Media Alex Pereira reacts emotionally to being inducted into the GLORY Hall of Fame

[Iroh]

You are, to an extent, right. But to be fair, in his very short mma career he has beaten 3 past/current/future UFC champions in Strickland, Izzy and Jan. If he beats Jiri, it will be four. Yes, styles make fights and all that, but having a good win against a dedicated grappler/wrestler would mean something to a knowledgable guy like you, but not for the average Joe. Nor would a win over a guy like Ankalaev (no name guy so far, at least to casuals) do anything for his overall legacy.

To anybody who truly cares about fighting, whose opinion do they value more? The opinions of people who understand the game, or the opinions of those who don't?

Do they want the recognition from casuals that will shit on them as soon as their career hits a rough patch, or do they want recognition from people who actually and fully can appreciate the art they are bringing to the octagon, ring or whatever the arena might be?

Does he care himself about being the actual best fighter he can be and face all the different challenges that MMA brings, or does he just want the fame and money and doesn't mind that he is actually being protected from guys that have a good chance of taking his claim of being the best away from him?

Whose opinion do you value more when it comes to GOAT-talks? That from someone who knows his shit or that from someone who doesn't?

Sorry if I am being too repetitive there. Lol. I hope my point is clear though.

Also, people often like to use the narrative of :"Nobody will remember the circumstances in x amount of years! They will only see the records, the Ws, the titles, etc."

Well yeah, again the future casuals will not dig deeper and will also not take into consideration the styles as much. But people who actually put effort into understanding the sport will know, and with the current digital age, the details of the circumstances will always be floating around on the intrawebz for people to find.

 

[World eater]

To anybody who truly cares about fighting, whose opinion do they value more? The opinions of people who understand the game, or the opinions of those who don't?

Do they want the recognition from casuals that will shit on them as soon as their career hits a rough patch, or do they want recognition from people who actually and fully can appreciate the art they are bringing to the octagon, ring or whatever the arena might be?

Does he care himself about being the actual best fighter he can be and face all the different challenges that MMA brings, or does he just want the fame and money and doesn't mind that he is actually being protected from guys that have a good chance of taking his claim of being the best away from him?

Whose opinion do you value more when it comes to GOAT-talks? That from someone who knows his shit or that from someone who doesn't?

Sorry if I am being too repetitive there. Lol. I hope my point is clear though.

Also, people often like to use the narrative of :"Nobody will remember the circumstances in x amount of years! They will only see the records, the Ws, the titles, etc."

Well yeah, again the future casuals will not dig deeper and will also not take into consideration the styles as much. But people who actually put effort into understanding the sport will know, and with the current digital age, the details of the circumstances will always be floating around on the intrawebz for people to find.

Well, they mostly value the opinion of those who buy ppvs.
But to answer the point of your question, I think in Alex’s case it was clear that he was fast tracked to the Izzy fight, but lets bear in mind Izzy was a long reigning champion who cleared the top 10. So yes, maybe he didn’t test himself against proper wrestlers, but wins against Strickland and Izzy were impressive for a guy with so little mma experience. When the Jan fight was announced, many (myself included) thought that he would get easily dominated to a decision. Yet he won. If he takes out Jiri (and I’m rooting a bit for Jiri tbh), the guy who actually submitted Glover, there is no way this guy does not cross into legendary status.
Also, Ank made the situation very difficult for himself recently, but I have no doubt both Hill and Ank will get their shots considering Alex’s fight schedule, provided he takes out Jiri ofc.
Now, if he takes out Ank, he will gain more respect from you and guys like you who want to see every aspect of combat tested properly. He, however, already gained mine as I am a kickboxing fan first and mma fan second.

 

[HaulParris]

He got inducted into the HOF during GLORY Collision 6 last weekend (which I attended), a memorable moment in his combat sports career!

Right at the start of this UFC Embedded episode you can see Alex Pereira's live reaction, while he was watching the kickboxing-event:




Alex is the third ever GLORY Hall of Fame inductee, as he joins Joseph Valtellini and Semmy Schilt:




Here is Poatan's pre-recorded reaction, which was also shown inside the packed out GelreDome in the Netherlands last weekend:




Here's a heartwarming video of his exceptional pre-UFC career:




Will Alex Pereira cement himself amongst the combat sports GOAT's if he, on top of his simultaneous GLORY Kickboxing double-champ status, also manages to become two-divisional UFC champion by beating Jiří Procházka this weekend?

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Respect

 

[IronGolem007]

Depends what he wants to do. If he just wants wins that look good, just find another striker to beat. Hill definitely seems like the perfect candidate, especially because he is also a former champ that didn't lose the belt. If he wants to built a truly legit MMA legacy, fight Ankalaev or even Khamzat, the latter would be a big money fight, too, which is a nice big plus and there is also some backstory already there. Though I'm sure lots of people would shit on that match up because Khamzat wouldn't have 'deservered' it.

Concur. He should be Jamahal Hill, then face Khamzat for a money fight. Striker versus grappler.

Alex would have a rough 1-2 rounds, and if he survived he would eventually decimate Chimaev.

 

[Iroh]

Well, they mostly value the opinion of those who buy ppvs.

We're talking about the legacy they want to leave, the status of combat sports greatest. But if you think they mostly care about the people buying PPVs, then you admit you think they think money and fame is more inportant than the actual achievements. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, everybody fights for their own reasons, but it does matter when talking about greatness and what you are willing to do to achieve it.

But to answer the point of your question, I think in Alex’s case it was clear that he was fast tracked to the Izzy fight, but lets bear in mind Izzy was a long reigning champion who cleared the top 10.

Why keep that in mind? It's not relevant to the point of facing hard stylistic match-ups. We know Izzy was a great champ, that didn't make him any less of a favorable style for Alex.

