Alex Pereira is giving up one UFC title in order to pursue an unprecedented third in an effort to cement his UFC legacy.
The legendary Brazilian needed just four UFC fights and a year in the promotion to win his middleweight title back in 2022 when he defeated Israel Adesanya. And after losing that belt, he moved up to light-heavyweight to win a second belt, before making three defences in seven months.
Who wins in the UFC 327 main event?
Does Jiri Prochazka become two-time champion or is it Carlos Ulberg’s time as Pereira drops the belt?
Now, he is making the move to heavyweight, with Dana White confirming via Instagram live tonight that Jiri Porchazka and Carlos Ulberg are set to face off in the main event of UFC 327 for the newly-vacated belt.
Dana White confirms Alex Pereira will vacate his light-heavyweight title as he confirms UFC 327 main event
Dana White has tonight announced that Alex Pereira is stepping away from his 205lb belt, but did not explicitly state the two-time champion’s intention to move up to heavyweight to pursue a third world title. He confirmed other fights for UFC 327 and teased a UFC White House announcement for next week.
In Pereira’s place, former champion Jiri Prochazka will look to claim gold again when he faces top contender Carlos Ulberg in the main event.
The Miami show takes place on April 11 at the Kaseya Center, with Joshua Van making his first flyweight title defense against the surging Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event. It is a star-studded show, with Dominick Reyes and Johnny Walker also involved in light-heavyweight action.
Pereira recently tipped the scales at a whopping 243lb, after starting his octagon career by making the 185lb limit to face Israel Adesanya. He had been called out by Jon Jones when the American was angling for a return at the UFC White House event, but it appears that fight is now off the table.
It is expected that Pereira will face Ciryl Gane for the interim belt, while Tom Aspinall will be given ample time to recover from his double eye surgery before a decision is made on his future.
Tom Aspinall’s eye injury latest
As for Tom Aspinall’s situation, the Brit is being given all the time he needs to recover from his brutal double eye surgery after the incident at UFC 321. In a recent feature for Uncrowned by Petesy Carroll, the severity of his situation was laid bare for readers.
Has the first fight changed your opinion on how Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane 2 plays out?
Let us know in the comments what you made of their short first encounter.
When the article was published, the champion had attempted to hit pads just once since the injury but his vision was such a struggle that he could not train any more.
It remains to be seen how he recovers from what happened in Abu Dhabi, but after waiting 15 months as interim champion he is being given time by the promotion to see if he will be able to fight again. It is expected that Pereira will fight for the interim title, and Aspinall will not be made to vacate.
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