GLORY middleweight champion Alex Pereira says he didn’t take the trash talk from challenger Yousri Belgaroui personal in the lead-up to their fight in the main event of the GLORY 49 SuperFight Series.
Pereira defends his belt for the first time on Saturday since winning the strap on GLORY 46 against Simon Marcus and faces the man who handed him his last loss in April on GLORY 40 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Pereira and Belgaroui have been going back-and-forth on Instagram since the Brazilian won the belt, but the champion didn’t take it personally and says he didn’t like to do it.
“This is not personal. I don’t like to do it, but he did and I don’t leave anything unanswered,” Pereira tells MMA Plus through his translator Guto Inocente. “I’m ready to show him.”
“Pó Atan” says he was offered to fight his next bout in April when GLORY holds it’s first event in Brazil, but chose to fight two months after winning the strap.
“It was my choice. Before the China fight (against Simon Marcus for the belt) I was offered to fight in April or December. I chose to fight now because I’ve been looking for this rematch for a long time,” Pereira says.
“It’s a pleasure for me to fight in the Netherlands, it’s like a dream to fight in the capital of kickboxing. I’ll bring a big show here.”
