Like it or not, weight-cutting is deeply rooted in mixed martial arts. MMA adopted its weight-cutting from the sport of wrestling, where it is presumed to be advantageous to be the biggest and strongest in your weight class.
Known as the ‘fight before the fight,’ most UFC fighters cut anywhere from 5-25 pounds, with some fighters able to cuts more than 30 pounds. Weight-cutting is the ultimate test of discipline and willpower.
Many fighters in the sport consider it very unprofessional to miss weight and often there is always a risk of a fighter losing a percentage of their fight purse.
In this series, we will shine a light on select fighters who cut a massive amount of weight, who have missed weight multiple times in the past, who have made weight-class changes, along with how the weight-cut and weigh-in could affect possible upcoming matchups.
In short, every aspect of weight-cutting and how it affects the fight game.
Alex “Poatan” Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC)
Middleweight (185lbs.): 4-0 (UFC), 3-1 (MMA)
Middleweight (187.4lbs.): Former 5x Glory Middleweight Kickboxing Champion
Light Heavyweight (209.4lbs.): Former Light Heavyweight Glory Kickboxing Champion and Interim Champion
Alex Pereira is among the best and most decorated strikers in the sport of MMA today and has the perfect frame to display those skills with.
Pereira at 6’4″ tall with an 80″ wingspan is one of the most physically gifted men in the 185lbs. division.
‘Poatan,’ who rehydrates and puts back on anywhere between 25-30lbs before he fights, has one of the most dramatic and well-utilized weight cuts in the sport.
Dominick Reyes and Alex Pereira.
Reyes fights at a weight class 20 lbs heavier than Pereira. pic.twitter.com/5jEKTKKopp
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) August 29, 2022
Pereira’s opponent for UFC 287 and arch-rival, Israel Adesanya, is also listed at 6’4″ tall with an 80″ wingspan, but the two fighters have a very different body composition/type.
The first and second time that Alex and Israel fought against each other was in the sport of kickboxing under the Glory promotional banner in 2016 and 2017. Meanwhile, Pereira and Adesanya’s third fight was in a different sport all together for the UFC Middleweight Championship just last year.
Adesanya has a much lighter/skinnier build so much so that when he first entered the UFC, many fans were even entertaining the idea that he could potentially move down a weight class. While I wouldn’t go that far, Israel has definitely never had a huge problem making 185lbs, often coming in multiple pounds under the weight limit. For example: Weighing 183lbs for his UFC debut in 2018, in 2019 against Kelvin Gastelum, and 183.5lbs in 2021 opposite Marvin Vettori as well as against Jared Cannonier in 2022. And for Israel’s move to 205lbs to challenge then champion, Jan Blachowicz in 2021, he weighed in at only 200.5lbs. Considering Adesanya was intentionally trying to be heavier for this fight, it really illustrates how little the cut is to 185lbs. for the 33-year-old.
Pereira on the other hand is nearly the exact opposite, with his physical build one that is lengthy but very muscular. Under the Glory promotional banner Pereira was a multiple time middleweight champion (first winning it in 2017) and even Glory’s light heavyweight champion (won in 2019). Glory’s weight classes are slightly different than the UFC’s, as they utilize kilograms with their middleweight division being 85kg or 187.4lbs and light heavyweight being 95kg or 209.4lbs.
We have ourselves a main event!!
Alex Pereira makes 184.6lbs for our middleweight title fight #UFC281 | Tomorrow | Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/nzONUJMdiS pic.twitter.com/J3QaakqZ45
— UFC (@ufc) November 11, 2022
Pereira at 185lbs is pretty much as low as he can possibly go, and the lowest he has fought at in his professional combat sports career. It is obviously a very challenging cut for him. Before Pereira’s third fight with Israel Adesanya (and first in MMA) in November of 2022, after rehydrating, the day of the fight Alex weighted about 211lbs. More than 10lbs. heavier than Izzy weighed for his fight against Jan at light heavyweight and almost 27lbs. heavier than his weigh in 24 hours earlier.
Though Pereira doesn’t actually have a reach advantage on Adesanya, he definitely naturally has the advantage in power thanks to just naturally possessing it and being a larger man than his opponent. With that said, and their other three meetings in mind, the weight/weight cut could really affect the outcome of their fourth fight.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie coach, training partner and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Glover Teixeira had this to say about Pereira moving up in weight:
“Eventually he will. We talk about it. He can fight anywhere. Look at this guy. He can fight in any division. He can fight in Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight – he’s big.”
“Eventually I think he’s going to want to do that because the weight cut is a big cut for him. He doesn’t complain. He just keeps going and doing it well, because he likes to be 185, and he felt good. But he can do 205 for sure and eventually it might happen because if he goes up, there are super fights, big fights. I think it’s a possibility.”
Now 35 years old, Pereira, who just seems to be Adesanya’s kryptonite, could potentially have to call upon aspects of his mixed martial arts game that have yet to be as deeply tested as his striking. Aspects of his MMA game such as wrestling and grappling that can be aided by having a weight advantage on your opponent. With that fact in mind, Alex Pereira (even though he has never missed weight) will be a fighter to watch on the scale to see how he healthily he makes it thru his difficult weight cut.
