Category: UFC

‘Honored’ Alex Pereira loves Jon Jones fight pitch, but needs UFC green light for heavyweight shift

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira admits Jon Jones’ suggestion of a future matchup caught him off guard.

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] admits he was caught off guard Friday morning as the phone notifications rolled in.

During a UFC 301 fight week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that he won’t compete on, the promotion’s light heavyweight champion Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is the center of attention once again thanks to a series of tweets by UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

“Yeah, it caught me by surprise, especially after I saw the first message. I didn’t really expect to see that this morning. I know we’ve been doing a very good job. There’s all this hype around me right now. I spoke about going up to heavyweight to fight on this card. I knew it’d catch some eyes eventually. I didn’t expect it to be so fast. But I was very honored and it was a very respectful message, so it was fun.”

As he recovers from multiple surgeries, Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) hasn’t expressed interest in fights beyond a pending showdown with Stipe Miocic. Friday, Jones proposed a bout vs. Pereira and called it “the biggest matchup in MMA history.”

Having already won UFC titles at middleweight and light heavyweight, Pereira has teased a move to heavyweight in attempt to capture an unprecedented third divisional championship.

The biggest hurdle has been getting the UFC to sign off on the move. Pereira thinks the potential superfight could twist the promotional brass members’ arms, however.

“When I said I would like to move up to heavyweight, I was very excited about that,” Pereira said. “But the UFC didn’t seem to keen on that at the time. Once I saw there was no real interest from them on me going up, I spoke with my team, with my managers, and decided to focus on the weight class that I’m champion in, which is light heavyweight. I’m doing very good there. We kind of left heavyweight on the backseat until something changed. Now, I guess a lot of interest has been generated and we have to see what the promotion wants.

“… He is on the sidelines for a while and he wants to do another fight before that. So there is a lot of things to happen in the meantime and I just want to be active. I just want to fight. If the UFC wants to tell me, ‘Hey, this is the path for you to get that fight at heavyweight,’ so I can change my plans, that works. But if I don’t have anything, I prefer not to stray away from what we have decided. To be thinking about things and not have them come to fruition would be just draining for me and for the fans. That’s definitely a fight I would love to do. For me to move up to heavyweight, I need some time – but not that much time because I’m already a big guy. So if they give me the green light and say, ‘Hey, this fight is happening,’ I’m 100 percent getting ready for it.”

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Pereira declined to theorize if he could obtain “GOAT” status with a win over who many consider to be the greatest fighter ever in Jones. He spoke with nothing but respect for Jones and said he’d let the all-time power rankings be determined in the court of public opinion.

“That’s the last thing on my mind,” Pereira said. “What I think about this is to be ready, to be training, to keep winning titles, and be focused. Everything else is for the public to decide. Whatever the people who are watching and see my accomplishments there, it’s up to them to decide if I’m the GOAT or not. That’s not something for me to decide. I just want to be ready, do my job, and be the best fighter I can be.”

“… We are both professionals. I have nothing against Jon. I respect him a lot. We’re both trying to build something. He has an amazing career and has built a lot. I’m building a lot on my career as well. I think we would make for a very entertaining matchup for the fans. If this ends up happening, I believe it’d be fantastic. I would be looking forward to it.

While much is uncertain about what the future holds, particularly as Jones has at least one fight before a future showdown, Pereira sees some undeniable truths about the fight proposal: the fight would attract massive attention – and deliver.

“We have the fans. We have the athletes. We have the organization,” Pereira said. “I feel if you ask the fans, of course, they’ll be all over it and hyped up for that fight. There are other athletes in the division that need to move on and all that, so we need to see what’s going on. If the UFC gives us the green light and they show interest, we can make that happen. I’m sure everyone is going to enjoy it.”

“… It would be a war. It would be a very entertaining showcase for the fans. With all the experience and skillset that Jon has, but also with all the abilities I’ve been growing during my MMA career, all the preparation I’ve been doing and the improvements I’m having. I think it would be a great championship (fight) and everyone would be entertained by that.”

UFC 301 ‘Embedded,’ No. 5: Nightswimming deserves a quiet night with Karolina Kowalkiewicz

In Episode 5 of UFC 301 “Embedded,” Karolina Kowalkiewicz heads to the beach and the fighters face off at a press conference.

The UFC returns with its fifth pay-per-view of 2024, which means the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 301 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

In the main event, Brazilian flyweight champion [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) puts his title on the line against [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC). And in the co-main event, former featherweight champion [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) ends his retirement for one more fight in Rio against [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC).

