Daniel Cormier gave his immediate reaction to the massive UFC 281 event on Saturday night.
UFC 281 will be an event that will be remembered for a long time. There were tons of stoppages from top to bottom and two titles changed hands. Cage side for the entire evening was former UFC champion Daniel Cormier who was calling the fights and took to his YouTube channel to give his immediate reaction following the conclusion of the massive card.
The UFC 281 main event featured a title fight between the now-former champion Israel Adesanya and new champion Alex Pereira. There was a huge build-up to this fight as Adesanya, who had never lost at middleweight in MMA, was up against Pereira who beat him twice in kickboxing and had only three fights in the UFC. The history between the two made for a great storyline and the fight lived up to the hype. Pereira looked as if he was losing the bout on the scorecards coming into the fifth round. His corner, led by former champion Glover Teixeira gave him a serious message to go out in the fifth and get the stoppage. He followed the direction perfectly.
Daniel Cormier is citing Glover Teixeira and his coaching as a key point in Alex Pereira’s victory
Pereira joined Teixeira at his gym in Danbury Connecticut to train for his UFC career. The Brazilian native had a very successful career in kickboxing before coming to the UFC. He has learned from the legend and has now taken his skills and evolved them to make him a champion. Cormier knows what it takes to be a champ and thought the training and coaching by Teixeira was the key to Pereira’s victory.
“I think the key was Glover Teixeira and his team letting Alex Pereira know very sternly, if you want to be the champion, you got five minutes and I mean you got to lay out, and that is exactly what he did,” Cormier said.
Teixeira MMA in Danbury is an unassumingly small gym in a little town in Connecticut. There is a small cage in the front room and some machines in the back. It is commonplace to see the best fighters in the world working hard on the mats up front and soccer moms getting fit in the back at the same time. This is the way Teixeira likes it. It has a family feel and the family man Teixeira used this method to get himself a title, so why not use it for Pereira?
“And now Alex Pereira is the new middleweight champion of the world and only four fights in the UFC. Glover Teixeira is next month for the championship. Guys, that little gym in Connecticut may have two UFC champions. That’s what tells you it’s not about the big gym as much as it used to be. It’s about putting yourself in a situation where you can be successful and it’s exactly what Glover and them are doing right now.
There was some talk immediately after the bout that Adesanya could get the rematch right away, but for the time being Pereira will get right back to work and turn the tables on his coach. Teixeira is heading into his very own title fight in just a few weeks and will be trying to add another belt to the mantle in Connecticut.
