Alex Pereira’s continued success in the UFC has caught the imagination of fighters across the sport, including a man who could one day share the Octagon with the Brazilian knockout artist.
UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is preparing to face Curtis Blaydes in a defence of his belt in the co-main event of UFC 304 in Manchester later this month. And, chatting to Prime Casino about Pereira, he revealed his huge respect for “Poatan” and his accomplishments in the sport so far.
“I think as an elite athlete, you have to look at other elite athletes and really appreciate what they are doing,” he said.
“Regardless of whether or not I am going to fight Alex or not, and we don’t know that right now, I am incredibly inspired by him.”
Pereira has already won UFC titles in two weight classes, and after his second-round finish of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 last weekend, the Brazilian made clear his desire to move up to heavyweight and test himself against the biggest and the best in a bid to capture a UFC belt in an unprecedented third division.
That could mean a collision with Aspinall, who is considered by many to be the cream of the UFC’s heavyweight class. He holds the interim belt, while former light heavyweight king and pound-for-pound great Jon Jones holds the undisputed title. However, Jones’ path is taking him down the legacy route, and a planned matchup with former two-time heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, while Aspinall is left to take on the top-ranked fighters in the division.
If Pereira arrived in the UFC’s heavyweight division, potential bouts with both Jones and Aspinall could be on the table, and Aspinall said he’d relish the opportunity to face the former two-division GLORY world kickboxing champion in the Octagon.
“I think what he has done is great, in such a short space of time, and it is truly remarkable and I really respect what he has done,” he said.
“But I am a competitor and, as I have said, I absolutely love competing.
“Stick me in a cage, stick a pair of gloves on him, stick a pair of gloves on me and there’s nowhere else in the world I would rather be. That’s what I want to do, so I think it is pretty obvious that elite fighters like me and him love this stuff.
“So we all want to fight each other, but I think as an athlete and as a person, you just have to really respect him for what he has done because it is remarkable and it is amazing.”
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