NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – MAY 08: Alex Pereira appears on stage during the UFC Freedom 250 press conference at the Prudential Center on May 08, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Zuffa LLC
June is going to be a big month for Alex “Poatan” Pereira. The former two-division UFC champion has a chance to do something no other fighter in history has done. Pereira will face Cyril Gane for the UFC’s interim heavyweight championship on June 14 at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.
Two days before that, Pereira graces the cover of EA’s UFC 6 Standard Edition, which launches in early access on June 12th with a global release date of June 19th.
If Pereira wins at UFC Freedom 250 just two days into early access and five days before the big launch, he’ll have a month that will be hard to top for any fighter before or after him. I spoke with Pereira on EA UFC 6, his upcoming fight and more.
How Was Motion Capturing For EA UFC 6?
Pereira was involved in the entire motion capture process with the EA Sports team, and walking through the experience, he was clearly as impressed with the technology side as he was with the final product.
“I don’t know how things work, but then they showed it there, doing everything the same, the movements,” Pereira said through his translator. “I said, damn, how do these guys do it. A lot of study, a lot of technology. I really liked it. You’re there, you do the motion, sometimes the hand motion comes out the same. The kids understand it all. So it’s a really good experience I had there.”
If you’ve watched Pereira live, you know that the left hook is his signature weapon — and that’s exactly the detail the developer team locked down. Seeing it translate cleanly into gameplay is, frankly, one of the moments that the trailer’s breakdown caught.
How much input did Pereira have in the Hall Of Legends environment?
EA UFC 6 is building custom arenas tied to the cover athletes and perhaps more to come post-launch. It is called “Hall of Legends”. and part of the appeal is that it incorporates the culture of the fighter and the history of the fight.
I asked Pereira how far he directed his gaze.
“No, they were the ones who did it. I liked it, but the idea is all theirs,” he said. “If it was up to me to do something like that, I wouldn’t do it my way. I don’t know if it would be as cool, because the kids studied for it, so they see details that we don’t see when we live there.”
It extended the metaphor into the battle itself, which I thought was an interesting response. “It’s the same thing, if I’m training for somebody, I can’t fix it because I can’t even see it. I’m fighting, but I can’t see it. But there’s a coach out there, the guy who’s always watching, sees all the details and knows what to say. The guys know all the details and know what to do.”
How heavy is Pereira now and how does he feel?
For someone preparing to make his heavyweight debut in a test at 265 pounds, Pereira admitted he doesn’t even have a current weight number on him.
“I don’t even know how much I weigh. It’s been a while,” Pereira said. “The last time I weighed myself I was 117 [kilos]then I said, no, I see that my body is changing. I’m getting a little drier, but I’m also gaining more muscle mass. I haven’t been weighed in a while, I think since I came from Sobral.”
His translator clarified that 117 pounds was about a month ago in the pre-cam, which would put him somewhere in the 255 to 258-pound range now, and noted that Pereira “feels good, like he’s in good shape.” The tutorial videos making the rounds confirm this. He looks around.
Would three belts make him the greatest ever?
I asked the obvious question. If Pereira beats Gayne and becomes a three-division champion – something no one has done in UFC history – does that make him the greatest of all time?
His answer wasn’t immediate, but it still carried some weight. “I will never say that, because everyone has their own opinion. I will not continue to expose myself and talk about it. A lot of people, maybe it’s out of envy. Most fighters or ex-fighters, disappointed people who never managed to do something or didn’t even come close, like to talk about it. Because people don’t accept a guy who started the art in FC. years and I couldn’t do 10%.”
The essence for him is the work itself. “I’ll do my job,” he said. “If people think I’m the best, if they think I’m not, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to do my job, I’m going to make my money, I’m going to change my life.”
When I asked him about his own internal answer — not what anyone else thinks — he kept it tight: “Three-division champion, breaking a lot of records.”
He feels like he considers himself an all-time great, but he knows it’s subjective.
Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall or Jake Paul Next?
If Pereira wins, the dance card writes itself: a unification with Tom Aspinall, the much-talked-about Jon Jones fight or the Jake Paul crossover that continues to circle. I gave him all three. Choice Jake Paul got the shortest answer in the interview.
“Boxing, I can’t even talk about boxing,” Pereira said. “I just signed an 8-fight deal with the UFC. I’m 39 years old. It’s not something I should be thinking about right now.”
On the MMA side, Pereira didn’t want to name names. “I don’t pick opponents. Anyone can fight. The UFC is not going to bring in an alien to me at this point who is going to be able to fight different than anyone else. Everybody is everybody. Heavyweights are heavyweights. So whoever they bring in.”
This tracks how Pereira has handled matchmaking throughout his UFC journey – but also keeps Aspinall’s and Jones’ stories alive without stepping on either of them himself. Win first, then let Dana White’s bigger heavyweight picture settle.
If all goes well, Pereira’s June will be one of the busiest months a UFC fighter has ever put together. Chama.
