Tag: Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira calls out Jared Cannonier following UFC Fight Night 203 win: ‘Why not?’

Alex Pereira wants his shot at the top of the division following Saturday’s win at UFC Fight Night 203.

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] wants to take a big step in his MMA career.

The former Glory kickboxing champion feels ready to test himself against the very best at 185 pounds. That’s why Pereira (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) wants to fight top contender Jared Cannonier for his next UFC bout.

The Brazilian competed in his second UFC fight on Saturday night in the main card of UFC Fight Night 203 in Las Vegas. He defeated Bruno Silva (22-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in a unanimous decision that read 30-27 across all judges’ scorecards.

Now 2-0 under the promotion, Pereira wants his crack at the top dogs of the division.

“I had talked about Jared Cannonier because he’s a guy that is next for a title shot,” Pereira told reporters at the UFCFight Night 203 post-fight press conference. “Some people have already talked about me and Adesanya, so why not Cannonier? I don’t think I’m talking too much calling out Cannonier.”

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Pereira is the only man to have knocked out UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He holds kickboxing wins over Adesanya having outpointed him in a decision in 2016 and then knocked him out just a year later in 2017.

The 34-year-old feels he’s shown plenty during his short run in the UFC.

“I had two great fights and I was able to showcase my skills,” Pereira said. “I didn’t even show everything that I go through my daily basis training with Glover Teixeira’s gym. I’m improving and evolving every day. Where I am in the division? I don’t know. I’ll let the promotors talk and they’ll know where to properly put me in.”

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UFC Fight Night 203 results: Alex Pereira moves to 2-0 in the UFC, edges Bruno Silva in hard-fought bout

Former kickboxing champion Alex Pereira extends his unbeaten run in the UFC at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 203.

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] continues his successful run in the UFC.

The former Glory kickboxing champion picked up his second win under the UFC banner outpointing [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag] in a hard-fought battle to open up the main card for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 203. Pereira (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) defeated Silva (22-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) via a unanimous decision that read 30-27 across all judges’ scorecards.

It was an evenly matched contest from start to finish.

To many’s surprise, Silva was not too overwhelmed on the feet against Pereira. In the opening round, they traded shots and both landed and connected flush. Silva would occasionally look for the takedown and was able to get one towards the end of the first round. Pereira would get up with just a few seconds remaining and land the more significant combination of the round.

The second was very similar with Silva stepping up even more on the feet, as his confidence grew. Pereira would make sure to keep Silva honest, also landing combinations of his own. It was a closely contested round.

The final five minutes of the fight were perhaps the more decisive round. Silva had a good start, but half way through the round he was hit hard by Pereira and wobbled. Pereira would go on to cause further damage, but was unable to finish Silva, as his opponent did a great job at staying in the fight.

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The 34-year-old is now on a five-fight winning streak since losing his professional MMA debut back in 2015. The current streak includes two wins under the UFC lights. He defeated Silva and prior to that he stopped Andreas Michailidis with a flying knee in late 2021.

Pereira is the only man to have knocked out UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He holds kickboxing wins over Adesanya having outpointed him in a decision in 2016 and then knocked him out just a year later in 2017. The Brazilian has four consecutive wins. His only loss came in his MMA debut back in 2015.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 203 results includes:

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UFC Fight Night 203 pre-event facts: Can Marlon Moraes buck his brutal skid?

The best facts and figures about UFC Fight Night 203, which features Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev in the main event.

The UFC schedule rolls on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 203 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

A clash of light heavyweight contenders gets the spotlight in the main event. Former title challenger [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] (22-9 MMA, 14-8 UFC) get back on a winning streak when he takes on [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who is riding the longest active run of octagon victories of any fighter in his weight class.

For more on the numbers behind the headliners, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 45 pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 203.

22 fights on our MMA wishlist for 2022: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3, Jon Jones, Jorge Masvidal

What are some of your dream matchups for 2022? Here are 22 fights MMA Junkie hopes to see happen in 2022.

Amidst a tumultuous global pandemic there were many grim realities humans had to endure in 2021. One thing was consistently good, however, and that’s combat sports.

Although just five fights of 21 fights from the 2021 MMA wishlist came to fruition, the sport was extremely hot and gave fans many memorable moments. The world leader of MMA – the UFC – had a particularly great year, and that momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing heading into 2022.

It’s not just UFC fights that are taking attention, either. There’s also plenty happening in Bellator, PFL, Eagle FC and many other promotions.

MMA is in a great spot, and with much excitement we present MMA Junkie’s wishlist of 22 fights we’d like to see in 2022.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Dec. 20-26)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Dec. 20-26.

UFC targets Alex Pereira vs. Bruno Silva for March 12 event

Brazilian knockout artists Alex Pereira and Bruno Silva are expected to throw down in March.

Brazilian knockout artists [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] and [autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag] are expected to throw down in March.

Pereira (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Silva (22-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) have verbally agreed to met at a UFC Fight Night event on March 12, which doesn’t yet have a publicly known venue or location. Bout agreements have yet to be finalized.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Combate first reported the news.

