For years, many wondered whether Alex Pereira’s younger sister could follow in her brother’s footsteps and join the UFC. Well, it seems the time has finally come for Aline Pereira to make the biggest move of her career. According to the latest viral reports, ‘Poatan’s younger sister is all set to make her walk at Dana White’s Contender Series in pursuit of a contract.

Prominent MMA journalist Léo Guimaraes reported that Aline Pereira is scheduled to fight on October 13 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, with the promotion currently planning to pit her against Swedish bantamweight Smilla Sundell.

“EXCLUSIVE: I was able to confirm that Aline Pereira, sister of Alex Poatan, has been scheduled to fight on the Contender Series on October 13”. Guimaraes wrote on X. “The plan is for the Brazilian to face Smilla Sundell.”

As of now, neither the UFC nor Alex Pereira’s sister has officially confirmed the reports. However, since the report came from a credible source, it’s highly likely that Aline will actually fight on DWCS next month. In fact, Tapology has also listed her next bout against Sundell on its website.

For a while, Aline Pereira has been touted as one of the brightest prospects outside the UFC. The 3-2 fighter started her career as a professional kickboxer for GLORY, mirroring her brother’s career. However, the Brazilian quickly switched to MMA and started fighting in Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA), which has produced many UFC champions like Kamaru Usman.

High expectations were riding on Aline’s shoulders, but her initial run at LFA turned out to be a lackluster affair, with her going 1-2. Still, Alex Pereira’s sister shone at Karate Combat, where she won three fights in a row and also captured the vacant title. 

Following this, the Brazilian returned to LFA and secured a win over Nejra Repp, improving her LFA record to 2-2. After that, she picked up a split-decision victory over Jade Masson-Wong on the Rousey-Carano card in May.

Though Aline Pereira’s last win at MVP MMA 1 event turned out to be highly debatable, it was enough to earn her a shot at the Contender Series. However, her ambition to start her MMA journey, where her brother has already cemented his legacy, hardly comes as a surprise, as she has expressed her desire to do so before.

“I’ve been following my brother’s footsteps since the beginning,” Aline Pereira told MMA Fighting in 2022. “I [sign with] every promotion he fights. I go after him everywhere he goes, so [the move to MMA] happened naturally. I already knew that I would also follow him if he went to MMA.”

It’s expected that Aline Pereira would receive stellar backing, as not only will Alex Pereira be training her for her next fight, but she will also have a formidable coaching staff featuring Glover Teixeira and Plinio Cruz right behind her. Still, there’s a chance we could see another high-profile upset at Dana White’s Contender Series.

Alex Pereira’s sister could suffer defeat on Dana White’s Contender Series

While Aline Pereira is scheduled to face Smilla Sundell in her bid to secure a UFC contract, her place on the UFC roster is far from confirmed given the kind of upsets we’ve seen so far this year. On top of that, their attributes currently have a pretty apparent distinction, which automatically swings the predictions in Sundell’s favor.

At first glance, Sundell being only 21 years old compared to Aline’s 35 gives the Swedish fighter a clear advantage in the youth department. In fact, the Brazilian will be 36 by the time she steps into the cage in October against her opponent. So, the youth factor is already favoring Sundell. Beyond that, the biggest distinction comes in their overall combat experience.

Sundell has a 2-0 MMA record, which is closer to Aline’s experience inside the cage, but she also boasts a 36-5-1 record in Muay Thai, with 23 of those victories coming by knockout. That makes the experience gap considerably wider. On top of that, the Swede is massive for the division at 5’10” with a 69.3″ reach. She would stand nearly toe-to-toe with Aline Pereira, who stands at 5’9″ (175 cm) with a 70.0″ reach. In that case, Alex Pereira’s sister would only have a one-inch reach advantage over her opponent.

So, when fight night arrives, it won’t be much of a surprise if the odds favor Smilla Sundell to get the win over Aline Pereira. Moreover, after Alex Apodaca’s upset win over Bella Mir at the DWCS last week, many could be quick to predict the possibility of yet another prospect associated with a UFC star suffering a defeat.

That said, it would be interesting to see whether Alex Pereira’s sister can live up to the hype and score an impressive victory to join her brother in the UFC.