The fourth episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

Champion Alexandre Pantoja, Steve Erceg, Jose Aldo, and Anthony Smith talk at media day. Champ Alex Pereira, DC and Big Nog pop by. Karolina Kowalkiewicz walks on the beach. Erceg trains with a legend; Paul Craig embraces pressure.

Also see:

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Jonathan Martinez questions Jose Aldo’s motivation in UFC return: ‘I don’t think he wants to be here’

Is Jose Aldo taking his return to the UFC seriously? His opponent Jonathan Martinez has his doubts.

“I don’t think he wants to be here.”

That’s what [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] said as he questioned the motive behind [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]’s return to the UFC.

Aldo (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC), a former UFC and WEC featherweight champion, makes his highly-anticipated return to MMA Saturday against Martinez (19-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro.

Martinez thinks Aldo is returning to MMA for the wrong reasons and doesn’t think the Brazilian is taking him seriously.

“They got him back because they needed someone on this card, so they called on him,” Martinez explained in an interview in Spanish with MMA Junkie. “He was already retired, doing boxing, and I just think they paid him more to get him on this card.

“Also, in every interview, he says he wants to box and wants to get on that Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card. I think he thinks this fight is going to be easy because that’s like a month and a half away. I hope he’s not sleeping on me because something can happen.”

Aldo retired almost two years ago. He did have a few fights in boxing, but he was formally retired from MMA. He even got inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last year.

Although Martinez sees Aldo distracted, he’s expecting, and he prepared for the best version of him, and he’s confident getting a win will place him favorably in the division.

“Getting a win over him will put me close to that top five, and that’s what I’m looking for,” Martinez said. “I know this is a tough fight, and I’m training hard for it, and I’m confident. I know I prepared well, and you guys will see on Saturday.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Conor McGregor ‘disgusted’ by Ryan Garcia’s positive drug test: ‘Get your head together or kill yourself’

Conor McGregor called for Ryan Garcia to get a “lifetime ban” from combat sports after testing positive for PEDs stemming from his upset win over Devin Haney.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] has never been hesitant to speak out against performance-enhancing drugs in combat sports, so his heated reaction toward [autotag]Ryan Garcia[/autotag] should come as no surprise.

McGregor minced absolutely no words on this one, though. Previously a supporter of Garcia with many positive messages to the boxer, “The Notorious” changed his tune in the most definitive of ways with a since-deleted social media tirade.

Garcia currently finds himself in some hot water in the aftermath of his majority decision upset of Devin Haney this past month after two fight week test samples – one collected the day before the fight and one taken on fight day – both came back with traces of the banned substance ostarine in his system. There might also be the presence of another banned substance, but additional testing of his original sample and B-sample are required.

McGregor has heard enough to cast his judgement, though, as was evident in a heated message toward Garcia, that also included a shot at UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, who was suspended six months for an anti-doping violation in 2018 (via X):

Cheated the weight and was juiced, lifetime ban. Sad to see, sad to say.
Sad and a bit sick. Don’t come near me if I see you ever Ryan Garcia. I am actually disgusted. This ostarine it reminds me of Sean o malley was on that as well. I don’t like this, l’ll bust yous both up, do yous want a spar I will set flights right now for you both for a full on spar each. Hotel, black forge inn the lot. #letssparomalley and #garcia two little ostarine heads I’ll ride you both like yous are ostriches. wtf is up. What do you think you are at? If I was Haneys dad you’re dead no matter what for doing that.
Crazy. What the fuck happened to you, you little fool. Get your head together cos I gonna smash it in with elbows if you don’t. Fair play Devin well done. Your performance has just become even more heroic! Bravo
GET YOUR HEAD TOGETHER OR KILL YOURSELF.

Garcia has adamantly denied any wrongdoing since news of his drug test failures first became public. He’s repeatedly stated he never knowingly took anything containing the substances he tested positive for, and pointed to his multiple clean test results throughout training camp as support to his claims.

The process with VADA and the New York commission will ultimately determine whether the result vs. Haney is overturned and the punishment Garcia will receive, but the boxing is convinced he’s being set up following a controversial build the bout and the fact he missed weight by three pounds.

Once Garcia caught wind of McGregor’s post, he issued an unsurprisingly hostile reply (via X):

If I see Connor mcgregor

I’m going to break your weak ass ankle

You ran from being tested bc you were on Roids

Roadhouse or ROIDRAGE

FUDGE CONNOR CACA BRAIN

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), meanwhile, is gearing up for his return to the octagon after nearly three years. He is set to take on Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

William Gomis vs. Jean Silva scrapped from UFC 301 in Brazil

UFC 301 has lost a preliminary card bout after one fighter’s scary pre-fight weigh-in.

