UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo has advised fellow countryman Alex Pereira to return to light heavyweight after his knockout defeat to Ciryl Gane in the UFC Freedom 250 co-headliner.
In his heavyweight debut, ‘Poatan’ was caught by a stiff jab in the second round that dropped him to the canvas. Gane followed up with a series of devastating blows that ended the Brazilian’s hopes of becoming a three-division champion. In the aftermath, Pereira took issue with referee Herb Dean for failing to prevent Gane’s illegal strikes to the back of his head.
After Pereira’s failed attempt at capturing interim heavyweight gold, Aldo has tipped the 38-year-old to continue his domination at light heavyweight. Speaking exclusively to Covers.com, the former featherweight kingpin stated:
“Should Potan return to light heavyweight? Today, that would be my advice. Alex has the perfect build for light heavyweight. He has the strength, power and knockout ability to dominate that division.
On top of that, I don’t see today’s light heavyweights at the same level as the light heavyweights of the past. When I think back to names like Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans, Quinton Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, Maurício Shogun and Lyoto Machida, it was an incredibly deep division.
Then Jon Jones arrived and beat almost all of them. Today I don’t see the same level of difficulty in the division. That’s why, if Alex returns to light heavyweight, I still believe he’ll be one of the leading favourites to win the belt.”
Aldo continued:
“First, talking about Alex Pereira as a person, I think he’s a fantastic guy. Not just me, I think almost every Brazilian supports him because of his charisma, simplicity, and humility.
Everyone wanted to see him win. I certainly did. Especially because of all the work he’s done alongside Glover Teixeira. The two of them have built a remarkable journey in this sport.
After the fight, Alex himself said that he had to take risks. That’s part of who he is. Sometimes in his career, he’s taken risks and won; other times he’s taken risks and lost. You have to respect that.”
Aldo favored Gane to defeat Pereira despite rooting for the Brazilian. He said:
“Now, from a technical standpoint, my analysis was different from my support. If you’d asked me where I’d put my money, I’d have said Ciryl Gane.
A lot of people looked at Alex Pereira’s weight gain and assumed that solved everything. But gaining weight doesn’t automatically make you a natural heavyweight. Gane is an athlete built for that division. He’s big, athletic, quick, and incredibly mobile.
We’ve seen that before. Francis Ngannou tried to take him down. Junior dos Santos, who had some of the heaviest hands in the division, also had difficulties against him. So it was never just a matter of Alex landing one punch.
When you move up that much in weight, you lose speed. You become slower and easier to hit. You can’t strike and move the way you did in the lighter weight classes.
That’s why I saw the advantage being with Gane. He was constantly moving in and out, gliding around the Octagon and managing distance brilliantly. He’s a modern heavyweight.”
However, the King of Rio believes Alex Pereira could adapt to heavyweight in the long run, but is running out of time at 38. Aldo concluded:
“But I do believe that, over the long term, Alex could adapt to heavyweight. He has more than enough talent to do it.
The problem is time. At his current age, I don’t know whether there’s enough time to make the physical transformation required to become a true natural heavyweight.
Against Gane, the physical difference was obvious. Gane looked like a legitimate heavyweight, athletic and light on his feet. Alex still looked like someone in the middle of an adaptation process.
That’s why I already viewed Gane as the favourite before the fight even happened. When you look at Gane’s record, it becomes clear. His loss to Francis Ngannou happened much more because of a tactical mistake than because he was technically inferior. And his other defeat was to Jon Jones, who, for me, is the greatest fighter of all time. So I never saw this loss as something shocking for Alex.”
Alex Pereira Faces Major Decision After Heavyweight Gamble Backfires
Jose Aldo’s statement is not without merit. Alex Pereira began his UFC career competing at 185 pounds, making the jump to the heavyweight limit of 265 pounds a significant leap. It remains to be seen whether Pereira and his team decide to move back down to 205 pounds or continue chasing the heavyweight dream.
Alex Pereira has also hinted at a potential retirement on social media, admitting that he is “afraid” to return to the octagon after the illegal blows controversy in his last outing. He stated:
“Honestly, I’m afraid to go back to fighting with all this going on. I think I’ve already done my part.”
Check out Alex Pereira’s comments below:
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