Alex Pereira spars with Brazilian UFC legend Rodrigo Nogueira to prepare for Khalil Rountree challenge at UFC 307
It appears as though Alex Pereira has brought in more reinforcements for his upcoming title defense as he uploaded a video of his sparring session with UFC legend Rodrigo Nogueira. He is scheduled to make his third title defense against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 on Oct. 5.
The reigning light heavyweight champion sparring with 'Minotauro' is quite interesting as the Brazilian MMA legend was known for his exceptional grappling. He is very well respected among the MMA community, especially among the Brazilian fighters for his legacy in the sport. 'Poatan', on the other hand, is known for his elite-level striking and has shared videos of himself working on improving his grappling with the likes of Kayla Harrison.
House of Fight shared a video from 'Poatan's Instagram story, which showed him sparring with Nogueira. Pereira uploaded the two of them working on striking, so it's unclear whether the light heavyweight champion worked with him on his grappling as well. They wrote:
"Alex Pereira sparring with former interim UFC heavyweight champion MMA legend Rodrigo Nogueira"
Check out House of Fights' tweet below:
Alex Pereira expresses interest in regaining middleweight championship after Khalil Rountree bout
In addition to sharing content from his sparring session with MMA legend Rodrigo Nogueria, Alex Pereira expressed interest in regaining the middleweight championship after his bout against Khalil Rountree.
The reigning light heavyweight champion took to his Instagram account and mentioned that he would like to challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight championship. Pereira has plenty of options at light heavyweight and even heavyweight, so it remains to be seen if he will actually return to 185 pounds. He wrote:
"I'm focused on my next fight and I'm going prepared but you never know what can happen, so regardless of the result, I want to go down one more time to the middleweight [division] and go for the belt. Hey Dricus, bring your will to fight me so you can prove that you are better than me, with your public statement it is easy to make this happen. Chama."
Check out Alex Pereira's comments below: