Heavyweight boxer Zhilei Zhang was so impressed with Alex Pereira’s skills that he wants to train with him for his next fight.
As UFC light heavyweight champion Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira poises a big-money move up to heavyweight, the iconic Chinese boxer has given his ‘Big Bang’ official seal of approval.
Alex Pereira meets with fans at children’s hospital in new YouTube video
During his visit to the Melbourne Children’s Hospital, Alex Pereira visited with a number of kids suffering from different illnesses. He brought along his two UFC belts, and posed for photos and signed autographs while also taking questions from the children.
Alex Pereira visited a cancer hospital and met some young fans
“We have moments of joy and sadness, this moment was very difficult for me. I visited the cancer hospital and this boy trained Muay Thai and was prevented from continuing due to cancer.”
IG / @AlexPereiraUFC… pic.twitter.com/qmvjUTu9Hp
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 12, 2024
He met one fan who had watched him knock out Israel Adesanya in 2022, as well as a number of others from around the world who were being treated. Explaining his reasoning for the video, he said in Portugese and translated by YouTube: “Now we will be visiting a hospital with kids who have cancer.
“I think it’s a very important, difficult moment trying to bring some happiness to the kids, they are always watching us through the TV and we are present there with them. I hope it will give them some strength.”
Alex Pereira moved to tears after shaving fan’s head at cancer hospital
Perhaps the most touching moment of the video was when a young fan met Pereira and asked him if he would be willing to shave his hair. The youngster noted that since he was bound to lose his hair anyway due to his treatments, he would be honoured if the UFC champion would do the cut.
“Alex, would you be able to shave my head?” The fan asked. “I’m going to lose it, if anyone shaves it I’d love it to be you.” Pereira agreed, and the pair posed for photos as he shaved his head, leading the pair to both be sporting the same haircuts.
While going through the process, the fan added that Pereira’s “story has been really inspiring.” He also noted that he had been training in Muay Thai before his cancer diagnosis, which put a stop to his plans in the sport.”
He also noted that Pereira is one of his idols, and thanked him for shaving his head and giving him a signed photo. The fighter then said that he was “sending strength to him,” and remarked that it was a “difficult moment, hard to speak.”
“I have my two sons,” Pereira explained. “I thank God, it’s hard, man.” As he began to tear up, the supporter told his team that “I know that I’ll be able to get through it because he got through it.”
Alex Pereira moving towards UFC comeback later this year
‘Poatan’ has already fought twice on short notice in 2024, defending his belt against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 and Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303. Now, he wants to enjoy some downtime before having one last outing before the turn of the year.
He is already engaged for the month of October, but would be willing to compete in November or December, with two pay-per-view events left in the year. UFC 309 is already set for Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden, while it is rumoured that UFC 310 will take place in Las Vegas.
There are whispers of Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler headlining at the T-Mobile Arena for that year-end event. But with that bout still very much in limbo, there is a chance that Pereira could fill that slot.
It is believed that the Brazilian will face top contender Magomed Ankalaev, with whom he has already begun a verbal back-and-forth in the media. “When I return, it won’t be now,” Pereira said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“I want to rest a little, evolve my training. But I think December would be a good date for me. November or December. But before November I don’t want to return. I want to rest and evolve.
Zhilei Zhang talks sparring session with UFC champion Alex Pereira
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on Wednesday’s episode of The MMA Hour, Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang recalled what it was like to spar with former UFC middleweight and now-light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
“We sparred once [for] 4 rounds, so that day it was 12 rounds for me, and I had two guys before Alex went in the ring,” explained the colossal Chinese bruiser, adding how “He’s [Alex Pereira] a good boxer.
“I can tell you he has good reflections; he has good speed and good power. I watch him fight a lot, in UFC, he kind of dominates everybody standing, and striking.”
Whilst Pereira himself has a host of potential next opponents waiting in the wings, including Polish powerhouse Jan Blachowicz and Russian wrestler Magomed Ankalaev, ‘Poatan’ has also teased a move up to heavyweight.
Poignantly, Zhang believes that Pereira would find the same success at the higher weight class as he found at both 185lbs and 205lbs, simply stating: “I think he has it… I think he has the power to translate to heavyweight.”
In fact, Pereira moved so well in front of the heavyweight boxer that the 41-year-old would like to retain the Brazilian superstar for his next training camp, stating that “I would love to welcome him to my camp and learn from each other.”
And that’s not just politeness on the part of Zhang, having told Mirror Fighting pretty much the same thing in an interview just after the sparring session took place back in May 2023.
“It was great to share the ring with him. I think it is a great opportunity for me to learn what is outside of the boxing ring and improve my skill on the other side.
“He is a great UFC fighter and I look at it as a learning process. We both learn from each other, and he is a great guy.”
Alex Pereira himself also reacted to the sparring shortly before his title rematch with Israel Adesanya, writing on X: “What a sparring! After 4 rounds with Zhilei Zhang I’m very confident for my next fight. It was a hard and dangerous sparring – exactly what I needed.”
The last man to beat Alex Pereira before UFC sends ‘Poatan’ a warning
Whilst Alex Pereira’s next opponent will likely be one of either Blachowicz or Ankalaev, there’s another of Poatan’s old rivals waiting patiently in the wings for his chance to make a lightning-fast ascent up the UFC rankings.
In an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, former GLORY kickboxing champion Artem Vakhitov teased, “For sure I want Alex Pereira and everybody is interested in that and there has been a lot of media attention around this.
“Everybody knows Pereira clearly cleaned out all of the division and has stopped all of them,” he said of the light-heavyweight division.
“Potentially now there’s only one opponent left, Magomed Ankalaev. I’m sure that the organization are very interested in getting me as soon as possible for this fight because now they need someone to stop him.
“The same situation was with Adesanya, so they just wanted to get someone who could stop Adesanya and Pereira came and did that. I think that could work for me as well.”
Whilst MMA fans have become accustomed to seeing Pereira in action every few months, the Brazilian kickboxing also recently hinted that he’d like some well-deserved rest and recovery ahead of a November or December return.
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