Oct 4, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Alex Pereira (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Magomed Ankalaev (red gloves) during UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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“Would Be A Challenge” – Alex Pereira Breaks Silence On Potential Boxing Showdown With Jake Paul

Jake Paul has built his boxing career by calling out MMA fighters. The YouTuber turned boxer loves generating headlines with bold challenges. He’s faced Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, and Nate Diaz successfully. These crossover fights generate massive PPV numbers despite limited competitive balance. Paul knows exactly which names will sell tickets and create buzz. And most recently, he called out none other than light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

Pereira represents the latest high-profile target for Paul’s callouts recently. The UFC light heavyweight champion carries knockout power that transcends combat sports. His kickboxing background makes him more dangerous in boxing than typical MMA fighters. Fans have speculated about this matchup for months across social media. Now, Pereira broke his silence on a potential boxing showdown during a recent TMZ Sports interview.

Alex Pereira Gives An Honest Assessment Of The Potential Jake Paul Showdown

Pereira (13-3) didn’t dismiss the fight possibility when asked about facing Paul. He gave his respect to Paul and actually acknowledged it would create an interesting challenge for both. That’s a surprisingly measured response considering Paul’s reputation among MMA purists. The champion then explained his confidence in his boxing abilities specifically.

“It would be a challenge for both of us. I do really well in boxing sparring. I have one controlled boxing fight. I think when you do things that you enjoy doing, then you do them well. So that’s how I kind of feel about boxing for myself.”

Alex Pereira believes boxing Jake Paul would be a tough challenge 🤯

"It would be a challenge for both of us"

(via @TMZ_Sports ) pic.twitter.com/jdWMY0V2Mb
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) November 23, 2025

Pereira competed against Thomas Fernandez in a professional boxing match back in 2020. ‘Poatan’ won that bout by first-round knockout impressively. His comfort level in pure boxing comes from genuine experience training. Pereira regularly posts videos of his sparring sessions on social media and he’s worked with legitimate boxing talent.

Jake Paul has much bigger concerns than Pereira currently anyway. He faces Anthony Joshua on December 19th in Miami, Florida. This represents by far the most dangerous opponent of Paul’s boxing career. If Paul somehow survives or even wins against Joshua, then Pereira talks become more interesting. Until then, the UFC champion will keep posting sparring videos and knocking people out at light heavyweight.

The Contractual Reality Of Being With The UFC

But Pereira quickly addressed the elephant in the room about actually making this fight. His UFC contract prevents him from taking boxing matches without permission. The promotion maintains exclusive rights to their fighters for obvious reasons. They are not about to let their biggest stars risk losses in other sports.

Champions can talk about boxing all they want on social media. Actually getting UFC approval is an entirely different story though. The organization learned from allowing Conor McGregor to fight Floyd Mayweather previously. That megafight generated enormous revenue but also complicated McGregor’s MMA career. His extended absence affected the lightweight division’s competitive integrity negatively. The UFC became more protective of their champions afterward understandably.

(Image Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie – Imagn Images)

Alex Pereira

Anthony Joshua

Jake Paul

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!