Kamaru Usman branded himself the ‘welterweight boogeyman’ after his win at UFC Atlanta on Saturday night.
The ex-champion beat Joaquin Buckley to end his long losing streak, which dated back to November 2021, before sending a message to the rest of the top contenders at 170lbs.
While he may be the scariest fighter in his weight class, Joe Rogan believes that the UFC’s true boogeyman competes at light heavyweight
The legendary UFC commentator recently educated country singer Oliver Anthony on MMA’s most terrifying man.
Joe Rogan raves about ‘boogeyman’ Alex Pereira
Alex Pereira has been nothing short of exceptional since crossing over to the UFC at the end of 2021.
‘Poatan’ has won two titles and knocked out world-class fighters in two different weight classes.
Rogan believes the Brazilian has established himself as ‘the boogeyman of boogeymen’ during his epic four-year UFC run.
The 57-year-old recalled predicting Pereira’s rise during the most recent episode of his podcast.
“The best example of a quick rise to the top is Alex Pereira, but Alex Pereira is one of the greatest kickboxers of all time,” Rogan told the ‘Scornful Woman’ hitmaker.
“When he entered into the UFC, a lot of people were completely unaware of him. Me, as a giant kickboxing fan, he was the guy! I was like, ‘When this motherf—– comes over here, bodies are going to drop’.
“I remember Daniel Cormier saying to me, ‘Really?’ And I said, ‘Dude, I’m telling you.’ I pointed to him in his debut and said, ‘That’s the f—— boogeyman of boogeymen’. He knocks people into orbit.
“I showed him videos of Pereira’s kickboxing fights, and he was like, ‘Holy s—!’ I said, ‘Everybody he touches, he’s got the touch of death’.
“Then he started steamrolling people. Knocked out [Sean] Strickland in one round. The opening fight, he hit that dude with a flying knee and just sent him into orbit.
“That guy, within three years, he was a two-division world champion, which is nuts. Nobody’s done that before. Defended the light heavyweight title multiple times. He’s only been fighting MMA for five or six years.”
What’s next for Alex Pereira?
Alex Pereira’s fearsome reputation took a hit when he lost his 205lb title at UFC 313 in March.
Magomed Ankalaev outpointed him over five rounds to become the new light heavyweight king.
Post-fight, UFC CEO Dana White hinted Pereira would get an immediate rematch against Ankalaev.
However, several months later, fans are still waiting for an official announcement about that title fight.
“We haven’t talked about it yet but we know that it’s around October. It could be September, October, November,” Pereira said in his most recent comeback update.
Only time will tell if he’ll be able to land his ‘touch of death’ and avenge the loss later this year.