Alex Pereira has signed a new deal with the UFC – and he has nothing but good things to say about it.
The now-former UFC light heavyweight champion, Pereira (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) said he had no issues giving up the belt after the offer the promotion made him ahead of his UFC Freedom 250 bout June 14 vs. Ciryl Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC) at the White House in Washington.
Advertisement
“They gave me a new contract,” Pereira said through an interpreter Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I’m actually really, really happy with my new contract. I actually want to thank Mick, Hunter, and Dana White for it. So this new deal that they gave to me? I don’t care about letting go of the belt or anything like that. … They took really good care of me. The way they gave me this last contract was so good that I let it up to them to do whatever they want. It doesn’t matter.”
Pereira, 38, said the contract is for eight fights but did not reveal any monetary figures.
Pereira forfeited light heavyweight gold, which will now be up for grabs in the UFC 327 main event April 11 between Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg. Pereira vs. Gane will be for the UFC interim heavyweight title.
Pereira is one of the promotion’s biggest stars. He publicly butted heads with the promotion while negotiating his most recent fight. He tweeted that he was retired, but then said he was hacked. However, Pereira later revealed that he was not hacked and was behind the tweet. However, the fight, a rematch vs. Magomed Ankalaev, got done in the end. Pereira finished Ankalaev with punches early in Round 1.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Alex Pereira reveals new UFC contract: ‘They took really good care of me’
