Alex Pereira has sent a cryptic message to his fans in Sydney that has speculation rife for his octagon return.
The light-heavyweight champion sprung into action on short notice twice in 2024 as he defended his title three times with major knockout wins. Since stopping Khalil Rountree Jr at UFC 307, he has been enjoying a much-needed break from action.
But he appeared to tease a return to action in a new social media post, and that could come as soon as February at UFC 312 in Sydney.
- Who is Alex Pereira? Get to know the MMA brawler as he lands yet another massive KO at UFC 307
Alex Pereira teases UFC 312 return in social media video
After a few months out of action recovering from a more difficult outing than expected in October, Alex Pereira appears to be getting itchy knuckles again. He is constantly in the news participating in various events and viral memes, but is also always training at a high level.
And the Brazilian took to Instagram last night to share a video for his Australian fans. The short clip has fans speculating that he might join Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland on the pay-per-view card, which takes place on February 8.
In the video, Pereira can be seen hitting the heavy bag before telling viewers in Portugese: “Happy New Year Australia, I miss you, I hope you’re all well. See you in February, Chama!” He captioned the video: “See you soon Sydney Australia! CHAMA.”
Alex Pereira has called for title fight with Dricus Du Plessis
While he may not be coming for a fight of his own this time, Alex Pereira could be scouting out a future opponent. As a former middleweight champion, it had seemed his journey in the division was over after he lost his belt and moved up to light-heavyweight.
However, since Dricus Du Plessis has won the belt, he has been eyeing up a move back down in weight. After the South African defeated Israel Adesanya in July, Pereira teased a potential bout, saying: “I’m focused on my next fight and I’m going prepared but you never know what can happen.
“So regardless of the result I want to go down one more time to the middleweight and go for the belt. Hey Dricus, bring your will to fight me so you can prove that you are better than me, with your public statement it is easy to make this happen, Chama.”
Dricus Du Plessis reacts to Alex Pereira callout
For his part, Du Plessis has agreed to the idea, but would rather come up in weight and fight for a second world title. He noted that he would rather his opponents have no excuses about the division, and knowing how big Pereira is he can see them coming from a mile away.
“I honestly don’t think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185,” he said directly after the Adesanya fight. “If he wants to, great, perfect. But then we’re going to hear the excuses. I saw Izzy stiff that man in the first round.
“I felt Izzy’s punching power tonight. Izzy has great timing, he’s fast, he’s long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power.
“If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be in there with me, especially not when you’ve got to come in there with the excuses, ‘Oh, I cut too much weight.’ That’s going to happen. Everybody’s going to say it.”
- Who is Dana White? All you need to know about the CEO and President of the UFC