In a bizarre circumstance, a fight has been scrapped from UFC 301 – after a fighter successfully made weight.

[autotag]William Gomis[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) struggled to make the walk to the scale Friday in Rio de Janeiro for his featherweight fight on the prelims against [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC). Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, he got on the scale and was 143 pounds – a full 3 pounds under the non-title featherweight limit.

He needed to be helped off the scale and behind the stage, though, and it was reported that he vomited just prior to coming to the scale. His condition was deemed bad enough that the fight was canceled not long after the official weigh-ins.

MMA Junkie confirmed the news with a person with knowledge of the situation in Brazil. The UFC has not yet made a formal announcement after the news first was reported by French outlet LaSueur.

UFC 301 (Pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Gomis has not lost since 2016. He has wins in his first three UFC fights, including a third-round body kick knockout of Yanis Ghemmouri this past September. He was supposed to return in February, but pulled out of a fight against Melsik Baghdasaryan, and now will miss another assignment.

It is not yet known if the UFC will try to keep the fight with Silva intact. Silva was set to fight in front of his home fans in Brazil for the first time in the UFC.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Alex Perez hopes Alexandre Pantoja retains title at UFC 301: ‘I want to fight the guy that beat me’

Alex Perez explains why he wants Alexandre Pantoja to defend his flyweight title against Steve Erceg at UFC 301.

[autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag] is hoping to kill two birds with one stone in the near future – win the UFC flyweight title and avenge his loss to [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag].

The UFC flyweight contender is hoping Pantoja defends his 125-pound title against Steve Erceg on Saturday in the main event UFC 301 in Brazil. Perez (25-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) is confident Pantoja can get the job done, from an objective, analytical point, but he’s also hoping that’s the case for personal reasons.

“I give it like a 70/30, 60/40 chance,” Perez told MMA Junkie. “Pantoja has the experience. Pantoja’s wrestling isn’t the best, but he’s just a dog that keeps shooting. On the feet, Pantoja is tough. He can take a punch. Steve, I haven’t seen a lot of him outside the UFC, but he’s a stud, too. One thing that’s scary in the division is that he’s shown that he has one-punch knockout (power), whether he just hit the right button on (Matt) Schnell or what. But on paper, Pantoja gets hit, and Steve is going to hit him, so still give him a chance.

“Obviously, I want Pantoja to win because if I fight for the title, I want to fight the guy that beat me.”

Both Pantoja and Perez fought back in 2022 with the Brazilian coming out on top, submitting Perez in the first round.

Today, Perez feels he’s in a bit of a weird spot given that he picked up a big knockout win in the main event of UFC on ESPN 55 last week, but he’s also 1-3 in his past four performances. Perez is hoping to improve that run on June 15, when he faces Tagir Ulanbekov at a UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas.

Although not banking on it, Perez thinks he can maybe get a title shot given the state of the division – which has many of the top contenders injured or coming off losses.

“Anything can happen in this sport, but I just worry about myself,” Perez said. “Obviously. I want to fight and beat all these guys. I wish no ill will toward them. Hopefully they can get healthy and we can get this fight going. But if the opportunity comes, great. I’ll take the opportunity.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

UFC 301 weigh-in results: Everyone hits marks in Rio de Janeiro

Check out the results from the official UFC 301 fighter weigh-ins in Rio de Janeiro.

The official weigh-ins for UFC 301 are in the books, and all the fighters hit their marks in Brazil.

The weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Rio de Janeiro. The nearby Farmasi Arena hosts Saturday’s event (pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+).

In the main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) was on the mark at 125 pounds. Challenger Steve Erceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was first to the scale and was 125, as well.

The full UFC 301 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Alexandre Pantoja (125) vs. Steve Erceg (125) – for flyweight title
  • Jose Aldo (136) vs. Jonathan Martinez (136)
  • Vitor Petrino (206) vs. Anthony Smith (205.5)
  • Michel Pereira (186) vs. Ihor Potieria (185)
  • Caio Borralho (186) vs. Paul Craig (185)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Joanderson Brito (146) vs. Jack Shore (145.5)
  • Karolina Kowalkiewicz () vs. Iasmin Lucindo (116)
  • Elves Brener (156) vs. Myktybek Orolbai (155.5)
  • William Gomis (143.5) vs. Jean Silva (146)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Drakkar Klose (156) vs. Joaquim Silva (155.5)
  • Jamie Mullarkey (155) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (156)
  • Dione Barbosa (126) vs. Ernesta Kareckaite (125.5)
  • Ismael Bonfim (156) vs. Vinc Pichel (156)
  • Kevin Borjas (125.5) vs. Alessandro Costa (125)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

UFC 301 main, co-main event official weigh-in highlights video

UFC 301 official weigh-ins are complete, and everyone was on the mark for Saturday’s event.

