Pereira Currently Weighs 227 Pounds

“Poatan” is sharing his UFC 303 preparations on his Instagram page, which include the “Embedded” camera crew.

UFC 303 headliner Alex Pereira has some work to do.

The reigning UFC light heavyweight champion is currently walking around at 227 pounds, which puts him 22 pounds over the championship weight limit of 205. That should come as no surprise considering Pereira, who turns 37 in just a few weeks, was on a loosey-goosey promotional tour in Australia when UFC CBO Hunter Campbell rang the Bat phone.

How this behemoth ever made the middleweight limit remains a mystery.

Pereira (10-2) will defend his 205-pound strap on June 29 in Las Vegas when he collides with former division titleholder Jiri Prochazka atop the UFC 303 pay-per-view (PPV) fight card, a rematch from their UFC 295 showdown that “Poatan” won by technical knockout — though detractors were not impressed with how referee Marc Goddard handled the stoppage.

UFC 303 will either remove all doubt, or set up a potential trilogy.

The original headliner featured the long awaited grudge match between former two-division champion Conor McGregor and ex-Bellator kingpin Michael Chandler, a welterweight clash that was recently postponed when “Notorious” was felled by injury. When and where that bout will be rescheduled remains to be seen.

For the current UFC 303 fight card and PPV lineup click here.