Alex Pereira Rival Questions UFC Star's Preparation for Jump to Heavyweight Division

What do you think of these comments regarding Pereira's weight gain?

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

One of Alex Pereira’s former opponents doesn’t think the UFC star is properly preparing his body for a move to the heavyweight division.

Arguably the biggest name on the UFC roster at the moment, Pereira won the UFC middleweight belt in just his fourth fight with the promotion and later went on to also claim the light heavyweight strap and successfully defend it on three occasions.

The Brazilian’s initial title reign at 205 lbs. was ended by Magomed Ankalaev before Pereira reclaimed the belt in their immediate rematch, but now “Poatan” is set to try and become the first fighter to win UFC belts in three different divisions when he and Ciryl Gane meet for the interim heavyweight championship at “UFC Freedom 250” on June 14.

Artem Vakhitov Questions Alex Pereira's Heavyweight Physique

Pereira regularly teased a move to heavyweight long before the matchup with Gane actually got booked, but his former kickboxing rival Artem Vakhitov believes that the UFC star may be making a mistake by adding what appears to be a considerable amount of mass.

“You can see by his shape that he gained extra weight,” Vakhitov told Emiel Sardarean at last weekend’s GLORY 107 kickboxing event. “He probably thought that it would help him in wrestling. But it won’t play in his favor when it comes to striking. Ciryl Gane is a natural heavyweight. Alex started kickboxing at 85 kilograms, then he went to 93 kilograms, now he looks as big as Ciryl Gane. It will play against him.”

Alex Pereira (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Magomed Ankalaev (red gloves) during UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Vakhitov was the last man to face Pereira in kickboxing, initially dropping a split decision in their first meeting at GLORY 77 before he earned a majority decision in their rematch at GLORY 78 later that year to claim the promotion’s light heavyweight title.

Artem Vakhitov and Alex Pereira met twice in the GLORY kickboxing ring. | (GLORY Kickboxing)

“Poatan” joined the UFC just two months after losing his GLORY belt, despite only having four fights of professional MMA experience. Vakhitov also made the jump to MMA in 2023 and was offered a UFC contract after scoring a first-round finish on Dana White’s Contender Series the following year, but the Russian elected to return to kickboxing and came up short in a heavyweight title bid against Rico Verhoeven at GLORY 100.

Ciryl Gane Aims to Spoil Alex Pereira's Bid at UFC History

Grappling has always been the major question mark around Pereira’s game since he joined the UFC, though only former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Jan Błachowicz has really managed to find any success wrestling against the Brazilian.

Jan Blachowicz (red gloves) fights Alex Pereira (blue gloves) during UFC 291 at Delta Center. | Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images

As noted by Vakhitov, Pereira likely won’t have to be concerned about the prospect of being taken down by Gane when the pair meet at The White House in June. “Bon Gamin” also comes from a Muay Thai and kickboxing background, and the holes in his own grappling game were famously exploited in unexpected fashion when he met Francis Ngannou in a heavyweight title unification bout at UFC 270.

Ciryl Gane (red gloves) and Tai Tuivasa (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Accor Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

The co-main event of “UFC Freedom 250” will mark Gane’s third crack at undisputed UFC gold, and fans won’t have to wait too much longer to see if Vakhitov’s concerns regarding Pereira’s weight have any merit.