Alex Pereira is set to make history at UFC White House as he looks to become the promotion’s first three-division titleholder.
Possibly with an asterisk.
At the historic June 14 event, Pereira fights Ciryl Gane for an interim heavyweight title, with undisputed champion Tom Aspinall indefinitely on the shelf as he recovers from eye injuries that occurred in his fight with Gane this past October. “Poatan” previously won UFC belts at 205 and 185 pounds and would become the first fighter to hold titles in three divisions if he defeats Gane.
Henry Cejudo, a former two-division champion himself, believes Pereira might not get the recognition he’s hunting for even if he’s victorious at the White house.
“Check this out, if you are going to fight for that third belt, it’s got to be the undisputed belt,” Cejudo said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast. “It takes a little bit of what being a triple champ is. He’s also going up against a dude that was already popping up the undisputed champ. So I can see where the odds are actually coming from.
“So I just feel like if Pereira was to stick around at light heavyweight a little bit more, fight, undisputed right away. Right away. No more interim, none of that, he just waits and he’s granted that.”
What Cejudo is suggesting is that Pereira should have defended his light heavyweight title instead of vacating, then wait for Aspinall to return and make his heavyweight move then. As it stands, Pereira now has to defeat Gane and wait for Aspinall to return to unify the belts (or be elevated to undisputed status in the event Aspinall is forced to vacate).
Cejudo earned the nickname “Triple C” after adding UFC titles at flyweight and bantamweight to his combat sports trophy collection that also included an Olympic gold medal in freestyle at the 2008 Beijing games. He knows how difficult it is to climb multiple ladders and he’s not sure Pereira even gets past the next rung.
“What I’m trying to tell you is you take your chances fighting undisputed,” Cejudo said. “You allow Tom’s eye to heal up. Because now look, now he’s going after two big dogs in order for him to become champion rather than just one. You can make history off of one. You fight two to become the first three-division champ, it changes because I don’t think he gets past Ciryl Gane. I think that weight is real.
“Ciryl Gane, he’s a stick-and-move guy. Could he? One hundred percent. Anybody, particularly in that division, but nobody has really finished Ciryl Gane. His movement is very problematic. I just don’t see any wrestling from him, which Pereira could have some, but the dude can thump. I will say this, too. Pereira also does get hit. Now, can you take a heavyweight’s punch?”
Had Pereira stayed at light heavyweight, Cejudo sees a couple of options he could have considered for another title defense.
“I think there’s so many contenders at light heavyweight for Pereira to go through,” Cejudo said. “I just feel like there’s still a lot of names to be taken out out before, there is a big matchup at light heavyweight. … There’s [Carlos] Ulberg, who he’s never fought. Of course, he could beat him. There’s Khamzat Chimaev. It was something in the making where they were both kind of tweeting to each other and whatnot.”
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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
The best knockouts of the week.
Yeah, maybe don’t do this.
Francis Ngannou (18-3) vs. Philipe Lins (18-5); Rousey vs. Carano, May 16
The UFC heavyweight champion who never lost this title facing a one-time PFL heavyweight tournament champion? It could be worse. And hey, Lins left the UFC on a win streak, he might legitimately be one of the 15 best heavyweights in the world.
Another point for Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions, in my opinion.
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