Alex Pereira isn’t just fighting for history at UFC White House; he’s fighting for GOAT status. At least, that’s what Dana White believes.
Next weekend, Pereira will attempt to become the first person in UFC history to win titles in three divisions when he takes on Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC White House. A very small handful of fighters have won titles in three weight classes in MMA across the world, but no one has ever done it in the UFC, and should he pull
it off, White believes that will make “Poatan” the greatest fighter in history.
“You’ve got Pereira possibly winning his third world title,” White told Forbes. “If he wins the third world title that night, he jumps over Jon Jones and becomes the greatest of all-time.”
Should he beat Gane, Pereira’s accomplishment will be all the more special given how late Poatan came to the UFC. A long-time Glory Kickboxing fighter, Pereira joined the UFC in 2021, with only four MMA fights to his name. From there, he went on to win the UFC middleweight title in his eighth professional MMA fight, before moving up to 205 pounds and winning the light heavyweight belt just three fights later.
UFC White House takes place on June 18th, and is headlined by a lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.
