- Kamaru Usman named Alex Pereira as his pound-for-pound king following UFC 307
- Henry Cejudo rebutted and insists that “Poatan” should get past Magomed Ankalaev before claiming the title
Kamaru Usman declared Alex Pereira as the new pound-for-pound king but Henry Cejudo wants to see if the Brazilian can also dominate Magomed Ankalaev first.
Usman sees Pereira surpassing Islam
Speaking on Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru and Henry podcast, “The Nigerian Nightmare” raved about Pereira’s dominant knockout win over Khalil Rountree at UFC 307. While Islam Makhachev remains the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, In Usman’s eyes, “Poatan” has already proven that he is more deserving of that title.
“Alex Pereira, I believe, right now is the pound-for-pound king… I do believe he’s the pound-for-pound king because of the way he’s able to fight and make his opponents fight and the way he’s able to dispose of his opponents. I love Islam and his abilities. I think Islam, of course, has more tools in the shed, but for what you have to work with, Alex Pereira, I believe, is the pound-for-pound [No.1],” Usman explained.
Henry isn’t convinced yet
On the other hand, Usman’s co-host Cejudo disagreed. For “Triple C,” Pereira has yet to test himself against a high-level grappler. To do so, Cejudo said “Poatan” should face and beat Magomed Ankalaev.
“I get what you’re saying, but no,” Cejudo told Usman. “To me, it’s still not it. We still gotta see if he gets [Magomed] Ankalaev… Does he fight? Of course. Is he a killer? Of course. But we have to see if he gets past a guy that’s more likely to grapple. I’m not even sure if Ankalaev could bring in the grappling. he’s talking about going on his feet and that stuff but I think, either way, I’d still put Islam up there.”
Ankalaev is one of the top light heavyweights who hasn’t fought Pereira yet. Though both fighters have expressed interest in taking on each other, “Poatan” said Ankalaev refused to fight him at UFC 307.
As it stands, Pereira is No. 2 in the UFC’s official pound-for-pound rankings.
Watch Usman and Cejudo’s full video below:
