Alex Pereira is flying high in the UFC. He has followed his arch-rival into the octagon and earned the bragging rights yet again. The Brazilian middleweight will face his nemesis Israel Adesanya for his maiden title-defense rematch. However, conversations about his next opponent have already started to circulate. In that regard, Pereira has discarded Khamzat Chimaev from his list.
Pereira has quite an interesting story with Adesanya. The duo faced each other off in their kickboxing careers twice. The Brazilian had the last laugh on both occasions. For an inexplicable reason, Pereira followed Adesanya to UFC, when the latter was undefeated and had his hands on the gold.
‘Poatan’ hunted Adesanya down and ‘The last stylebender’ succumbed to defeat yet again. The Nigerian-born New Zealander sees the rematch as his one last shot at Pereira. On the other hand, Pereira seems to be pretty relaxed as he has already started responding to questions regarding potential next opponents.
Alex Pereira does not want to talk about Chimaev
During the UFC 287 pre-match press conference, Pereira discussed his future opponents. There is already a pack of fighters ready to pounce on him and snatch the belt. He does not consider Chimaev to be one of them.
With a disdainful rejection, Pereira claimed that Chimaev runs his mouth way too much. The Swede seemed a bit lost at the moment to him as well. However, the middleweight champion is ready to take on Paulo Costa or Robert Whittaker.
He is not afraid to defend his title as he has his hands on the crown. Having said that, he is not considering Chimaev as a contender, “I’m not even going to talk about Chimaev.”
Pereira is one of the hardest hitters in the UFC octagon, without a doubt. His striking timing is quite precise. His power sends shivers down the spines of the fans as well. However, his wrestling still has a question mark on it. At UFC 281, he got to cinch the champion belt around his waist. The fight did indicate his lack of wrestling prowess.
On the other hand, Chimaev is most popularly known for his grappling. The Swede last fought in September 2022 where he picked up victory against Kevin Holland via submission. ‘Borz’ is fierce on the ground, and an absolute submission monster.
This is why fans feel that Pereira is trying to evade him. Dana White has already announced that Chimaev will fight in the middleweight division next. The UFC boss has endorsed his name as one of the next title contenders.
Do you think Alex Pereira can beat Khamzat Chimaev if they ever meet?
