Ever since moving up to heavyweight, no fighter has given Alex Pereira more grief than Josh Hokit. From heated call-outs at press conferences to chaotic backstage confrontations, the outspoken heavyweight has repeatedly clashed with the legendary Brazilian. Now, ‘Poatan’ believes Hokit’s UFC future may be in serious doubt.
When asked at the UFC Freedom 250 media day whether he would consider a future showdown with Hokit, Pereira hinted that there were rumors suggesting the American could soon be released from the promotion:
“Honestly, I didn’t even want to talk about [Hokit], but I’m going to make this very clear here. He’s already on the [White House] card; there’s no way to take him off. But I don’t know what his future will be after this fight. Whether he’ll still be part of the organization or not, I really don’t know.”
Pereira added:
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“I’ve already heard some things, but I can’t talk about them. So I don’t need to think about him, because I don’t even know if he’s going to still be around. There is a huge audience there. There are children, there are families, and a lot of things he does and says are very disrespectful.”
Check out Alex Pereira’s comments on Josh Hokit below (8:46):
Hokit has relentlessly targeted Pereira in the build-up to UFC Freedom 250. He first sparked controversy by making inflammatory remarks about ‘Poatan’s’ mother during a press conference for the event, before taking things further with a profanity-laced confrontation in front of Pereira’s father backstage.
Alex Pereira gets 100% real about competing at heavyweight
Heading into Alex Pereira’s heavyweight debut, many have questioned how ‘Poatan’ will carry the extra weight. Will he retain the speed, fluidity, and precision that made him a threat at middleweight and light heavyweight, or will the extra pounds hinder his movement and slow him down in the octagon?
When a reporter posed the same question at the aforementioned press conference, Pereira appeared unfazed by the concerns. The Brazilian insisted that he has long trained at a much higher weight, even during his middleweight days:
“[Bulking up to heavyweight] has been very organic and very quick for me. The weight was never an issue. I already worked very, very heavy. I used to work at 220 [pounds], 230 [pounds] to get down to 185 [pounds]. It always went well… This was the time. It feels great. It’s just natural for me.” [16:09 mark of the interview]
Edited by Ujwal Jain