Daniel Cormier‘s claims about Alex Pereira following his loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 have made rounds in the MMA community. Remember when ‘Poatan’ claimed he wished to move to the heavyweight division and become the UFC’s first three-division champion? Well, ‘DC’, who didn’t rate the Brazilian’s performance highly over a week ago, dismissed his chances at 265lbs which seems to have caught on.
It is safe to say that Pereira has been dubbed to be a pretty big guy physically throughout his UFC run. Even former boxing world champion, Tyson Fury, who’s a heavyweight, appeared astonished when he sized up to Pereira almost a couple of years ago. However, the former double champ looking at how he got outclassed and essentially dominated by Ankalaev, believed that Pereira had “maxed out” when it came to his heavyweight move.
“When we watched Saturday and watched him and Ankalaev fight, it gives me the idea that he has kind of maxed out the weight he can go up. I don’t think he is strong enough to deal with anyone bigger. The amount of pressure Ankalaev was able to generate without the danger coming back at him like we expected, those heavyweights will walk right through what he was throwing at him.”
And recently, he further explained his stance after revealing how he felt when he met Tom Aspinall in England. “They’re [the heavyweight fighters] are just too big. They’re just too big, like, dude, Tom Aspinall is massive. I saw him in England, I was like, ‘Woah, this dude’s huge,’” Daniel Cormier stated on his YouTube podcast. He further claimed that it was ESPN who kind of manipulated his words after taking the clips from his Good Guy/Bad Guy show, with co-host Chael Sonnen.
Claiming that he meant no disrespect to the former light heavyweight champion whatsoever, Cormier further stated, “He’s [Aspinall] just a big guy. I was not crapping on Pereira… ESPN has been getting your boy lately, dawg. They take my stuff from Chael and I show… They put the words.” ‘DC’ added, “They take the words and not the actual video of you explaining what you’re saying because the words leave a lot for the fans to interpret.”
October 5, 2024, Salt Lake City, Ut, Salt Lake City, Ut, United States: Alex Pereira in a 5-round light heavyweight title bout at the Delta Center for UFC307 – Pereira vs Rountree Jr. on October 5, 2024, in Salt Lake City, UT, United States. /PxImages Salt Lake City, Ut United States – ZUMAp175 20241005_zsa_p175_709 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex
While these comments about Alex Pereira’s potential heavyweight move have grabbed the MMA community’s attention, there’s been another development recently when it comes to his 205-pound endeavor. It seems like his rematch against Ankalaev could be coming soon.
Magomed Ankalaev supposedly confirms his rematch against Alex Pereira
Nope, we don’t have a date yet, but Alex Pereira is in luck because the reigning light heavyweight champion, Magomed Ankalaev, recently boosted the speculations about their light heavyweight title rematch. The Dagestan native confirmed that he recently had talks with Dana White and Co., arriving at a date for the rematch against ‘Poatan’. And guess what? Ankalaev also doubled down on his plans to leave no stone unturned this time as he plans to go for the kill.
“I have a date and I accepted already, I hope my opponent will accept too. This time there will be no 5 rounds, I don’t get paid by the hour,” the UFC champion stated in a tweet on X.
MMA: UFC 282 – Blachowicz vs Ankalaev Dec 10, 2022, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Magomed Ankalaev blue gloves reacts after the fight against Jan Blachowicz red gloves during UFC 282 at T-Mobile Arena. Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena Nevada USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xStephenxR.xSylvaniex 20221210_szo_cs1_0379
Now, it is all up to Alex Pereira to claim back the title and possibly make a case for his move to the heavyweight division if he ever plans to make that jump and possibly fight either Tom Aspinall or Jon Jones, who’s been clamoring for a bout against the Brazilian. Nevertheless, what do you think about Daniel Cormier’s explanation regarding his claims about Alex Pereira’s potential heavyweight move? Let us know in the comments down below.
The post “They’re Just Too Big” – Daniel Cormier Comes Clean on Claims of Alex Pereira Having ‘Maxed Out’ Before Heavyweight Move appeared first on EssentiallySports.
