Alex Pereira recently posted a video on his YouTube channel of him sparring against heavyweight boxer Demsey McKean. Pereira, who is the current UFC light heavyweight champion, sparred for four rounds against the Australian boxer, who holds a record of 22-1 with 14 knockout wins.
To give context of the size difference between these two, Pereira weighs about 93kg, which is standard for his weight class. McKean, meanwhile, comes in at about 111kg, also about the standard weight for his weight class.
Alex Pereira Training For UFC 303
Pereira is set to defend his UFC light heavyweight championship against Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 on the 29th of June in Las Vegas. Pereira’s fight was recently announced as the new main event of UFC 303 after Conor McGregor pulled out of his fight with Michael Chandler due to injury.
Given the fight against Prochazka is so soon, some Pereira fans may have been worried seeing him sparring against such a powerful opponent in training camp. It seems the video was filmed about two weeks before the fight, so probably in the last week of Pereira’s camp.
🥊 Alex Pereira spars 4 rounds with heavyweight boxer Demsey McKean (22-1) ahead of #UFC303
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 23, 2024
🎥 YT / @AlexPereiraUFC #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/BbDgCG3Go1
The spar itself was an even affair, clearly pushing Pereira to his limits. The Brazilian definitely held his own, though, landing plenty of clean shots to McKean’s body and head. Pereira’s striking skills are strong, and they showed here in this spar against a professional boxer, and one with a good record as well. McKean gave as good as he got, though, also landing several clean shots himself, something that would have worried any Pereira fan watching, especially given the fact that no headgear was being worn by either fighter.
Another concern for fans of the light heavyweight champion will be the fact that he is posting four rounds of sparring in training camp just a week before a big title fight. The argument could be made that editors of the footage would have taken out anything that Prochazka’s team could use, but it still seems Pereira could be putting himself at a disadvantage by posting so much footage.
The spar is still a fascinating watch, nonetheless. There is always a debate about boxers versus UFC/MMA fighters, and we have seen big fights between the two before, such as McGregor versus Floyd Mayweather and Tyson Fury versus Francis Ngannou. Of course, boxing and striking is only part of the game for UFC fighters, but is the whole game for boxers. That is what makes it so impressive when you see someone like Pereira hold his own against a boxer with a strong professional record, even if it is just sparring. Whether the right move or not, the spar was clearly a good workout for Pereira, as he was visibly exhausted by the end of what was a solid and even session.
Alex Pereira’s Full Sparring Video With Heavyweight Boxer
Alex Pereira vs Jiri Prochazka
With less than a week until his fight against Prochazka, Pereira is likely done with his camp now as he gets ready to defend his title. He has come up against Prochazka before. The two met at UFC 295 in November 2023, where the Brazilian came away victorious with a KO/TKO victory in the second round. That victory made him the light heavyweight champion, and this will be his second defence of the title after he defeated Jamahal Hill in the first round of their fight at UFC 300 a few months ago, in April.
As for McKean, he has no upcoming fights scheduled, and has not fought since he suffered his first professional loss via a 12th round TKO to Filip Hrgovic in August 2023. This would have been a good session for him as well, as he was going up against one of the best strikers in the UFC and someone with a slightly different style than he might be used to.
Pereira, though, would have been the main focus for most people who watched this spar, given the fact he has such a big fight coming up in which many of his fans will be tuning in, and many more will be attending live in Las Vegas.
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