Now that gentle heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is now not competing within the middleweight division, former titleholder Robert Whittaker has change into a fan of the Brazilian.
Pereira is a fight sports activities veteran with 40 skilled kickboxing bouts. He arrived within the UFC in November 2021, largely recognized to combined marital arts followers because the man that beat Israel Adesanya twice in kickboxing. In his fourth UFC bout he grew to become the man that held three wins over “The Final Stylebender” and captured the middleweight title.
After dropping to Adesanya within the rematch, Pereira moved up a weight class and received the 205-pound championship in his second battle within the division. He efficiently defended the belt at UFC 300 towards former champion Jamahal Hill. Pereira knocked Hill out within the first spherical.
“My relationship with Alex is bizarre as a result of I personally make it a degree to not like another middleweight simply because they’re potential opponents. I do not need to get to know them that means. I do not need to begin blurring strains between my aspect of the fence and their aspect of the fence. Understandably, it is all enterprise and it is not private however nonetheless I like drawing a line within the sand,” Whittaker mentioned on the MMArcade Podcast.
“Him being a middleweight on the time put him on my radar in that respect. However then he moved to gentle heavy and he is doing his factor in gentle heavy. The longer he is in hight heavy the extra I am beginning to just like the man,” Whittaker continued. “The extra I am beginning to like the best way he approaches fights. I’ve received to say, he is received to be one of many coolest fighters in the meanwhile for my part.
“His walkout is simply so stoic and powerful. Even that bow and arrow factor that he does with the scream is so cool. After which we have a look at his precise preventing prowess. The dude is only a phenom within the standup recreation. He is leagues forward of most different, undoubtedly another gentle heavyweight, however most individuals within the recreation I really feel.”
