Josh Thomson details advantage Alex Pereira will have competing at light heavyweight

Josh Thomson recently weighed in on Alex Pereira's upcoming move up to 205lbs and his both with former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291.

During Ep #365 of Weighing In, Thomson detailed an advantage Pereira will have competing at light heavyweight. He mentioned that the former middleweight was large for 185 lbs and could have much better performances now that he won't be cutting a drastic amount of weight.

He said:

"The size. I wonder how much he's gonna be able to put back on cause now he doesn't worry about cutting all the weight. I mean, he still has to cut weight, obviously. He's a huge, huge [1]85-pounder; he's still gonna be cutting weight to make 205[lbs]...He's gonna be basically fighting at his walkaround weight." [35:58 - 36:20]

The former Strikeforce lightweight champion also mentioned how he believes Blachowicz will approach the fight with 'Poatan.' Thomson mentioned that the former light heavyweight champion would likely have a similar gameplan to when he fought Israel Adesanya, saying:

"Jan [Blachowicz]...He can wrestle, he showed that against 'Izzy'. I look for him to try to get the takedown early. I don't think he's gonna stand too much, he'll stand a little bit but I don't think he's gonna stand too much." [36:28 - 36:36]

It will be interesting to see how Pereira fares against a former light heavyweight champion and whether he will be able to remain powerful against bigger opponents than he was accustomed to at middleweight.

Check out the full video:

Will Alex Pereira earn a title shot if he defeats Jan Blachowicz?

Alex Pereira has a great opportunity to make an argument for a title shot should he defeat Jan Blachowicz.

The former light heavyweight champion is currently the No.3-ranked light heavyweight, coming off a majority draw with Magomed Ankalaev. If 'Poatan' can earn an impressive and decisive win, a title shot against Jamahal Hill wouldn't be too far-fetched.

The former middleweight champion trains under the tutelage of Glover Teixeira who Hill defeated in what ended up being his final fight for the vacant title. With that in mind, the UFC could capitalize on that narrative and have 'Poatan' challenge Hill in an attempt to achieve double-champ status in both kickboxing and MMA.

🔥Jan Blachowicz will take on Alex Pereira at #UFC291 on July 29th. 205lbs.
[per Dana White]
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