Brazilian fighter Alex Pereira has made history in the UFC. During the pay-per-view event UFC 295 on Saturday (November 11), Pereira became the fastest fighter to earn two championships in UFC history.
It only took Pereira seven fights to reach the milestone. This makes him only the ninth two-division champion in UFC history and the only fighter who has won titles in the middleweight and light heavyweight ranks.
“Thanks to everyone who was rooting for me,” Pereira wrote on social media. “Never give up on your dreams!”
“It’s incredible,” said UFC CEO Dana White during a post-fight news conference. “I don’t know about an all-time great [yet]. But it’s incredibly impressive what he’s done in a short amount of time.”
Pereira captured the UFC light heavyweight belt Saturday night by beating his opponent, Jiri Prochazka, in the second round by TKO. Some critics thought the fight was stopped prematurely. Both Pereira and Prochazka disagreed that the fight should have continued.
“I’m not surprised after the first left hook,” Pereira said. “He fell down on my legs, and I looked for the finish. I don’t think it was a bad stoppage.” Prochazka added: “I think it was right. I was out. But you know, I will never stop.”
Pereira won the middleweight belt at UFC 281 in November 2022 when he beat Israel Adesanya via TKO.
Five months later at UFC 287, Adesanya regained the belt from Pereira with KO in the second round.
After his win Saturday, Alex Pereira called out Adesanya to move up to the light heavyweight division and meet him for a third UFC fight. Pereira and Adesanya have also met in the kickboxing ring with Pereira winning both matches.
