UFC middleweight Krzysztof Jotko is still awaiting an opponent for his Octagon return, but he recently accused Alex Pereira of turning him down.
According to Jotko, an offer was made for him to fight Pereira on the upcoming UFC 271 card in February. However, he alleges that Pereira turned down the fight immediately.
Jotko most recently defeated Misha Cirkunov via split decision at UFC Vegas 38. Before that, he had won three in a row leading up to a disappointing loss to rising contender Sean Strickland.
Pereira, arguably the biggest signing by the UFC in 2021, put on a show in his UFC debut. The elite striker overwhelmed Andreas Michailidis en route to a TKO finish at UFC 268.
Pereira recently agreed to fight with Bruno Silva after the alleged offer to fight Jotko. After the fight was announced, Jotko ripped Pereira on his Twitter page.
“Look at this clown,” Jotko said. “I agreed to fight you on February 12! And, you out here running scared fighting someone else cause you can’t wrestle. Why you scared?”
Pereira is widely regarded as one of the best kickboxers in the world, having won multiple titles in Glory Kickboxing before coming to the UFC. He has been criticized by many, including Jotko, for his relative inexperience with grappling.
After getting word of Jotko’s comments, Pereira didn’t respond kindly, via a recent Instagram post.
“I had never heard of that guy, but my manager mentioned him to me and we came to the conclusion that he was a totally unremarkable and uninteresting opponent,” Pereira said. “I want an opponent who can put on a show like me, not a girlfriend, I’m already a married man.”
Pereira is the only fighter to ever finish the current UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya in any sport. He and Jotko are both vying for a spot in the UFC middleweight rankings.
While it appears that these two won’t fight next, their recent back-and-forth on social media could create the push for a clash down the line.
Who would you like to see Krzysztof Jotko fight next?
