GLORY two-division champion Alex Pereira isn’t signed with the UFC just yet, but his octagon debut is already targeted for UFC 268 on Nov. 6 against middleweight Andreas Michailidis, multiple sources people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting following a report from BJPenn.com.
Pereira, who defends his GLORY light heavyweight title in a rematch with Artem Vakhitov in his final kickboxing bout this Saturday in Netherlands, will sign with the UFC next week and get the deal done to face Michailidis at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“Poatan,” 3-1 in MMA, has won nine in a row in the kickboxing ring and impressed in his most recent MMA bout in November 2020, destroying Thomas Powell at LFA 95. The Brazilian striker is the only man to ever finish Israel Adesanya in combat sports, knocking him out in one of his two kickboxing victories over the UFC middleweight champion.
Michailidis (13-4) fought twice under the UFC banner, defeating KB Bhullar via decision 10 months after a debut loss to Modestas Bukauskas in Abu Dhabi. The 33-year-old Greek has fought for Bellator, Titan FC and Fight Nights Global before joining the UFC in 2020.
UFC 268 will air live on pay-per-view and feature a pair of championship bouts. Kamaru Usman defends his welterweight throne in a rematch against Colby Covington in the headlining attraction, while Rose Namajunas runs it back with Zhang Weili for the strawweight title.