Alex Pereira wants revenge for his coach and mentor, Glover Teixeira, while chasing UFC double champ status.
Pereira (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), the current UFC middleweight champion, has expressed interest in moving up to light heavyweight to challenge newly minted titleholder Jamahal Hill.
The Brazilian appeared in the comments section of Hill’s (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) latest Instagram post, which was directed at injured former titleholder Jiri Prochazka, and issued a challenge to “Sweet Dreams” (via Instagram):
Hill won the vacant 205-pound belt this past weekend with a dominant unanimous decision win that sent Teixeira into retirement. Pereira was in Teixeira’s corner for the fight, and it’s clear Hill caught his attention.
Whether the UFC would be willing to give consideration to Pereira moving up in weight remains to be seen. He won the 185-pound title at UFC 281 in November when he scored a TKO of Israel Adesanya, and all signs have pointed to another fight with Adesanya being his next move.