Alex Pereira has been warned by his next UFC opponent Jan Blachowicz that he will be sent back down to middleweight after their upcoming fight.
Pereira, 35, makes his UFC light-heavyweight debut when he faces the division's former champion Blachowicz, 40, on July 29 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pereira is moving up a weight class after his brutal knockout loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 last month, but Blachowicz thinks the former middleweight titleholder won't be staying at 205lb for very long.
“I think this is my job in the UFC sometimes. I need to do it in the best way, to send him back to the lower category,” Blachowicz said on The MMA Hour. "For sure, he’s going to have power but what I always say if you change weight category you can spar in your gym with the bigger guys but when you fight, it’s completely different. Timing, speed, everything is different. Three times I fight before with guys from the lower division and I won everything. This time will be the same.”
