for Hill in the post’s comments:
I am coming and will kick your door in
Technically, Hill and Pereira have shared the octagon before. When Hill defeated Glover Teixeira to win a vacant light heavyweight title this past January at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Pereira was in Teixeira’s corner and in the cage afterwards as Hill had gold wrapped around his waist.
Should the UFC pass on giving Pereira an immediate title shot, he could have a date with a former light heavyweight champion instead.
Prior to Pereira’s announcement, Jan Blachowicz told reporter Petesy Carroll that he’s open to facing the hard-hitting Brazilian (though his first choice would be to face Hill for the UFC title).
“I don’t think about [Pereira] right now, but I think, yeah why not?” Blachowicz said when asked about the potential matchup. “I like challenges, he’s a very big challenge. This fight will be also very big, very great, so why not? But we’ll see what’s going to be his next move.”
One more name to volunteer to be Pereira’s first UFC light heavyweight test is one-time title challenger, Volkan Oezdemir. “No Time” simply tagged Pereira in a post along with an image of himself and the eyes emoji, along with the hashtag “#welcometo205.”