Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira is going to try his hand at light heavyweight.
Due to his history in kickboxing with now-two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, the path to a UFC title shot for Pereria was a short one at 185 pounds. In addition, Adesanya helped clear the way by knocking off a number of contenders. Pereira got his chance and capitalized in a big way by taking the title from Adesanya.
Now, after losing their rematch at UFC 289, Pereira going to proceed without cutting a ton of weight. Pereira made it clear his next fight will be in the light heavyweight division, a move that he feels will be better for his career.
A heavy-handed striker with vicious knockout power at middleweight, will Pereira’s power translate at light heavyweight? What are his prospects in the higher weight class? How would he stack up against current champ Jamahal Hill?
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, “Gorgeous” George Garcia and Dan Tom discuss Pereira’s move with host Mike Bohn. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.