“Alex Pereira Is Higher on the GOAT List Than Khabib” – MMA World Divided as Post UFC 300 Debate Leaves Fans Divided

Alex Pereira‘s dominant KO win over Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 has added a new feather to his cap. The Brazilian KO’d the former light heavyweight champion in the opening minutes of the first round. No one could have predicted that the fight would end in the blink of an eye. Pereira became a two-division UFC champion in just 7 UFC fights, a monumental modern-day record in itself, the victory over Hill means he has now beaten 5 former UFC champions. This has earned him some serious praise from the MMA community.

Jiri Prochazka in UFC 295 he defeated five more champions as of now. 

Michael Bisping previously spoke of Pereira’s prowess and compared the 36-year-old to GOATs like Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov. It seems like the UFC fans are not far off the same road and recently there was a debate on Reddit under a post that claimed that Pereira is higher on the GOAT list than Khabib.

Alex Pereira blew away spectators and veterans but is he a GOAT?

‘Poatan’ has now been a two-division champion at both Glory Kickboxing and UFC. One other name that has achieved a similar feat would be Conor McGregor (Cage Warriors and UFC 2-division champion). Then the Brazilian came into MMA and rocked the stage again. His entry to the UFC was due to the fateful rivalry he had with Israel Adesanya who he defeated twice in kickboxing. But thereafter, Pereira has been in a level of his own.

Given Pereira’s pedigree, it was a no-brainer when he defeated four champions and now Hill makes it five. These things might have fueled the Reddit post that read “Alex is officially higher on the GOAT list than Khabib.” Now when it comes to Khabib, he had a 29-0 record before retiring, and ‘The Eagle’ had secured 11 submissions in his career. Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria even said that his dream rival was Khabib, due to his impressive undefeated record.

On the other hand, Pereira also boasts impressive feats. He has conquered two separate divisions in his 8-fight stint in the promotion. Even Coach Teddy Atlas dissected Pereira’s cold and stealthy fighting technique after UFC 300.

He shared his opinion in a X post which read, “Wow, Pereira gradually and methodically closed gap to punch forcing Hill to back up not set, he timed him as Hill threw and caught him, he never saw. Cold and Calculated. #UFC 300” On the other hand, Nurmagomedov has defeated Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Conor McGregor, who are veteran fighters. So the debate between the fans was truly intense.

Khabib or Pereira, who is higher on the GOAT list? Fans go back and forth

‘The Eagle’ and ‘Poatan’ have impressive records to display. Khabib Nurmagomedov retired in 2020 after defeating Gaethje and left a flawless 29-0 MMA record. Meanwhile, Pereira started his MMA race just three years ago and has already done feats Nurmagomedov never did. This got the fans divided. Some fans were vouching for their fighters, but some dismissed the list altogether.

One comment went, “Is the official goat list in the room with us? Or are you all gonna just argue about your personal opinions?” while another read, “There no such thing as a goat list just a heap of opinions.”

One fan claimed that even though Khabib was a GOAT in his weight class, Islam Makhachev could take over. The former lightweight champion is a mentor to the current champion and his pupil might just outdo his teacher – “Khabib is still a weight-class GOAT. That keeps in him S Tier. But let’s be real, Islam will take that spot by the end of the year.”

Meanwhile, another fan had some daring declarations about Khabib and Jon Jones, two of the top GOAT candidates on almost everyone’s list – “Most dominant of all time is hands down Khabib. Goat is hands down Jon Jones. Everything below is up for discussion.”

Some fans even dismissed Pereira from the GOAT list and compared him to McGregor, who lost to Khabib. Meanwhile, others supported Khabib or just ignored the GOAT list. One comment read, “Pereira fans are the new Conor fans, just stfu already lmao,” while another said, “Every fighter is called a goat it means nothing anymore.”

One fan seemed to take facts and logic into consideration, a rare sight among heated comments. This comment read, “Yeah, Pereira accomplished way more than Khabib. But Khabib is still a fantastic fighter. He just didn’t stick around enough to accumulate as many accolades.”

What is your take on the subject? Are two UFC title reigns over just 8 fights a better accomplishment than a 29-0 career? Let us know in the comments.