Alex Pereira’s coach reveals UFC champ requested to fight in Perth just minutes after UFC 303 knockout win

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira still wants to fight in Perth at UFC 305 after his latest knockout win last Saturday.

Pereira defeated former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Jiří Procházka by head kick in the UFC 303 main event on Saturday in Las Vegas. After taking the headlining slot on weeks’ notice, Pereira earned one of the biggest wins of his career and successfully defended his belt for the second time.

Pereira’s two wins, just six months into the year, puts him on pace for a potential four bouts by 2024’s end. Leading up to UFC 303, expressed a profound desire to fight at the UFC’s upcoming return to Perth, Australia at UFC 305 in August.

After taking the UFC 303 booking on weeks’ notice, many would assume that Pereira would want some deserved time off. That sentiment appears to not be the case.

Coach: Alex Pereira wants quick turnaround after UFC 303

During a recent interview on The MMA Hour, coach Plinio Cruz explained what Pereira said immediately after UFC 303.

“Alex Pereira is definitely fighting in the second semester of 2024, 100 percent,” Cruz said of Pereira. “The next few months, they’re going to come up with something…this guy’s crazy, maybe that’s why he trained [on Monday]. He said ‘Listen, this is my second sparring for my camp for Perth, I want to fight on that card’. I said ‘No, no, no. Pump the brakes a little bit.’

“I wouldn’t be surprised [if he fights at UFC 305]. He’s crazy, bro. Maybe, you never know.”

UFC 305 on August 17 is headlined by a middleweight title matchup between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya, Pereira’s two-time UFC rival. As of this writing, none of the UFC heads have commented on Pereira’s alleged remarks to his coach.

Pereira has surged into one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world in just a handful of MMA fights. He also hasn’t ruled out a quest to potentially become the UFC’s first three-division champion in a move to heavyweight.

Pereira isn’t slowing down as the second half of 2024 kicks off; and if his back-to-back pay-per-view saving wins are any indication of what’s to come, he might be on his way to fighting in Australia.