Businessman explains Pezão's migration to kickboxing: 'He needs money'

Pezão will fight in kickboxing (Photo: Reproduction/Facebook AntônioPezão)

The migration of Antonio Pezão for kickboxing took a lot of people by surprise. Alex Davis, the fighter's manager, explained why the Brazilian agreed to face Rico Verhoeven, current heavyweight champion of Glory, one of the biggest striking organizations in the world, in the event's debut in China, which takes place on the 14th of October, in the city of Guangzhou. According to Davis, Pezão's decision was influenced by the salary that the athlete will receive, as he would be in need of money.

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“He needs the money, he wants to fight, he's not at the end of his career, it's not exactly what people are saying. May the best man win and I am fully supporting him. He wanted it, my job is to offer my fighters the opportunities that arise and give my verdict. I told Pezão that I don't think it's a good fight, the guy is going to kickbox with the K-1 champion. Pezão has been asking me for a fight like this for 10 years, so I’m not going to stop him from doing that either, I’m going to help in everything I can do”, said Davis, in an interview with Portal do Vale Tudo.

In the last four years, Pezão has suffered no less than seven defeats by knockout. The fact aroused concern among fans on social media, who began to question a possible head injury due to the damage suffered. Davis, however, clarified that the fighter underwent specific tests, which did not reveal any problems.

“We did an extensive diagnosis at the Cleveland Clinic, and there is no problem with the brain. In the last fights, Pezão had low testosterone, now he will enter with normal testosterone, and he won’t have to worry about not being put down”, he concluded.

Pezão is not in a good phase in his MMA career. After leaving the UFC, already with a streak of three defeats (to Mark Hunt, Stefan struve e Roy Nelson), the Brazilian lost two more outside of Ultimate, being defeated by Ivan Shtyrkov and Vitaly Minakov, both held in Russia. At 37 years old, Bigfoot has a professional record with 19 triumphs, 12 setbacks and one draw.