Alex Pereira’s Current Weight Revealed Ahead of UFC 303

Highlights

Alex Pereira stepped in on short notice earlier this week to main event UFC 303 on the 29th of June.
The Brazilian will defend his light heavyweight title on the show at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Pereira will need to shed a sizable amount of pounds to make championship weight for the contest.

UFC 303 has a new main event after Conor McGregor was forced to bow out as a result of an injury. The original headline bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the 29th of June was due to see the return of the Irishman in a five-round clash with Michael Chandler. However, McGregor’s health status means it will most likely be late September at the earliest when fans get to tune in for the promotion’s biggest fight of 2024.

The new headline attraction will see the light heavyweight title up for grabs as Alex Pereira faces Jiri Prochazka. This will be the second meeting between the two in less than a year as they fought in November 2023. In their first bout at UFC 295, Poatan’ would be victorious, earning a second-round TKO.

Alex Pereira’s Current Weight Is Alarming

The light heavyweight champion will have to weigh in at 205lbs in less than two weeks

Of course, in order to be able to defend his title, Pereira must make the championship weight of 205lbs on the scales 24 hours before the fight. That task is easier said than done when you accept a bout on short notice, while in another country.

Pereira took to social media to provide fans with a deeper insight to the bout agreement. This included footage of him accepting the fight, training in Australia and his thoughts and sharing feelings on the newly agreed fight.

In his YouTube video, Pereira answered questions relating to his preparation for UFC 303. Among these questions, the subject of weight came up. The champion was asked: “Yesterday we were having dinner and you said, people think the hardest part is the fight. The hardest part is losing the weight. You think there is time to lose the weight? How many kilos do you have to lose for the day of the fight? The champions response was enlightening:

“I’m weighing 103 kilos, 10 kilos [above championship weight]. I’m used to this. For this category for me, it’s way better. Have 15 days for the fight, have a good time to adjust the diet. I’m already eating good, but I think something is still missing. I will fix it. Better diet, program my training for these next two weeks, it’s going to work out.”

103 kilos is roughly 227 lbs. This means that Pereira will have about two weeks to lose 22 pounds ahead of his light heavyweight title defence against Prochazka.

Pereira and Prochazka Have Differing Weight Class Aspirations Moving Forward

Despite currently being in the same weight class, both Pereira and Prochazka have expressed desires to move to different weight classes in 2024. After both men competed at UFC 300, they discussed their next moves. Prochazka discussed middleweight as an option following his win over Alexander Rakic in April. He claimed he “didn’t cut the weight” to make the 205 light heavyweight limit in his last appearance.

Meanwhile, Pereira began to look up the divisions following UFC 300. Speaking after the fight, the Brazilian showed an interest in fighting interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. However, both Pereira and Prochazka will be locked in on weighing in at 205 lbs ahead of their UFC 303 title showdown.