LAS VEGAS – Alex Pereira is a man of few words, but clearly, his confidence does not lack.
Three days out from his UFC 313 main event Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) admits his stock may never have been higher. A global superstar who may be the promotion’s big active cash cow not named Jon Jones, Pereira embraces the tag.
“I believe so,” Pereira told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at a news conference Wednesday, when asked if he’s the sport’s biggest star. “I had a busy year with great success. I just keep doing this work, and I believe so.”
Given his current standing in the sport, Pereira recognizes the attention and finances that a super fight could bring him. While he affirmed he’s not overlooking his upcoming opponent Magomed Ankalaev, Pereira admitted there are multiple lucrative options should he get past the surging Russian.
“I’m not looking past ahead,” Pereira said. “A lot of these things haven’t even came into my mind. But what I think for the future what I have in hand is either Dricus (Du Plessis) or Jon Jones or even fighting Oleksandr Usyk in boxing. Those, I see possibly happening. It doesn’t depend on me. It depends on the UFC. So whatever the UFC wants to do, I’ll do it.”
Arguably the biggest obstacle between him and the hypothetical fights he spoke of is Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC), who many followers of the sport think should be Pereira’s toughest stylistic test to date. Pereira understands the intrigue.
“Absolutely, if I was in the same position that I could watch this fight,” Pereira said. “Basically or theoretically, it’s a striker vs. a grappler. So if I was a fan, I’d actually want to watch the fight. As a fighter, I want to fight the fight. … He’s a complete fighter, not only a wrestler. He has skills everywhere. But I’m prepared, too. I’ve been training wrestling, grappling, since before I joined the UFC, since I first came to Connecticut to Glover Teixeira. I came there to be an MMA fighter and I’m ready for this.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
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