Junior dos Santos: Alex Pereira has ideal matchup for heavyweight debut
· Yahoo Sports
Junior dos Santos expects Alex Pereira to have great success in his heavyweight debut. | Getty/UFC
Former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos had his final Octagon appearance against Ciryl Gane at UFC 256 in December 2020.
With fellow Brazilian Alex Pereira scheduled to face Gane in the co-main event of UFC White House on June 14, dos Santos offered some insight as to what fans can expect in the interim heavyweight title bout.
“First of all, I would advise ‘Poatan’ to the take care with the illegal blows,” joked dos Santos, who complained about Gane an illegal elbow to the back of his head following their bout.
As for the fight itself, “Cigano” believes the Pereira will have advantage.
“There couldn't have been a better fight for ‘Poatan´s’ debut at heavyweight,” he said. “Ciryl Gane will be a great challenge, as he is very fast and skilled for a heavyweight. But I think ‘Poatan’s' style will confuse him. ‘Poatan’ goes on the offensive mode all the time and is always cutting angles, circling and gradually breaking down his opponents. Gane doesn't have the heavyweight punch, and ‘Poatan’ does. I believe Alex will win and make history by being the first athlete to be champion in three different divisions.”
Netflix Negotiations
Dos Santos, who is currently the Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA heavyweight champion, confirmed that he was in talks for a fight against Jailton Almeida on the Most Valuable Promotions “Rousey vs. Carano” card that will air on Netflix.
"I think it would be a great fight, but unfortunately he had signed with a Russian promotion,” dos Santos said.
However, “Cigano” is still in negotiations to compete on the May 16 card against a different opponent.
“What I can say is that the names we are discussing are from the new generation,” he said. “But actually I dont choose opponents. If I could ,I would choose the champion. And I'm very excited about this MVP. I think they're necessary for the world of combat sports. They have no barriers. They move through boxing, MMA, wrestling. And that's what the fans like. This next event in LA will be in MMA rules, but I've never hidden my desire to do boxing matches. So I'm very excited to participate in this new promotion.”
Visit afrikasportnews.co.za for more information.