A recent revelation in the MMA world left the fans in a state of frenzy and arguably for the right reason. As per several reports, Alex Pereira is awarded a black belt in Jiu-jitsu. This news is quite startling because he is primarily a kickboxer and he transitioned to the sport of MMA back in 2015. To win a black belt in such a short period is a phenomenon that is seldom seen. Pereira’s achievement gets even more bizarre when it gets compared with other veterans of the sport, for instance, Demetrious Johnson.
The former UFC champion has been fighting in the sport of MMA for a long time and Jiu-jitsu is one of his biggest weapons. Surprisingly, Johnson is not a black belt yet, and this is what has left the fans stunned.
One fan expressed curiosity to know how and under whom the light-heavyweight champion was awarded a black belt. He said, “Black belt brother who gave him this?”
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Meanwhile, another fan made a satirical comment and blamed it on the height disparity between the two. For the uninitiated, Pereira is 6’4″ tall while Demetrious Johnson stands at 5’3″. The comment read, “Time passes slower for short people that’s why it’s taking Mighty Mouse so long.”
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On the contrary, one fan does not see a problem with ‘Poatan’ getting a black belt. The comment read, “Who needs bjj when you can knock people into the 5th dimension.”
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Last but not least, one fan was simply stunned to see him get the belt and became curious. The tweet read, “Who give him this? Who?”
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Thus, it appears that this news has left the fans at large in splits. Such a reaction was also ignited last year when Conor McGregor was awarded a black belt. In any case, Alex Pereira is a black belt now and this will surely have a big impact on his opponent’s mind for his next fight. But who will he fight next? The light-heavyweight champion himself revealed.
Alex Pereira wants to clear out his division?
Pereira has legitimized himself as a threat to anyone in the division after his recent win. However, he only has one title defense. This is one of the main reasons why he needs to fight more often in the division before moving up in weight. Although Pereira asserted his desire to fight in the light heavyweight division, he did not name-drop anyone. In an interview with MMA Fighting, Pereira said,
“If it’s a longer period of time, I’d obviously rather defend my belt. If it takes too long, and I fight at heavyweight, and there are injuries, when am I going to defend my belt? I don’t want to hold up the division.”