Sean O’Malley believes Alex Pereira might just retire.
The powerful ‘Poatan’ was knocked out by longtime rival Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 where he lost his UFC Middleweight title in the process. This would be Adesanya’s first win over Pereira in a series where the Brazilian won their first three fights (twice in kickboxing and once in MMA).
‘Suga’ Says The Weight Cut ‘Compromised’ Pereira
Pereira has been known to cut a lot of weight to reach the middleweight limit and O’Malley thinks that his latest weight cut led to his downfall last weekend.
“Alex Pereira cut so much weight. You cut that much weight, your chin is compromised,” O’Malley said on his podcast. “Izzy had him rocked in the first fight. Cause he landed big. He said he played possum. He kind of covered up and he unloaded that f*cking right hand, cracked him. It was over from there. Pulled the bow, hit him three times for the one time.
“You could tell his entire training camp was dialed in. He took no shortcuts and you could just see it in his eyes, how focused he was to be focused for 25 minutes, especially going into a fight when the last fight played out that way. 25 minutes is a long time to focus. And that f*cker came ready to go.”
‘I Think Pereira’s Done’
Despite Pereira being 1-1 against Adesanya in MMA, it looks like there won’t be an immediate rematch between the two — since UFC boss Dana White and the champ Adesanya aren’t too interested in it.
While White has entertained the idea of Pereira going up to light heavyweight, ‘Suga’ thinks the 35 year-old might call it quits when it comes to his MMA career.
“I think Pereira’s done,” O’Malley continued. “I don’t even, how old is he? I think he might be done. I think he might call it. I think cutting too much weight is definitely hurting him. Cutting way [too much weight].”
