Daniel Cormier was blown away by Alex Pereira’s performance at UFC 320.
Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) reclaimed the light heavyweight title he lost to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 last March, needing just 80 seconds to put his Dagestani rival away and bring an end to what had become an unseemly rivalry.
At 38 years old, many observers assumed the Brazilian’s time at the top had come to an end following his struggles in the first fight against Ankalaev. However, after his jaw-dropping performance in Saturday’s main event at T-Mobile Arena, UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier has been waxing lyrical about Pereira’s display.
"What he did against Magomed Ankalaev is so impressive because of how good Ankalaev is," Cormier said in a post-fight reaction video posted to his YouTube account. "There are so many cliches like, 'The younger guy wins the rematch, as you get older, you're not as good.' Especially when you're fighting a guy who became the champion, who is supposed to be better in the rematch, especially if he's younger. Pereira doesn't pay any attention to that type of stuff. He's just a special type of talent, a special type of guy.”
Pereira’s achievements since crossing over to the world of MMA just a few short years ago have been remarkable. The former GLORY Kickboxing 2-weight champion has now beaten 6 different opponents who have held UFC gold at various stages of their careers, and has taken part in some of the most memorable fights in recent UFC history.
"This guy has had 12 UFC fights, nine of them have been for UFC championships,” Cormier said. “He's still less than four years on the UFC roster. He's a sure-fire Hall of Famer, he has won belts three times. I think the most important factor about how dominant he is, and how daunting a task it is to fight him, is listening to his potential next challengers in Carlos Ulberg and Jiri Prochazka."
