Brazilian fighter Alex Poatan will debut in the heavyweight category next Sunday. The athlete faces Frenchman Ciryl Gane in the co-main event of UFC Casa Branca. The unprecedented event will be held in the garden of the US government headquarters in Washington. The direct confrontation is worth the interim belt in the heaviest division of the mixed martial arts organization.
The weight change represents a historic opportunity for the São Paulo native’s career. Alex Poatan has already won the middleweight (up to 84 kg) and light heavyweight (up to 93 kg) world titles. If he beats his European opponent at the weekend, the fighter will become the first athlete in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to win belts in three different weight categories.
The Brazilian’s rapid rise in the organization was driven by hard-hitting knockouts. He headlined events with great commercial appeal, such as UFC 300, before being selected for the historic card in the United States capital.
In a recent interview with the specialized press vehicle MMA Fighting, Alex Poatan commented on the current situation and preparation for the new challenge. The São Paulo native revealed his surprise at the dimension his professional career has taken in recent years.
- I knew I could do something big, become champion, and after I became champion a lot of things happened, but I never imagined it. So it was a surprise for me too. But I’ve been improving in my training and then I started to believe that I could do this and much more. That’s still the mentality.
Unprecedented challenge in the heavyweight division
The transition to the top category requires severe adaptations to the 38-year-old athlete’s body. Alex Poatan was always considered a great athlete for the previous divisions. Severe weight cutting was part of his preparation routine before stepping into the Octagon. In heavyweight, the Brazilian will not need to go through the process of extreme dehydration, but will face opponents who are naturally heavier and have greater knockout power.
Opponent Ciryl Gane is one of the most technical fighters in the division. The Frenchman already held the interim belt in the category and his main characteristics are agile movement and distance control. The São Paulo fighter’s technical team focused training on absorbing powerful blows and gaining lean muscle mass to withstand the physical strength of their new rivals.
The training involved simulations of movement in the octagon with heavier kickboxing and jiu-jitsu athletes. The strategy aims to neutralize the speed of the former French interim champion.
Card structure and attractions of the event in Washington
The event in the American capital has other highlights besides the confrontation between the Brazilian and the French. The organization’s president, Dana White, called holding the show in the government garden a memorable feat. The card attracts a lot of attention from the international sports media due to the atypical fight scenario.
- Alex Poatan vs Ciryl Gane (interim heavyweight belt)
- Maurício Shogun x Glover Teixeira (senior exhibition fight)
- Nicholas Meregali x Felipe Pena (special grappling match)
Meteoric trajectory in combat sport
Alex Poatan migrated from professional kickboxing to mixed martial arts and quickly accumulated significant victories. The athlete needed just a few fights within the organization to receive his first opportunity to compete for a world title. His rivalry with Nigerian Israel Adesanya marked an epoch in the middleweight division, attracting record audiences.
After losing the middleweight title in the rematch, the São Paulo native decided to move up to light heavyweight. In the new division, the fighter overcame champions and former champions to capture the top of the category in a dominant way. The opportunity to fight for the interim heavyweight belt arose after injuries in the category and the event’s need to promote a superfight in the presidential garden.
The Brazilian’s final preparation takes place in Connecticut, where his training base is located in the United States. The technical committee monitors the fighter’s daily weight to ensure that the São Paulo native’s characteristic agility is not affected by mass gain. The athlete plans to maintain constant movement to avoid approaching and taking down his French opponent in the five-round fight.
