UFC 300 was a banger of an event and although Alex Pereira was supposed to shine the brightest, Max Holloway in an unexpected turn of events stole the spotlight! Nevertheless, after a banger of a first-round KO against former champion, Jammahal Hill, Poatan took the mic and voiced that he was ready for another outing at the UFC 301 in the heavyweight division. Initially, team Pereira denied any such plans as it would be too soon for the double champion, but the latest hubbub has hinted towards a possible change in those plans!

Just a few days left for the UFC 301 and the entire card is set, or is it? UFC just signed a new contract with the light heavyweight champion just days ahead of the Brazilian event. What is the contract about? Well, no one knows. Alex Pereira shared a video on his Instagram handle where he can be seen signing a contract and wearing a new black UFC shorts. The light heavyweight champion captioned the video with “Breaking News”  and used the #UFC301 as a hashtag.

Now one might say that UFC just entered into a new contract with the fighter for more fights but let me remind you that Pereira signed that contract with the UFC back in February. The new contract was an eight-fight stretch deal but there was a catch to it. Initially, Pereira agreed that he would like to fight Jamahal Hill in the Brazilian event and not in UFC 300. The UFC admin agreed to his terms but had to have him in the UFC 300 due to specific reasons.

“The original verbal agreement, not signed, was to fight at UFC 301 in Brazil – May event, Jamahal Hill. But a few days ago they called, and my manager called us asking to headline UFC 300. I liked the idea. I think it’s perfect timing for me to prepare for it, so I just jumped in,” said Pereira in a conversation with “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani through an interpreter.

Even though Alex Pereira seems to be wanting to fight at the UFC 301 card, team Pereira claimed that he suffered a broken toe in his training for the Hill fight and it would be better for the light heavyweight champion to stay away from fighting for now. However, after the recent signing rumors are floating around that Pereira might be a wild card entry in the event and fight at the heavyweight.

Fans are up in the arms as Alex Pereira signs a new contract with the UFC

So is Alex Pereira fighting at the UFC 301? Well, nothing has been confirmed as of now but the fans are speculating a fight for Pereira at the heavyweight division at the event. Taking to Pereira’s Instagram post, fans expressed their opinion. Some of the comments by the fans are as follows.

Starting off, a fan seems to be a bit excited for Pereira’s second fight just a month after UFC 300 but the happening of it is yet to be ascertained.

“Wait tf, 301?…let’s goo..he’s fighting in 301?”

Alex Pereira uses the gold shorts to defend his belt but in the video, he is seen wearing a black Venum one and this has raised some rumours around the MMA community.

“Why isnt there Gold on his shorts”

Furthermore, another fan stated that Pereira might face Magomed Ankalaev in the fight. It must be noted that Ankalaev called out Pereira for a fight but he was ignored by the team as they wanted to fight sooner and Ankalaev wanted to fight at the year’s end.

“BREAKING NEWS: Alex Poatan x Ankalaev is confirmed”

There is resentment among the MMA community as they think that UFC 301 is lacking good fights and seems like Alex Pereira might be the one to save it.

“they needed bro to save the card”

Moreover, a fan just prayed for Pereira to fight at UFC 301.

“I can’t tell if this a troll or not please be real “

Another inquired whether Pereira is going to fight in the heavyweight now

“I don’t see gold could this mean a heavyweight fight?”

Alex Pereira by his own admission is fit to fight at the UFC 301, yet it might be too early, as his team has asserted! Additionally, the UFC admin might be a bit reluctant to give him the fight as well. Nonetheless, there’s hardly any lack of enthusiasm in among the fans to witness their favorite Poatan in action!

What’s your take on Pereira’s sudden contract signing? State your thoughts in the comments below.