Nah he wouldn't. MMA has developed. Poatan defended all takedowns from Ankalaev while being injured. MMA isn't the same as it was, calf kicks have a bigger impact now, a more controlled pace instead of high volume all the time is more efficient due to precision. Heck, DC said in an interview that he thinks he wouldn't beat Alex even in his prime , that looking at Alex's performances and the development, he tries to compare, but he said he thinks Alex would likely have beaten him if they fought. Ngannou when just ranking fighters (assuming prime DC ofc) also out Alex a step above Prime DC. That's as close as you can get, DC saying he likely wouldn't be able to beat Alex and Ngannou seeing Alex Pereira as better than DC. You guys get too much attached to the past, as if it were always better. That's a common feeling to have, but it's not true.
Nope, Alex is on another level compared to Gane. Just seeing what he did to Jiri Prochazka, who beat Reyes and Glover. Glover was 42 yo but he said he was almost as good as his prime days (he looked very very fit there too which is a contrast to his younger self who was more flabby, some PEDs were being less restricted back then, and it shows). Poatan dominating Prochazka is like JJ dominating Glover but in a different level.
Now just imagine how badass it would have been if he actually cared for his alread deafeated opponent's health and tried to stop him from falling down face down? Like when Tyson, even though he was dirty in that fight though, cared about Botha not falling out of the ring.
I'm a huge Poatan fan but I agree that DC, Gus, Lyoto, & TRT Vitor would be major problems for Pereira. It could be argued that Sonnen & Bader could pose issues for him to with their wrestling, but I think he'd have a better chance catching them then them getting him to the ground for the whole fight. I think Poatan would out strike Rampage, Shad, & Glover especially with Alex's kickboxing, but Shad & Glover could be a scary matchup for him too due to Shad's legitimate wrestling & Glovers ground game if they didn't stand in front of him the entire time. Shogun would be a toss up because Pereira I would think would be better on the feet but Shogun is so damn tough I can see Shogun eating shots & catching Pereira much like Izzy did. At the end of the day it's impossible to know for sure how these hypothetical matchups would go down, but it is very intriguing to think about. Anyone could be right in these type of conversations.
Poatan gets credit for beating 42 year old Glover but Jon doesn't get credit for beating 41 year old Stipe?
Even without the Jones losses DC was nearly KO’d by Rumble, then nearly KO’d by Gus and arguably lost a decision to him, then was getting out grappled by Rumble with the dumbest gameplan and worst cardio of all time, and was hurt by 197lb post gallbladder surgery losing streak Silva.
Pereira just went 12/12 on TDD against the guy you all said would take him down at will, and still potentially won against a guy who’s never been outstruck either.
Okay buddy.
The Shogun that fought and won the 2005 LHW GP (not 2006) was a rookie that was fighting with wreckless aggression using pure talent, I don’t even think Shogun ever reached his prime, injuries hindered that from occurring. Shogun losing to Forrest was not out of the realm of possibility, it was only unfathomable because people like YOU never gave UFC Fighters their dues and respect to be competitive with their PrideFC counterparts. Forrest Griffin captured GOLD his very next fight against a prime Rampage Jackson, by the way Forrest Griffin and Shogun Rua careers both mirror each other from when they both started fighting, amount of fights they both had when they fought, similar opponents with cans and elite fighters mixed in with Shogun having a better career prior to them meeting. So if Shogun was out of his prime when they fought, then so was Forrest Griffin who had losses and was older.
Pride fans will say Shogun was out of his prime for the first Forrest fight because he was injured magically post Pride, out of his prime for the Jones fight after KOing Machida, but then magically good for the Forrest 2 fight months later when he wins in the 1st. Or after that with his FOTY against Hendo they say he got robbed in.
I don't think you know what the scaling of "beat with low-mid difficulty" means if you think this is what that means.
Literally nobody said this but okay Michelangelo.
