Brazilian who fights Saturday could be UFC champion

Brazil could once again have a belt owner in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the UFC. This Saturday night, at the trendy Madison Square Garden, in New York, Alex Poatan will face the Czech Jiri Prochazka in search of the vacant belt in the light heavyweight category. In conversation with the Estadãothe Brazilian talks about his preparation and reveals one of his main motivations for confirming the belt.

Poatan will step into the octagon remembering the last time he fought for the title. In April, he lost to Nigerian Israel Adesanya, a fighter with whom he has had a rivalry since his kickboxing days. It was that fight that made the Brazilian leave middleweight to move up to light heavyweight.

In a telephone interview, directly from the United States, Poatan says that he is not friends with the Nigerian, but they maintain a respectful relationship outside the Octagon. In the UFC, however, it’s another issue: in addition to spicing up a rivalry, Adesanya has already stated that he didn’t “make a point” of creating a friendly relationship with the Brazilian. When he announced that he will stop his MMA career in 2027, to recover physically and mentally, it raised doubts among fans – including Poatan.

“I don’t think it’s true (that Adesanya will stop until 2027). Maybe there’s some strategy there. I think it’s strange, but I think he’ll come back sooner,” he says. Despite their long rivalry – they have already faced each other four times, two of them in the UFC -, Poatan did not talk to the Nigerian after he revealed his decision. “We only did media once at the airport, but it was very professional.” Brazil has 21 UFC champions.

Without Adesanya, Poatan will have his second title fight this year and the first without the Nigerian as his rival (he won in 2022, but was defeated in April this season). The Brazilian arrives to duel with Prochazka because of Jamahal Hill’s Achilles tendon injury in July. The fighter underwent surgery and gave up the category title. It will be his third fight of the year and his second at light heavyweight – he defeated Poland’s Jan Blachowicz in his debut in the category.

“It was the best decision I made (moving up to light heavyweight). I think I did well in my debut fight, but there were a lot of things going on during the preparation. I got injured and that set me back a little, especially the psychological part” , says the fighter from Brazil. “I liked the result I had, with all the things that happened. I did a good job and I’m sure I can be better than the last fight.” It was on this Saturday’s stage, in New York, that Poatan won the middleweight belt against Adesanya about a year ago.

REVENGE GLOVER TEIXEIRA?

Since joining the UFC, Poatan has received attention from MMA fans for his achievements before the organization – he was inducted into the GLORY Kickboxing Hall of Fame this week. At 36 years old, and despite his older age for a debutant, he was considered by great Brazilian names, such as Charles do Bronxs and Glover Teixeira, as a future champion. Now at light heavyweight, he is trying again to enter that pantheon.

Currently, only Alexandre Pantoja, in the flyweight division, holds the belt. Poatan tries to avenge Glover Teixeira, who retired this year and also fought at light heavyweight. He was defeated by Hill in combat in Rio in January. “It’s something people talk about. I don’t feel like it’s revenge.” Brazilian fighters train together and are close, even before Poatan joined the UFC.

“Doing things on emotion is a little complicated. I’m going to enter the octagon to do my job. As if Glover hadn’t faced him,” says Poatan. Prochazka defeated Glover in June 2022. “I want to beat him, I want to win this fight, but without thinking about avenging him. Saying things out of emotion, if it doesn’t have the expected result, is not very good.” Prochazka and Poatan will face the main duel of the night in New York this Saturday.

Check out the full UFC 295 card:

Light heavyweight title fight: Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Poatan

Interim heavyweight title fight: Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tom Aspinall

Strawweight: Jéssica Bate-Estaca vs. Mackenzie Dern

Lightweight: Matt Frevola vs. Benoit Saint-Denis

Featherweight: Pat Sabatini vs. Diego Lopes

Flyweight: Steve Erceg vs. Alessandro Costa

Strawweight: Tabatha Ricci vs. Lupita Godinez

Lightweight: Mateusz Rebecki vs. Roosevelt Roberts

Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Viacheslav Borshchev

Lightweight: Jared Gordon vs. Mark Madsen

Bantamweight: Kyung Ho Kang vs. John Castañeda

Flyweight: Joshua Van vs. Kevin Borjas

Featherweight: Dennis Buzukja vs. Jamall Emmers