Alex Pereira doesn’t believe that he was anywhere near his best at UFC 313.
On Saturday night, he will look to avenge the loss that saw him lose the light heavyweight title in March.
Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev engaged in a tense face-off following the UFC 320 press conference on Thursday night in Las Vegas.
Many expect to see a better Pereira this weekend after he has taken some time off to rest and recover before stepping back inside the Octagon.
‘Poatan’ recently made a stunning claim about what he believes he’s truly capable of after assessing his own performance from earlier this year.
Alex Pereira warns that he’d be lethal at 100 percent after being at less than half of that at UFC 313
As Alex Pereira looks to break Daniel Cormier’s record, he’s confident that he’ll produce a much better performance at UFC 320.
A lot was made of the defending champion’s constant activity and how that would impact him before his first fight with Magomed Ankalaev.
Pereira was beaten by Ankalaev at UFC 313, with the Brazilian recently saying on The Brian Campbell Experience that he doesn’t even think he was at half of his potential.
“Honestly, I was about 40% for that fight, on that night,” Pereira said. “And obviously it’s gonna be much more this time. If I’m only 50%, that 10% is gonna make such a great difference. I’m gonna leave no doubt for everybody.”
Pereira was later asked during a fight week interview with the UFC about what he would look like at 100 percent, considering that he was still competitive with his opponent at far less than that.
The former champion responded that no one wants to find out what this would look like.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been at a 100 percent. I think if I was at 100 percent in fighting, I’d probably kill someone.”
Alex Pereira can replicate a UFC legend’s accomplishment at UFC 320
While Alex Pereira’s loss to Magomedov Ankalaev certainly took some of his shine away, it can’t be forgotten what he has accomplished in the UFC.
Recapturing the light heavyweight title and avenging his loss won’t just see ‘Poatan’ regain his status as one of the sport’s top stars.
He’ll also become the second fighter in UFC history to become a three-time champion across two different weight classes.
The only fighter to previously accomplish this feat is Randy Couture, who became the light heavyweight champion by beating Tito Ortiz at UFC 44 in 2003.