Pereira by KO within 2 rounds. SIZE matters, dont fool yourselves.
Yeah I don't think it'd be that easy... But Chimaev would have a hard time taking Pereira down, who weighs 230 lbs at fight's night and even with Norovirus, stopped all 12 TDs from a Sambo specialist (who only tries wrestling when the opponent is elite in striking... The fact he tried 12 TD s attempts, most Ank has ever tried, shows how much he needed to clinch to blunt Pereira's danger). DDP hasn't a good TDD defense, Pereira has proven to have evolved in grappling a lot and is better than DDP there. Since Pereira would be fighting fresh, with 230 lbs on fights night more or less, that'd be tough for Khamzat.
Can Khamzat take him down? Absolutely. But imo it'd be a more like vs Usman, where he'd meet someone who he needs to expend a lot of energy to chain wrestle... So i see it similar to Usman — he wins until the third round... By the 4th round, I'd say Pereira would kinda... Best him up. Pereira would be adding calf kicks too, and that slows his entries. Even when taken down, punches in the clinch which Pereira does well saps his strength too. So it's MMA, not wrestling. And Khamzat isn't a big MW, like, he'd be ~ 205 lbs fight night considering his off camo weight is less than 200. That added mass vs someone at 230 who is complete in the sense of hard AF to take down, has an elite cardio and power that he has never tested... I'd say it would be nice to see so we can see how it'd go, but... If Ankalaev, a complete fighter, had a tough time in a close UD vs Pereira, who can very well win the rematch, then... I don't see Chimaev as a bigger threat than Ank would be. Ankalaev is elite because he's big for LHW too (~225 lbs and naturally 240) and has a master background in Sambo and elite striking. And he was one of the top Russian grapplers in Russian Dagestani tournaments... Add that to his high level striking and Ankalaev is a complete fighter, no wonder he's undefeated (has the skills of an undefeated fighter).
Chimaev called Ankalaev or Pereira —> he said "they're fighting now, who's winning, I don't know. But I can fight both of them. I think Alex wins the rematch but even if he loses and I don't fight for a belt there, I still want to fight him. He's someone that I want to stop"...
Pereira likely goes to HW firstly though as he's seeking a JJ fight. That's why Pereira will face the winner of Tom and Gane. JJ's team had said they would fight Pereira. Pereira's plan is to beat Tom to call JJ out. DC wondered " if JJ and Tom were a novel, I wonder if he'd drag oun to fight Alex Pereira, because if he will, then it'd be a turn off. Alex Pereira is... I don't know, we have had many scary fighters here in the UFC, but he's like an ultimate bad guy. He's just out there collecting infinity stones, like Thanos. And if he's in good shape and touches you, you go to sleep" Joe Rogan " yes, everyone goes to sleep".
Topuria said on the Rohan's podcast "yes, I met Pereira once and he's very serious. He's calm and very very serious and stoic haha. And his striking and power, and his talent to learn and evolve, it's huge. Absolutely great. I remember when he made his UFC debut, I went there with my brother to watch him. He's incredible. And he is non stop, he's a beast. I want to see him as a champion again, he is excellent"
Tom Aspinall also said " I don't know, between JJ and Alex Pereira who'd be tougher. I mean, I'm not discrediting Jon Jones' skills. Alex Pereira though, he is... He is fucking scary and he learns and evolves quickly. In my opinion, he's one of the most dangerous fighters to ever fight in the UFC. Ever. He'd be a very, very dangerous fight. I personally am not pushing for that fight. He is doing a great job at light heavy. And I don't necessarily think about fighting those legacy fights, maybe it can happen, but... Regardless I want to prepare the most. If I lose, I may be ok... No, its gonna suck, but if I lose I want st least to have given the best that I can. For me to know that I lost but I made everything that I could. That way a loss will sting less. I think he is most likely the most dangerous non-armed fighter right now"
... I don't think those are empty words. Ankalaev also said he likes Alex stoic attitude and that he thinks Alex is in a different level from all the fighters from LHW and HW, saying he thinks he's the only one who can stop him...
