Francis Ngannou rains praise on "tough dude" Alex Pereira: "This guy is big, solid"
Alex Pereira last competed when he defeated Jiri Prochazka via second-round TKO to defend his light heavyweight title for the second time. 'Poatan' will enter the octagon for the third time in 2024 when he faces Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in October. Additionally, the light heavyweight champion was recently called out by Jake Paul, who expressed interest in a potential boxing match.
During a recent appearance on BS w/ Jake Paul, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou was asked about a potential matchup between the two, stating:
"He's tough, dude, he has some tough hands. I think you're going to get some tough nights. I mean, he is a big size guy... This guy is big, solid, and he's mean. He walks straight to you like, 'I'm going to eat this guy'"
Check out Francis Ngannou's comments on Alex Pereira below (starting from 1:13:05):
Pereira has shown tremendous knockout power since making his promotional debut at UFC 268 in November 2021. He is 8-1 in that span, registering six finishes via knockout. While he seemed interested in a potential crossover bout with Paul, it is unlikely to come to fruition.
UFC CEO Dana White has expressed multiple times that he does not support crossover bouts, something that partially led to Ngannou's departure from the promotion. Additionally, he has exchanged words with the social media personality on multiple occasions, making it hard to envision the two working together.
Michael Bisping not a fan of Alex Pereira's middleweight plans
Alex Pereira has expressed an interest in moving back to middleweight after facing Khalil Rountree at UFC 307. Michael Bisping recently shared that he is not a fan of those plans, claiming that 'Poatan' has to face Magomed Ankalaev first. Speaking on his self-titled YouTube channel, the UFC Hall of Famer stated:
"If you ever ask [fighters] what they want down the line, they always say, and it's kind of a boring answer, 'oh, I can't look past this guy, Saturday night, this is very, very serious and I'm not looking past this one.' And they're correct to say that, but it's also a bit of a cop-out. It is a little bit. Just have some ba**s and say, 'listen, yeah, I want this guy, that guy, that guy, line them all up, I'll knock them down'."
Bisping continued:
"I like that from Pereira, but he does have some fights because after Khalil - if he's victorious - and that is a big if... after that, he's got to fight Magomed Ankalaev... We want to see great champions - and Alex Pereira is a great champion, make no mistake - we want to see them take on all comers in their division, but also prove that they can beat all of these different types of styles."
Check out Michael Bisping's comments on Alex Pereira below (starting from 2:11):
Bisping claimed that the light heavyweight champion has had an easy path during his time in the UFC, almost exclusively facing strikers. It is unclear if the promotion would be willing to let him compete at middleweight without clearing out his division.