Dustin Jacoby would love to welcome Alex Pereira to UFC light heavyweight division

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Dustin Jacoby has already shared the kickboxing ring with Alex Pereira, so sure. The UFC cage sounds great, too.

Ahead of his UFC on ESPN 44 bout Saturday, Jacoby (18-6-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) was eager to volunteer to welcome Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) to light heavyweight. Jacoby fought Pereira at Glory 14 in 2014 and lost by first-round knockout at exactly the 2:00 mark, so the rematch is appealing.

“Yeah, if it makes sense, I’d definitely try to avenge that loss,” Jacoby told reporters including MMA Junkie at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “People have asked me in the past, ‘Would you fight him if he goes to 205?’ I’m like, ‘Man, that’s a silly question. Of course, I would. I’ve fought the best in the world and I’m here to be one of the best in the world, so whatever it takes to claim that stake, I’ll do it.’”

Even with Pereira’s recent knockout defeat against Israel Adesanya at UFC 287, Jacoby came away with a lot of respect for Adesanya – and Pereira, too.

“I thought Adesanya did a great job, man,” Jacoby said. “He finally got that victory over a very tough Pereira. People don’t realize how good of a striker that guy is. He’s super quick and obviously super powerful to be able to lock horns with a guy like that and I know from experience. It was cool to see Adesanya get that victory, kind of get that off of his back and move on.

“I would like to see Pereira and how he stacks up against the rest of the division. I know there’s been some talk of him going up to light heavyweight, but we haven’t heard that from him. I feel like middleweight is his home. Maybe he does go up to light heavyweight, but it was a great fight, a great showing by both guys and I was happy for Adesanya.”

Kickboxing and MMA are different. While some have been surprised by Pereira’s rise to MMA fame and success, Jacoby said he was not among them.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Jacoby said. “I know the level that he is. He’s the cream of the crop. He’s one of the most fierce competitors in the world and one of the best fighters in the world. While I do believe there are many people in that division that would impose a threat to him or even beat him, I still think he’s one of the best, especially in terms of striking.

“I think there are grapplers that would be able to get him down and control him and beat him that way, but if you’re talking striking, man, timing is everything. It played out perfect for him. Adesanya was there. He came in and got the knockouts he needed to get and fast-tracked to the title shot that was worthy, in my opinion.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.