So yes, maybe he didn’t test himself against proper wrestlers, but wins against Strickland and Izzy were impressive for a guy with so little mma experience.

Impressive, as impressive as they would have been in kickboxing, because they basically were kickboxing matches. Nobody is questioning Pereira is impressive as a kickboxer. He just reestablished he is a great kickboxer in those fights, but it's not inpressive from the other aspects of MMA. And the grappling displayed in the Izzy fight was also not impressive, especially not since he is supposed to be the best of the division, as a champ

When the Jan fight was announced, many (myself included) thought that he would get easily dominated to a decision. Yet he won.

Yeah, but he got handled in the first because he was easily outgrappled. Luckily for him, Jan wasn't properly prepared for altitude (very dumb move IMO) and Alex was well prepared for fighting at high altitude (very smart move)

But Jan's actual fighting skills weren't as much to blame. And he still couldn't get a completely gassed Jan out of there either. Not that that is an easy thing to do, but it's something to note when speaking of greatness in MMA context.

If he takes out Jiri (and I’m rooting a bit for Jiri tbh), the guy who actually submitted Glover, there is no way this guy does not cross into legendary status.

Already reached that status long ago, IMO.

But how impressive the fight is will really depend on how it plays out. If Jiri tries to really just stand up with him and then gets caught because he basically has his hands low all the damned time and gets caught quite often, I don't think it would be that impressive, as Jiri would conpletely play into Alex his game and Alex won't really have to prove himself as an MMA fighter, because he can take care of it as a kickboxer. But if Jiri actually tries to grapple him seriously, and he still manages to win, then mad respect for Alex improving his grappling enough to get the W.

Also, Ank made the situation very difficult for himself recently, but I have no doubt both Hill and Ank will get their shots considering Alex’s fight schedule, provided he takes out Jiri ofc.[/quite]

Yeah, Ank has pesky habit of not making it easy on himself. Lol.

You can't keep up a high schedule of fighting for too long it's very taxing on the body and mind and injuries are bound to happen.. So I hope Alex will be as active as he has been, but I'm just not as sure it will happen as you seem to be. Not to speak of whatever other reasons there are for fights to fall through. LHW belt has been like a hot potato too for a long time and for the weirdest reasons. Lol

[Quite]Now, if he takes out Ank, he will gain more respect from you and guys like you who want to see every aspect of combat tested properly. He, however, already gained mine as I am a kickboxing fan first and mma fan second.

I said I already consider him a combat sports great, bud. He already got my respect too. We aren't talking about whether I respect him or not, we are talking about greatness which means you need to do special things to achieve it. Being in mainly stand up fights isn't special for him, even though I still respect every single of those fights, win or lose.

What he did in kickboxing was really special. What he did in MMA much less special compared to guys who achieve greatness in MMA without the special treatment he got.

 

[World eater]

We're talking about the legacy they want to leave, the status of combat sports greatest. But if you think they mostly care about the people buying PPVs, then you admit you think they think money and fame is more inportant than the actual achievements. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, everybody fights for their own reasons, but it does matter when talking about greatness and what you are willing to do to achieve it.




Why keep that in mind? It's not relevant to the point of facing hard stylistic match-ups. We know Izzy was a great champ, that didn't make him any less of a favorable style for Alex.



Impressive, as impressive as they would have been in kickboxing, because they basically were kickboxing matches. Nobody is questioning Pereira is impressive as a kickboxer. He just reestablished he is a great kickboxer in those fights, but it's not inpressive from the other aspects of MMA. And the grappling displayed in the Izzy fight was also not impressive, especially not since he is supposed to be the best of the division, as a champ



Yeah, but he got handled in the first because he was easily outgrappled. Luckily for him, Jan wasn't properly prepared for altitude (very dumb move IMO) and Alex was well prepared for fighting at high altitude (very smart move)

But Jan's actual fighting skills weren't as much to blame. And he still couldn't get a completely gassed Jan out of there either. Not that that is an easy thing to do, but it's something to note when speaking of greatness in MMA context.



Already reached that status long ago, IMO.

But how impressive the fight is will really depend on how it plays out. If Jiri tries to really just stand up with him and then gets caught because he basically has his hands low all the damned time and gets caught quite often, I don't think it would be that impressive, as Jiri would conpletely play into Alex his game and Alex won't really have to prove himself as an MMA fighter, because he can take care of it as a kickboxer. But if Jiri actually tries to grapple him seriously, and he still manages to win, then mad respect for Alex improving his grappling enough to get the W.



I said I already consider him a combat sports great, bud. He already got my respect too. We aren't talking about whether I respect him or not, we are talking about greatness which means you need to do special things to achieve it. Being in mainly stand up fights isn't special for him, even though I still respect every single of those fights, win or lose.

What he did in kickboxing was really special. What he did in MMA much less special compared to guys who achieve greatness in MMA without the special treatment he got.

Fair enough, Maybe I misunderstood your viewpoint a bit. Regardless, both Strickland (supposedly) and Jan are solid grapplers, they just fought stupid against him. Maybe Jiri will also fight stupid against him. Maybe the threat of a flash ko makes people fight weirdly against him much like strikers fight weird against the likes of Khabib cause of the TD threat?
Either way, I’m looking forward to find out.
Thanks for the lengthy reply, it is appreciated and I concur with many of the points you mentioned.

 

[Escabar]

No hate but why is Joseph Valtellini in a Glory HOF and Nieky Holzken isn't ?

I think cause he suffered a brain injury but managed to get back to health and is now a commentator so he's a company guy and there is sympathy cause his career was cut short.

 

[TheBulge]

OP getting emotional as he watches Alex Pereira getting emotional as he watches himself being inducted into the GLORY Hall of Fame.

 

[BoxerMaurits]

And now this is reality: