"Sometimes, it's not good to knock out in the first round" - Alex Pereira says he's satisfied with decision win over Bruno Silva
GLORY double champion turned MMA fighter Alex Pereira continues to impress in his UFC run, most recently earning a solid decision win over Bruno Silva at UFC Vegas 50.
It was the first time in his relatively short 5-1 mixed martial arts career that Pereira went a full three rounds in the cage. And while some fans may have been hoping for another spectacular highlight reel knockout, Pereira was more than happy to get the octagon experience in. He said:
"So the first one was via knockout and the result was excellent for me. And I'll tell you, I didn't get a knockout in this fight but the result was also perfect. Because I was able to show my game more, you know? Because sometimes it's not good to knock out in the first round. Of course, if I had the opportunity to KO in the first minute I would, right? But the way it happened was better for me. Having Held out for 3 rounds, the 15 minutes ... I managed to show myself more to everyone who still has doubts about my game."
Check out Alex Pereira's full UFC Vegas 50 post-fight interview with translation courtesy of Brazilian MMA Legends.
With a 33-7 record in kickboxing, Pereira certainly doesn't lack experience overall when it comes to combat sports. That might be why he didn't hesitate to call out #2 ranked Jared Cannonier when asked who he'd like to fight in the UFC next.
With Cannonier expected to get the next shot at middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, we don't think that match will come to fruition in the near future. But it certainly tells you that Alex Pereira isn't interested in moving up the ranks slowly.
Alex Pereira holds two wins in kickboxing over Israel Adesanya
As if his kickboxing pedigree wasn't impressive enough, Pereira also earned two victories over Israel Adesanya in 2016 and 2017. Their first fight meeting saw him defeat Adesanya via decision, while the second ended in a knockout win for Pereira that left Adesanya 'crying.'
Watch highlights from that second fight including the KO finish below:
This has led to a lot of interest from fans for a rematch in the UFC, and Pereira certainly wants it. Adesanya is interested as well, telling TSN that it would be a great story. He said:
“I hope so [that he fights Pereira], my coaches don’t think so but I hope so, because that’s the kind of story I like - the guy who finished me in kickboxing, he comes to MMA to try and do the same thing, living off the same clout for the last ten years or whatever it was. I hope so."
It's not a fight that Adesanya is willing to just give to Pereira, though. He'll have to win a few more fights before the champ is willing to seriously entertain the idea. But given how good Alex Pereira has looked in his first two UFC bouts, it's a matchup that may start to look inevitable by the end of 2022.