Exclusive: Alex Pereira ready to make more history at UFC 295 at 'special' Madison Square Garden

Alex Pereira says “they should give me a key” to Madison Square Garden as he prepares for another landmark fight in the famous New York venue at UFC 295.

The Brazilian faces Jiri Prochazka for the vacant light heavyweight belt in the headline clash of the night on Saturday, November 11, live on TNT Sports.

His bid to become a two-weight world champion, having previously held the UFC middleweight belt, will come at a familiar venue.

Pereira made his UFC debut at Madison Square Garden in November 2021 at UFC 268, beating Andreas Michailidis, before claiming the middleweight title there against Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 a year later.

“It’s definitely a special place to me because I made my UFC debut there, won my UFC championship there and now have the opportunity to win my second belt there,” Pereira told TNT Sports.

"It’s a place that has a special meaning in my heart. To be honest, after all that I’ve been conquering there, they should give me a key to the place.”

Standing in Pereira’s way of becoming a world champion in a new weight category on Saturday night is former light heavyweight champion Prochazka.

The Czech fighter claimed the title in June 2022 by beating Glover Teixeira at UFC 275, but he vacated the belt after pulling out of UFC 282 through injury six months later.

Pereira is expecting fireworks from their match-up in New York.

“He’s an aggressive fighter, a lot of knockouts, me on the other hand, I’m also an aggressive fighter and try to control the fight the entire time,” said the Brazilian.

“I think it’s going to be a very special fight for the fans, we’re going to give them a show.”

He added: “Other fights tend to be a bit boring due to the match-up. This one we know due to the styles that it’s going to be an absolute show.”

UFC 295 is live on TNT Sports 1 with coverage starting at 01:00 on Sunday, November 12.

Live coverage of the main card from Madison Square Garden in New York, begins at 01:00 UK time on Sunday, November 12 on TNT Sports 1 and on discovery+.

UFC 295 is part of a stacked couple of months of mixed martial arts action on TNT Sports.

Live coverage of the main card starts at 01:00 in the UK and will show:

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TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media