UFC 301 weigh-ins took place Friday, and the main and co-main event fighters were on their marks for the top of the card.

The weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Rio de Janeiro. The nearby Farmasi Arena hosts Saturday’s event (pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+). Check out the video above to see [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on the scale, as well as [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) and [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC).

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

UFC champ Alex Pereira thinks Jiri Prochazka most likely next in line: ‘Ankalaev is going to have to wait’

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira expects to run things back with Jiri Prochazka next.

UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] expects to run things back with [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] next.

Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) notched his first title defense when he knocked out Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 headliner. On the same night, Prochazka finished Aleksandar Rakic, rebounding from his title loss to Pereira at UFC 295.

Top contender Magomed Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC), who’s coming off a knockout of Johnny Walker in January, is campaigning for a title shot. However, it appears he won’t be getting his wish.

“Breaking news,” Pereira said through an interpreter during a UFC 301 media scrum (h/t MMA Fighting). “I think if I wait for (Ankalaev vs. Prochazka), it will take too long. I want to fight earlier than that.

“And I think, as far as we know, most likely the next in line is going to be Prochazka. Ankalaev is going to have to wait a little bit. I know Jamahal Hill’s been talking some trash, but is also going to have to wait a little longer. I think Prochazka’s the next one.”

Pereira’s choice comes based on timing, and his willingness to jump into another training camp soon.

“We told them when we want to fight,” Pereira said. “Nothing about nobody yet – we don’t know. But they said due to the time frame, most likely it’s going to be Prochazka. But anyone out there that wants to fight, we’ll go with it.

Prochazka (30-4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) called out Pereira after knocking out Rakic. He was unhappy with the stoppage in his loss to Pereira this past November, thinking referee Marc Goddard intervened too early.

But “Poatan” doesn’t expect a different version of Prochazka if they rematch.

“I don’t think he will show up too much of a different fighter because compared to my evolution that I’ve had in just a few MMA fights, he has over 20 fights,” Pereira said. “He’s been fighting for a long time.

“I think for every fighter, you get to that point that you start evolving less due to the mileage that you have in this game due to the amount of fights they have and experience. So I think I’m going to evolve more from the previous fight than he does.”

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Jon Jones: Alex Pereira matchup would be ‘biggest fight in MMA history’ and ‘no one can argue that’

Jon Jones explains why a matchup with fellow UFC champ Alex Pereira would be far more meaningful for his career than Tom Aspinall.

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] sees [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] as a legacy fight for his career.

UFC heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) expects to have his previously scrapped bout with Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) rebooked once he returns after injury, but then he sees multiple options.

Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is chomping at the bit to unify the belts with Jones, but it appears “Bones” has pivoted to what he sees as an even bigger fight: Current light heavyweight champion Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who has teased a move to heavyweight before.

Jones is widely considered as the greatest fighter of all time, and thinks Pereira challenging him for the opportunity to win a third UFC title would threaten his GOAT status.

“If Alex P became champion of the heavyweight division, would you guys consider him the GOAT? Being back in the gym has got me thinking differently. That fight after Stipe maybe the next biggest move I could possibly make. This killer has already defeated so many champions, and is already considered a legend to millions around the world. The most massive fight the UFC could make. Give Alex a chance to avenge all those great Brazilian champions I’ve defeated.”

Jones went as far as saying that a potential super fight between him and Pereira would be the biggest fight in the sport’s history.

“It would be absolutely massive. A guy with a chance to be three-division champion and a goat versus the actual goat. Same age, different strengths. No one can argue that that would be the biggest fight in MMA history. There’s absolutely no fight that generates a payday like that. Marketing would be insane.”

As for Aspinall, Jones argues that Pereira would be a much bigger fight for him.

“You actually think me fighting Tom would be more massive than Alex and I colliding? Tom only matters in the U.K., newsflash. Pereira is one of the most polarizing figures this sport has seen. Toms a contender who won a belt against another contender. We had to save Madison Square Gardens main event. I’m thinking dollar signs, legacy, big picture here. Not what U.K. fans are dying to see. Literally just went through this with the French fans.”

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