Alex Pereira’s recklessness could be the reason for his downfall—and that’s not our opinion; it’s what former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen is saying. The current light heavyweight champion is just days away from defending his UFC gold against Magomed Ankalaev, and he recently re-uploaded a montage of himself sparring with a Korean kickboxer, and that too without any protective gear. This has seemingly raised concerns from Chael Sonnen.
Sparring without headgear is a gamble with your future—Muhammad Ali danced through wars, but CTE stole his voice. Justin Gaethje thrives in chaos, yet even he admits the toll of bare-knuckle blows. Similarly, we have witnessed countless examples where fighters have, time and time again, highlighted the importance of protecting your head. Chiming into the same tune, Chael Sonnen has come forward to express his concern for the light-heavyweight champ. While having a conversation on Instagram, Sonnen asserted, “So, Pereira puts out his sparring video, and he’s in there with a professional boxer. The guy is very good. There was no headgear. It bothers me.”
He further added, “Randy was the captain in the gym that I came through. He wore headgear, and Randy never became fried eggs—he didn’t get CTE. However, Randy preached controlled sparring and taking care of your partner.” Taking a nostalgic route, Chael Sonnen shared a story about how his teammate, Clayton Hires, saved his life by never allowing him to train without proper safety gear.
One day when Sonnen met up with his Clayton Hires for training, he realized that he had forgotten his headgear. Well, without any hesitation, ‘The American Gangster’ went back to training but Hires observed this. No excuses, no second chances. Clayton took one look at him and sent him packing. Sonnen was a bit salty after this interaction, but Hires actually protected the fighter from making any mistakes. The UFC legend stated, “Clayton did me a huge favor by making sure that I always had my protective gear.”
After spending his entire life preaching safety, it’s awkward for Sonnen to see such a talented fighter neglect the basic approach of taking precautions, “And when I’m watching Alex Pereira sparring, logically, I can’t accept that time is getting added to his career—that he’s getting better. I want Alex to wear headgear.” Sonnen’s analogy stands true considering the fact that many fighters have had a hard time after leaving their career.
Apart from Sonnen, Daniel Cormier is also worried for the UFC champ as his fight is coming up and he is yet to train for Ankalaev’s wrestling, “Glover’s the guy, honestly, that should be doing the most work with Alex right now because of [Ankalaev’s] wrestling…Pereira better get home, he needs to get home and lock in, because he has the hardest fight of his title reign.” Magomed Ankalaev has been working quite hard to clinch the light-heavyweight gold but the champ is yet to take this threat seriously.
Interestingly, the light-heavyweight champ appears to be in no mood to stay in the light-heavyweight division as his recent antics hint at his heavyweight jump. Given that, ‘The American Gangster’ believes that ‘Poatan’ will jump into division once again.
Chael Sonnen is certain that Alex Pereira will move to heavyweight
After conquering both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, Alex Pereira is now setting his sights on the heavyweight division. ‘Poatan’ has repeatedly asserted that he would love to fight Jon Jones. Interestingly, ‘Bones’ is chiming to the same rhythm as well. So, will Pereira move on to the heavyweight division? Well, Chael Sonnen believes that despite the outcome of UFC 313, ‘Poatan’ would leave the division.
While having a conversation on his YouTube handle, Chael Sonnen emphasized that the fight with Magomed Ankalaev is just a stepping stone for the UFC champ to transition to the heavyweight division, “If Pereira wins, he’s going to be looking for something else to do, and if Pereira loses he’s gone. I feel like many of you have forgotten how Pereira got to 205 pounds. He did not get to 205 by cleaning out 185. He got to 205 by losing at 185. That’s what opened the door: no belt no vacate – a move right up.”
He added, “So no matter what happens after Ankalaev, things are going to be very different for Pereira. I predict he’s moving up, and the ticking time bomb of Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall carrying this on and dragging this out, that time bomb reaches midnight as soon as Pereira is done with his piece of business with Ankalaev – win or lose.”
Jon Jones might want to fight with Alex Pereira but UFC CEO Dana White has promised that a title reunification match will be the next big thing for the promotion. Given that Tom Aspinall would get his chance to clash against Jon Jones even before Alex Pereira. What are your thoughts on the hubbub? State your opinion in the comments below.
The post Chael Sonnen Raises Serious Concerns for Alex Pereira’s Health Before UFC 313 After Daniel Cormier Drops the Truth appeared first on EssentiallySports.
