"That guy is scary" - Glover Teixeira is tipping Alex Pereira to be a top middleweight contender in the near future
Glover Teixeira has praised his training partner Alex Pereira and believes he will become one of the top fighters in the UFC middleweight division.
Speaking at UFC 267 media day, Teixeira claimed Pereira is extremely strong, dedicated and is destined for success in MMA.
"That guy is scary you know. He is scary with those four ounce gloves. Very strong, very powerful and very dedicated. He's incredible, man, the way he learned things. This is his first fight in the UFC [UFC 268], probably there's little nerves, little everything. But no doubt he's gonna be one of the top contenders very soon."
Watch Glover Teixeira speak at UFC 267 media day below:
Alex Pereira is the only person to have knocked out UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He accomplished the feat during the duo's kickboxing days. The Brazilian is a former middleweight and light heavyweight champion in the Glory kickboxing promotion.
Pereira is 3-1 in his professional MMA career so far. 'Poatan' will make his UFC debut against Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268 on November 6. The pay-per-view will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Glover Teixeira will headline UFC 267 against Jan Blachowicz on Saturday
Glover Teixeira will have his second UFC light heavyweight title shot in the main event of UFC 267 this weekend, more than seven years after his first opportunity.
The Brazilian lost via unanimous decision to champion Jon Jones at UFC 172 in April 2014. The 41-year-old will square off against Jan Blachowicz this time around.
Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira at a combined 8️⃣0️⃣ years will mark the second-oldest title fight in UFC history.
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The Blachowicz vs. Teixeira bout will be the second oldest title fight in UFC history. In that regard, it will only sit behind the UFC 204 main event between then-middleweight champion Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson.
Jan Blachowicz holds a 28-8 win-loss record in his career so far, while Glover Teixeira is 32-7. Both light heavyweight superstars are currently on five-fight winning streaks in the UFC.
Blachowicz has been the 205-pound champion since UFC 253 last September. He defeated Dominick Reyes via TKO to claim the belt vacated by Jones.