Despite being one of the greatest strikers in UFC history, Alex Pereira has one major hole in his game that is yet to be exploited.
On Saturday night, Alex Pereira gets the chance of immediate revenge when he takes on Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 320 main event for the light heavyweight title.
When the two first met earlier this year in the UFC 313 main event, Ankalaev pulled off the huge upset when he dominated the Brazilian on the feet for five rounds.
Going into their fight, Ankalaev shocked fans when he claimed that he would strike with ‘Poatan’ instead of utilizing his wrestling.
Robert Whittaker on which UFC light heavyweight would’ve given Pereira ‘hell’
Since his debut in the premier promotion in 2022, the Brazilian kickboxer has continuously showcased his striking skills, and gained the title as one of the best strikers in the sport.
Despite being one of the most accurate and devastating strikers in the sport, Pereira’s wrestling and grappling defense has left a lot to be desired.
However, up until this point, none of his opponents have really looked to exploit that hole in his game, with Jan Blachowicz being the only one to utilize wrestling as a main part of his game plan against him.
And with that, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has explained which UFC light heavyweight legend would give Pereira ‘hell’.
“You look at Pereira’s opponents that he’s fought and yes, he’s ran through them, but those dudes weren’t the guys to beat him, I don’t think,” Whittaker began to explain on the MMArcade Podcast.
“There aren’t a lot of those heavy wrestle mixed guys in the division at this moment. You know what I was thinking just now… You know who would’ve given Alex hell? (Daniel Cormier). Light heavyweight DC would’ve ran him over I reckon,” Whittaker continued.
Because of his rivalry and history with Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier often gets disregarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, however, his skillset and accolades speak for themselves, and he is one of the greatest 205lb fighters of all time.
Pereira could overtake Cormier with a win at UFC 320
Fortunately for ‘Poatan’, he joined the UFC in the era after Cormier, and their paths never crossed in the cage.
And despite Cormier’s history and success in the division, with a win over Ankalaev this Saturday, Pereira could overtake ‘DC’ for the most amount of title defenses in the division, with Jones still occupying top spot.