Michael Bisping explains how 185lbs. cut affected Alex Pereira's ability to take a punch
Alex Pereira faced Israel Adesanya for the fourth time at UFC 287. Prior to the bout, 'Poatan' had a 3-0 lead against the Nigerian-New Zealander dating back from their kickboxing days all the way to their first clash in MMA.
Despite the trio of wins, almost every clash saw the Brazilian's rocked on the feet at one point or another. That was the case at UFC 287.
With Pereira's move to light heavyweight all but confirmed, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping offered his thoughts on how the cut to 185 pounds might have impacted the Brazilian's ability to take a punch due to how weight cuts dehydrate the body.
In a YouTube video, the Englishman pointed out that Pereira is a massive middleweight who cuts a tremendous amount of weight. Bisping suggested that the massive weight cut the Brazilian undergoes negatively impacts him as a whole, but most prominently chips away at his ability to absorb damage:
"They drain you, they sap you, they affect your stamina, they affect your recovery, they affect the training camp because you can’t eat carbohydrates, and you can’t recover from one session to the next. You get tired as the fights go on and more importantly, they affect your ability to take a punch."
With that, the logical inference is that Alex Pereira won't suffer from these same drawbacks at light heavyweight as he won't be drained by such a signifcant weight cut.
This, according to Michael Bisping, could make the Brazilian more dangerous:
"He will be a bigger, better, stronger, more stamina, fitter, higher output, and could take a better shot. And he better be able to take a better shot at 205 because they do hit harder."
Catch the full video below:
What happened to Alex Pereira at UFC 287?
At UFC 287, Alex Pereira sought to put the nail in the coffin on his rivalry with Israel Adesanya.
Last year, the Brazilian handed 'The Last Stylebender' his first UFC middleweight loss to capture the 185-pound crown. Many expected 'Poatan' to continue his win streak against him.
Instead, 'The Last Stylebender' scored a brutal second-round knockout to snap his losing streak against the Brazilian. The nature of the knockout, as well as how frequently Pereira gets rocked whenever he fights Adesanya, left many wondering if his weight cut to 185 pounds drained him too much.
Slow motion shot of the Israel Adesanya's KO over Alex Pereira at UFC 287 https://t.co/j6n4aGVmKr
After the Brazilian's loss, Dana White hinted at a move to light heavyweight for the former titleholder. Not long afterwards, Alex Pereira himself confirmed his move.