Will ‘Poatan’ Be Able to Translate His Elite Athleticism and Skillset to a Heavier Weight Class?
In just less than two months, Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira is set to face Ciryl Gane in the co-main event of the UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House. This will be Pereira’s first fight at heavyweight as he aims to defeat Gane to become the Interim Heavyweight Champion. Should he accomplish this feat, ‘Poatan’ would possibly fight the current Heavyweight champ, Tom Aspinall, in the near future for the official division title. While Pereira is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous strikers the UFC has ever seen, there is still uncertainty surrounding how he will transition into such a physically demanding division.
Recently, Pereira posted photos and video footage of his current physique on social media, prompting fans to question his approach. The fighter visibly looked much denser, with his face and belly carrying a lot of weight. However, he reassured everyone on his YouTube channel that he is in the process of getting much stronger and that he will soon transform himself into a machine. This would make a lot of sense for fighters moving up to the Heavyweight Division due to the fact that they need to bulk up more than usual in order to get stronger in the octagon. It is hard to believe that Pereira could acquire even more power, but the former double-champ is determined to become the best heavyweight that he can be once the White House card comes around.
When fighting at middleweight and light heavyweight, Pereira is a fighter who perfectly balances agility and power in his style. Now that he is fighting in a much heavier weight class, it might be difficult to maintain all of the speed and quickness that he once had. Nevertheless, ‘Poatan’ has shown that he is also a very intelligent athlete, hitting shots at the right moment to leave his opponents on the floor. His sharpness at lower weight classes in the past can still be maintained if trained efficiently, as he most likely already has more speed and athleticism than most fighters in the Heavyweight Division. In the past, Gane has also demonstrated his physical prowess a lot in his fights, knocking out many other top-ranked heavyweights with his elite striking. Despite this, Pereira always comes into his fights hungry, only having one thing on his mind: victory, no matter the circumstance.
