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Welcome to the light heavyweight division, Alex Pereira. The former UFC middleweight champion overcame early trouble against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291 on Saturday in Salt Lake City to secure himself a spot near the top of a second UFC division with a split decision.

"I want to fight for the belt. It doesn't matter who," Pereira said in his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan. 

"Right now, I'm focused on this division. I want to be the champion of this division and then I have some business to solve."

Fatigue makes cowards of us all and that was certainly the case on Saturday despite the indomitable spirit of former UFC light heavyweight champion Blachowicz. Blachowicz made the trip to Utah early to condition his body for the strain of fighting, but exhaustion got the better of him over 15 minutes. Blachowicz delivered a strong opening round with a takedown and numerous submission attempts, but he could not maintain that level of output. The fresher Pereira landed better quality strikes in greater quantity over the final 10 minutes of the fight and was awarded a split decision by scores of 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

Pereira's fast rise through the UFC is an ultra-rare feat. Pereira has only completed 10 professional mixed martial arts fights and is on the cusp of winning a UFC championship in two weight classes. The multi-division kickboxing world champion teased an eventual return to middleweight to settle scores with longtime rival Israel Adesanya, but the UFC light heavyweight title is his immediate goal.

"I feel good," Pereira said. "I feel energized, recharged compared to the last few weight cuts this one was only 20 to 30 percent compared to the other ones. But, like I said, I just need a little break to rest a little bit and I'm going to do some unfinished business at middleweight."

Jamahal Hill is expected to officially vacate the UFC light heavyweight championship after suffering an injury. That clears the way for Pereira to fight for the vacant belt, possibly against a returning Jiri Prochazka. Prochazka vacated the belt late last year due to injury after defeating Pereira's mentor and dear friend, Glover Teixeira.

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