Daniel Cormier names a bad matchup for Alex Pereira.
It was been less than a week since Alex Pereira was crowned the new champion of the UFC middleweight division but already people are trying to match him up for this first title defense. Pereira defeated Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 281 to earn his very first UFC title. After years in kickboxing, Pereira decided to make the switch to MMA and go after Adesanya who he has a long history with. Pereira defeated Adesanya twice when they fought in kickboxing and because of this, the UFC may have fast-tracked him to a title shot.
Pereira only has eight pro MMA fights to his name and only four in the UFC. Despite this quick ascend to the top, Pereira is now holding the belt and must defend it next. There has been some discussion about who he should face next, Adesanya again or someone else?
Ready to fight in Brazil @AlexPereiraUFC let’s go champ 🤪🤝
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) November 13, 2022
Daniel Cormier feels Khamzat Chimaev is the wrong choice for Pereira’s first title defense
Immediately after the win by Pereira one man began to call for his shot. Khamzat Chimaev took to Twitter to make it known that he would like a shot at the middleweight belt. Chimaev’s name has been mentioned quite a bit in the welterweight title discussion but with his missed weight for his last fight, a move to middleweight has been discussed. He wants a shot at Pereira now but Cormier thinks it’s not a wise move for the champ.
“If you schedule him and Khamzat right now and Khamzat goes this is my belt let me fight, Khamzat will be a massive favorite to beat Alex Pereira just because of the style,” he said on the DC and RC show. “The style just does not match up yet, and Pereira, he’s so young in his career that this was honestly the ideal champion for him(Adesanya). As much as it’s crazy to say that Israel Adesanya is the ideal champion to be dethroned. He was perfect for this guy. The guy got the title quite early than he was supposed to, usually would, because it was Izzy and their history. He’s the champion now, because it was Izzy as the champ.”
In the past, a champion as dominant as Adesanya would receive an immediate rematch but now with a new champion at the top of the division, it opens up new doors to the rest of the 185-pounders. While he waits for his next opponent, Pereira will be reveling in his new title as UFC champion.
