Alex Pereira produced a stunning run in 2024 by defending the light heavyweight title three times.
His willingness to step in and help the UFC out on multiple occasions with limitations on his preparations only made him a bigger star.
However, this also led to Pereira admitting that he was far from his best when losing his title to Magomed Ankalaev earlier this year.
‘Poatan’ seemed to prove this point at UFC 320 where he reclaimed the belt by avenging his loss to the Russian in ruthless fashion.
Immediately after the win, Pereira targeted the UFC’s event at the White House, which would mean him sitting out for eight months.
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Alex Pereira says his foot injury may have talked him out of potentially jeopardizing a fight at the White House
While Magomed Ankalaev came into UFC 320 with a significant injury, his opponent appeared to leave the Octagon with one.
Alex Pereira predicted that he’d broken his foot when hitting the defending champion with one of his several leg kicks.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, ‘Poatan’ delivered a final speech (translated via YouTube) to his team after reclaiming the light heavyweight title where he admitted to some of the mistakes that he’s made in the past.
“I think I did the right thing this time,” Pereira reflected. “I was doing things maybe not 100% disciplined. I’m a human being, I’m a failure, but I’ve always been trying to fix it… I tried to do something better, but this time it was 100%. I started doing the right job after the fight I lost.”
Pereira then went on to address the foot injury that he suffered and how even that could be a positive.
He seemingly suggested that, if the injury is as bad as he thinks, he won’t be back in action before the UFC event at the White House.
Pereira stated that if he’d come through October 4 injury-free, he may have been tempted to get another fight in before June 14, which could’ve backfired on him.
“Things happen, I break my foot. But, is that good? Sometimes it is because I’m 100%. I don’t have a scar on my face, then I’m fighting in March. Ok, then I’m going to do a fight that I want so much in the White House.
“I’m there in March, I break my finger, it’s going to be a stressful camp. I hurt myself, injure my knee. Not here. It’s time to recover. There’s no way I’m going to do two fights if I broke it. If that happened, thank you my God.”
- LATEST NEWS: Alex Pereira’s UFC 320 finish was so brutal that it even made Daniel Cormier rethink MMA rule change
A vacant title fight could be made if Alex Pereira isn’t going to be back until next June
Alex Pereira’s goal is to move up to heavyweight in order to fight Jon Jones at the White House in 2026.
While this fight would be huge, ‘Poatan’ not defending his light heavyweight title in the meantime would create a serious delay at the top of the light heavyweight division.
In the immediate aftermath of the main event, Joe Rogan approved the idea of a vacant title fight being made at 205 pounds if Pereira is moving up.
Top contenders Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg both recently secured impressive wins, which could lead them to fighting for the gold in the near future.