UFC’s current and former light heavyweight champions, Alex Pereira & Glover Teixeira are coming together to take on a bigger and more dangerous enemy, No, we’re not talking about any of the UFC’s offerings. Instead, the duo is advocating for Vernon’s opioid abuse prevention program scheduled for Aug. 6 in downtown Rockville, Connecticut.
The MMA icons are slated to be at Vernon’s National Night Out, an annual program devised to tackle the menace of drug abuse in the state. This program, which coincides with the launch of Vernon’s “Connection Beats Addiction,” will get to witness ‘Poatan‘ and Teixeira meeting fans and signing autographs with the sole focus of spreading the word about opioid abuse.
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Tagging Teixeria in their IG post, the town of Vernon publicized the presence of the UFC superstars in their fight against drug abuse. The program’s primary goal is to decrease opioid abuse and other related deaths while focusing on free – treatment, intervention, and harm reduction. On top of it, the community will also help develop connections while working closely with Vernon public schools to help families affected by opioids.
With drug abuse and related crimes being an ever-persistent threat to society, the presence of the champ and his mentor, Teixeira, is certain to draw more attention to the campaign and promote a safe and healthy lifestyle.
Meanwhile, a former UFC double champ and certified ‘GOAT’ had a few pointers for Pereira before he goes knocking on Jon Jones’ doors.
GSP reveals his thoughts on Pereira’s move to heavyweight
While there have been a bunch of double champs in the UFC, Pereira is aiming for the sky as he hopes to become the promotion’s first three-division champion with a proposed move to heavyweight. Considering the Brazilian’s skill, he is certainly a threat to anybody who agrees to face him inside the octagon. However, UFC great, George St Pierre believes that there are more variables at play here beyond the Brazilian’s bone-crunching power.
At present, the HW division is ruled by Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, a man known for his precision striking and indomitable grappling skills – an area where Pereira has yet to show his prowess. Furthermore, British powerhouse, Tom Aspinall has the interim belt all to himself and a move to the division will inevitably see Pereira lock horns with these champion grapplers.
Recently, in an exclusive to Sports publication, Cover, GSP elaborated on why Pereira needs to slow things down before he makes the quantum leap. In essence, the Canadian said that Pereira needs to test his grappling game before making the jump in order to ensure success.
