Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira has moved up to light heavyweight, a decision that his coach and mentor Glover Teixeira enthusiastically supports, commenting on Pereira’s weight cut struggles and anticipating his upcoming fight against Jan Blachowicz.
Glover Teixeira, a top figure in the UFC, has recently expressed his enthusiasm regarding former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira’s decision to move up to the light heavyweight division. He believes that this transition couldn’t have come at a better time. Teixeira stated that he told Pereira, “I love it that you’re going to light heavyweight”, because he didn’t want to see him losing so much weight. He also added that Pereira is around 230 pounds now with approximately eight percent body fat and the amount of weight he was cutting to stay in the 185-pound division was not healthy.
Pereira’s debut in the new division will take place at UFC 291 on July 29 in Salt Lake City. His opponent will be former champion Jan Blachowicz, who Teixeira ironically defeated to earn his title in October 2021 during UFC 267. Named ‘Poatan’ in the ring, Pereira previously earned the middleweight gold by defeating Israel Adesanya in the fifth round at UFC 281 in November. However, he suffered a knockout loss in the rematch against Adesanya in the following April at UFC 287.
Teixeira finished his UFC career in January when he succumbed to a unanimous decision defeat against Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 283 for the vacant lightweight title. Teixeira served as the mentor and coach for Pereira. The 43-year-old Teixeira expresses his enthusiasm to see one of his most promising students reclaim the title for their team in a possible matchup with Hill. However, Teixeira insisted that their current focus is on the imminent bout with formidable opponent Jan Blachowicz.
Teixeira is confident about Pereira’s chances against Hill, claiming it’s a suitable style matchup for Pereira. However, he made it clear that they are not discounting Blachowicz’s potential as a dangerous and hard-hitting opponent. He also mentioned that if everything goes according to their plan and Pereira manages to defeat Blachowicz, he anticipates an amazing fight between Pereira and Hill. The gesture of good sportsmanship, Teixeira added that there’s nothing personal against Hill and he’s a great fighter.