Pereira Reveals His Expected Weight For Heavyweight Debut

Alex Pereira (13-3) has revealed he expects to weigh approximately 242 pounds for his interim heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane (13-2, 1 NC) at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, after peaking at 258 pounds during his training camp before gradually cutting back down.

“Around 242 pounds. Not too heavy, I was heavier before though. I got up to 258 pounds and then I gradually started cutting back down,” Pereira said

Pereira had been considering a move to heavyweight for some time, with talks about the transition dating back to January when the UFC first debuted on Paramount. The timing aligned with heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall’s continued absence due to an eye injury, prompting the UFC to pursue an interim title fight with Pereira. Alex felt now was the right time to move up to heavyweight.

“Well, I think the right moment is now. At certain points before it would have felt a bit forced. Not now. Now it’s happening very naturally, in a perfect fight. This fight was supposed to happen earlier, at the first event of the year but for a few reasons it didn’t happen and now this has become a big moment,” Pereira added