Tom Aspinall is undeniably a terrifying fighter, but despite his size and strength, an MMA legend is convinced that Alex Pereira would give him more than a run for his money.
The pair of UFC champions are renowned for their fearsome knockout power, with both men famed for rendering their opponents unconscious.
Chael Sonnen believes Alex Pereira can beat Tom Aspinall
Blessed with lightning hands and formidable Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Tom Aspinall has dominated every man in his way en route to winning the UFC interim heavyweight championship.
However, while Chael Sonnen is impressed by everything the Brit has achieved, he’s adamant that despite the gulf in size, the heavyweight would struggle to overcome the challenge Alex Pereira presents.
On Saturday evening, at UFC 307, inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, ‘Poatan’ produced one of the best performances of his career.
Utilizing his sublime array of strikes, Pereira dismantled Khalil Rountree, en route to securing a fourth-round stoppage victory.
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The Brazilian oozed class, with a showing so spectacular that it’s convinced Sonnen that the former Glory kickboxing world champion could defeat the reigning UFC interim heavyweight title-holder.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, ‘The American Gangster’ said: “I cannot guarantee you that the younger, bigger guy in Tom [Aspinall] would win. There’s just something special about Alex [Pereira], and I can’t quite put my finger on it.
“I don’t know that Tom has the skills to just go out and take him down. So, we might have to take that off the board.
“I think Alex would have a really hard time getting up because of the size, but to get him there, Tom’s probably gonna want to trade, probably gonna have a little bit of ego like everybody else of, ‘Let me show all of you’. And it might work out for him, but it just might be a very dangerous proposition as well.”
Conor McGregor thinks Alex Pereira has what it takes to defeat Jon Jones
It seems Pereira really did make an impact at the weekend, as not only did he capture Sonnen’s imagination, but also made an impression on Conor McGregor.
Gifted in the striking department himself, the Irishman admires what the 37-year-old brings to the table.
He even thinks Pereira would have a very good shot of beating the legendary Jon Jones
McGregor recently gave a compelling argument as to why the 205-pound King should step up to the plate and fight the heavyweight champion.
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