Chel Sonnen claims Alex Pereira would be the best MMA fighter of all time if he wins the UFC heavyweight title.
Former middleweight champion Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) defended his light heavyweight title with a knockout of Jamahal Hill in the first round of Saturday’s UFC 300 main event.
Pereira’s rise to the top has been nothing short of remarkable. The former Glory Kickboxing two-division champion made an immediate impact upon signing with the UFC in 2021, winning titles in two weight classes. If he can win a third belt, something he’s never been able to do in the UFC, Sonnen said fans should start thinking of Pereira as the greatest fighter of all time.
“I’m looking at Alex Pereira. That’s an amateur. He has an amateur record,” Sonnen said on the podcast “The Fighter and the Kid.” “He’s done it 12 times already. He’s only done it eight times in the Octagon, but in those eight times he’s won two world titles and defeated five world champions. And if you told me that Alex Pereira, who has never had a wrestling match or a grappling match and is not a black belt, was the greatest to ever compete, you would roll your eyes.
“But if he becomes Champ Champ Champ and actually becomes the first person in history to be able to do that, we would step back and think, ‘He might actually be able to do it.’ ” If he did that, we wouldn’t be able to have a conversation about who is the GOAT. We simply call him “GOAT.” …Think of how great Georges St-Pierre is. But I know he won at 70, 185, but none of us expected him to go up to 205. Or when Daniel Cormier won the heavyweight, light heavyweight division, but we knew he couldn’t. ” ”
After knocking out Hill, Pereira expressed interest in making an early comeback at heavyweight at UFC 301 on May 4 in his native Brazil. Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who was in attendance, posted a cryptic image of himself staring at Pereira.
“He really wants to play against Tom. It just wasn’t like he was on adrenaline,” Sonnen said. “He was going to play Tom for 300 points. Remember, he had this mysterious equation where 3 plus 30 equals 300. He would really do it,” he said. And we’re going to be the first ones to back down — and I’m not saying I think he can beat Tom, but he’s going to be the first one that we say, “Yeah, give him a shot, he’ll beat him.” He might say, “Maybe we can win.”
For more information on this card, check out MMA Junkie’s UFC 300 event hub.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and other content with mixed martial arts fans.