Highly touted Pereira, who knocked out UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in kickboxing, lived up to the hype in his promotional debut. The former two-division GLORY kickboxing champ scored a flying knee knockout of Andres Michailidis at UFC 268, earning the “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Also riding momentum from his past outing is “Blindado” Silva, who is coming off a first-round TKO of Jordan Wright at UFC 269 and his second straight bonus. The former M-1 Global middleweight champ has won his past seven in a row, all by way of knockout.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for March 12 includes:

  • Magomed Ankalaev vs. Thiago Santos
  • Guido Cannetti vs. Kris Moutinho
  • Javid Basharat vs. Trevin Jones
  • Marlon Moraes vs. Song Yadong
  • Alex Pereira vs. Bruno Silva

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Israel Adesanya reacts to Alex Pereira’s UFC debut KO: ‘In the next four fights I hope to see him’

Israel Adesanya appears to be happy Alex Pereira – the only man to knock him out – made a splash in his debut at UFC 268.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] was watching [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s octagon debut at UFC 268 – and it went exactly as he predicted.

That’s not an exaggeration, either. Adesanya (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) called Pereira (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) would finish Andreas Michailidis with a knee in their middleweight matchup this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Normally Adesanya’s thoughts on a debuting fighter in his division wouldn’t be particularly newsworthy. Pereira is a unique case, though, because he holds two kickboxing victories over the UFC’s current 185-pound one, with one being the lone knockout loss of Adesanya’s combat sports career.

In a new UFC 268 reaction video on Adesanya’s personal YouTube channel, he shared footage of himself watching the fight live, where Pereira stuffed takedown attempted for the first round before landing a flying knee knockout at the 0:18 mark of Round 2.

“It’s pretty much like me and (Derek) Brunson – he’s trying to find a way (to take him down) cause he’s scared of the striking,” Adesanya said. “Cause you know he’s going to shoot, well-timed knee just straight up. Bang. There it is. I thought he was going to do it when he shot in, but I didn’t think he was going to fly at him.”

Pereira, 34, was repeatedly asked about getting a fight against Adesanya, 32, in the UFC prior to making his debut. He kept humble and said his lone goal is to win the title. If he happens to cross paths with “The Last Stylebender” as a consequence of chasing that dream, he would be happy to face his former foe again.

It remains to be seen how UFC matchmakers opt to handle Pereira going forward. Adesanya agreed with one of his friends in the video that the likes of Brunson and Marvin Vettori would pose stylistic issues to Pereira, who still has just five MMA fights despite a wealth of kickboxing experience that includes a GLORY title.

The champion is seemingly hoping for Pereira to find success, though. Adesanya is coming off a title defense against Vettori at UFC 263 in June, and is expected to rematch Robert Whittaker in February, though it’s not official.

Pereira represents fresh blood, and given his history with Adesanya, he’d create a compelling storyline as a challenger. Adesanya rubbed his fingers in a money-making motion as Pereira conducted his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, and he made it clear it’s something he wants.

“We talked about this like two days ago,” Adesanya said. “We need something new. Especially after you lap the division again. … Good job Pereira, that was nice. One thing I notice is everyone always holds on to that win he has over me like it’s the be-all-end-all. I hope he does well. I hope he does well through the ranks. In the next four fights, I hope to see him. They’ll show you the knockout, but they won’t show you what happened before the finish. I hurt him, but I only throw (hands) because I was infiltrated by other people’s thoughts. But that was when I was younger. Not anymore. It’s different now. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

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5 biggest takeaways from UFC 268: Will Colby Covington ever become UFC champion?

Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 268, which took place Saturday in New York City.

What mattered most at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden in New York City? Here are a few post-fight musings …

UFC 268 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Venum era total passes $5 million

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.

NEW YORK – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 268 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $325,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 268 took place at the Madison Square Garden. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 268 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Al Iaquinta[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Williams[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Chris Barnett[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Gian Villante[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Dustin Jacoby[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]John Allan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Bruno Souza[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ode Osbourne[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2021 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,112,500
Program-to-date total: $5,112,500

UFC 268 results: Alex Pereira KO’s Andreas Michailidis with insane flying knee to win debut

Former kickboxing champion Alex Pereira successfully debuts in the UFC with flying-knee KO of Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268.

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]’s UFC run is off to a great start.

The former two-division Glory kickboxing champion had a spectacular UFC debut at Saturday’s UFC 268. Pereira (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) knocked out [autotag]Andreas Michailidis[/autotag] with a flying knee in the second round of their middleweight contest.

The middleweight bout closed out the UFC 268 preliminary card at Madison Square Garden in New York. It aired on ESPNews following additional prelims on ESPN+ and ahead of the main card on pay-per-view.

In the first round, Pereira was put on defensive mode for pretty much the entire round. Michailidis pressured him and looked to take him down. Michailidis briefly got a takedown, but for the most part he controlled Pereira against the cage. In the few breaks that were presented, Pereira was unable to get his striking going.

Things quickly changed in the second round. Just seconds in, Pereira leaped in the air and caught Michailidis (13-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) with a flying knee that sent him straight to the canvas. The Brazilian followed up with a couple of ground-and-pound shots to finish the fight.

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Pereira is the only man to have knocked out UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He holds kickboxing wins over Adesanya having outpointed him in a decision in 2016 and then knocked him out just a year later in 2017. The Brazilian has four consecutive wins. His only loss came in his MMA debut back in 2015.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 268 results include:

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