Alex Pereira, the UFC light heavyweight champion, wants to step into the boxing ring with heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk. Pereira shared his ambitions during the UFC 313 Media Day in Las Vegas.
The Brazilian fighter, a former Glory Kickboxing champion, has his hands full right now. He's getting ready to defend his UFC light heavyweight title against Ankalaev at UFC 313. It'll be his fourth title defense in just over a year.
But Pereira's looking beyond the octagon. He's got his sights set on some big names in combat sports.
"In the future I would like to face Dricus du Plessis or Jon Jones, or even Oleksandr Usyk in boxing. I see it as possible, but it's not up to me. It depends on the UFC."
Pereira's excitement about a potential boxing match with Usyk went up a notch when he heard about the new boxing league. Turki Al-Sheikh, Dana White, and the UFC are teaming up to create this new venture.
"I jumped for joy when I saw the news of the creation of a boxing league. Usyk? September, Saudi Arabia... Who knows? I was the first to show interest in that fight. And now we have to see the interest of the UFC. I'll be ready for it."
Usyk, who's unbeaten in professional boxing and beat Tyson Fury twice in 2024, has shown some interest too. He's said before that an exhibition fight with Pereira could be on the cards. Many consider Usyk the best heavyweight boxer of his generation.
The Ukrainian champion plans to retire after two more fights. An exhibition with Pereira could be his last hurrah in the ring.
For now, Pereira's focusing on his upcoming fight at UFC 313. He's aiming to keep his impressive streak going in the UFC. But it's clear he's got big plans for the future, both in and out of the octagon.
