Middleweight champion Alex Pereira’s new contract with Glory includes provision for MMA bouts

MMAfighting.com

Glory middleweight champion Alex Pereira has re-signed with the kickboxing promotion, but that doesn’t mean his hopes of competing in mixed martial arts are gone.

With a 29-6 record and 17 knockout wins in kickboxing, including a couple of victories over UFC star Israel Adesanya, “Poatan” has inked another deal with Glory. This time, Pereira’s contract also includes a provision that he can compete in MMA fights, provided he obtains written permission from GLORY in advance, MMA Fighting has learned.

Pereira, who holds a 2-1 record in MMA, has reigned as Glory middleweight champion since Oct. 2017, having defended the throne three times.

”I’m really happy with my new contract and I will continue to defend my Glory world middleweight championship for a long time to come,” Pereira stated. “I am doubly-focused now and my opponents really need to prepare themselves for the worst when we get in the ring.

“I’m proud to be a Glory fighter and I am proud also to represent Brazil on the world stage and play my part in growing the sport in Brazil. With my new management team around me, I can do anything. A lot of us in Brazil live a hard reality but I am living proof that everyone has a chance to make something of themselves in life. I’m doing this for us all.”

According to Glory, Pereira’s next title defense “will be announced in the near future,” but the Brazilian already has his eyes set on a potential opponent.

”Jason Wilnis should be my next opponent,” Pereira said. “We fought twice. The first time I got scared a little bit, I wasn’t really an athlete yet. The second time I think I won, but the judges did not, so this fight brings an extra element, both technical and personal. I know I will knock him out.”

Speaking with MMA Fighting last November, Pereira said he hoped for a chance to return to mixed martial arts and maybe score another win over Adesanya, who now prepares to challenge Kelvin Gastelum for the interim middleweight title in the UFC. “Poatan”, who was part of Anderson Silva’s camp for his recent UFC 234 clash with Adesanya, could get that chance with Glory’s approval.

”When I fought Adesanya (in kickboxing), I only had 20 or so fights and he had 80. If I were to think like that, I would have been crazy to fight him, and I beat him twice,” Pereira says. “I’m sure I can do a good job in MMA. I’m not young, of course. To become a complete, well-rounded fighters, it would take me 10 years, but I’m evolving every day I train, and I evolve fast. I’m stronger than (Adesanya). At the weigh-ins, I would tell him ‘if you take me to the ground, I’ll know you’re scared of my hands.’ And I’m no fool on the ground.”