Alex Pereira was comparatively inexperienced at UFC level when he was crowned middleweight champ last November following his blockbuster victory over Israel Adesanya.
A former two-time kickboxing champion, the Brazilian star has won all four of his UFC fights in the past 18 months, and remains unbeaten in MMA since a rear-naked choke submission to Quemuel Ottoni at at Jungle Fight 82 back in 2015.
As well as his title-winning fight against Adesanya, the 35-year-old from São Paulo will draw confidence from the fact that he has also beaten his opponent on two earlier occasions, back in the days of their time in the Glory of Heroes kickboxing promotion.