And Gane knows exactly what it takes to become champion at heavyweight, as he held the interim title back in 2021 following a dominant win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 265.
Gilbert Burns recently suggested on Cortes de Sexto Round that fighters don't always carry their power with them when moving up a division. It's a topic he brought up while discussing Pereira's upcoming heavyweight debut.
Burns pointed to Conor McGregor, who was known for his knockout power at featherweight but couldn't finish Nate Diaz during their two fights at welterweight.
Teixeira, though, isn't convinced that Pereira will have any trouble stopping Ciryl Gane when they meet in Washington DC on June 14.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
"I believe that that won't be the case with Alex, man," Teixeira said in response to the McGregor comparison, translated via YouTube.
"I say this because I've trained with heavyweights, I've trained with the Olympic boxing team, I don't think I've ever felt anyone with the same power in their hands as him, man."
Teixeira is coming off his first professional loss to Derrick Lewis, who holds the record for most knockouts in UFC history. So his comments about Pereira aren't without weight.
With this being an interim title fight against Gane, there will be plenty of talk about how Pereira deals with speed and movement in a new division. But Teixeira has seen enough to believe his training partner can handle it.
The 15th-ranked heavyweight predicted that after using the first round to adjust to Gane's style and pace, Pereira will finish things early in the second. But he doesn't rule out an even quicker ending.
"If Alex's hand connects in the first round, he [Gane] won't be able to handle it."
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