Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was supposed to enter his fight title defense against Kazakh finisher Shavkat Rakhmonov in the main event of UFC 310. However, ‘Remember the Name’ contracted a nasty staph infection on his toe resulting in him pulling out. With the UFC clamoring for a replacement, Rakhmonov suggested fighting for an interim title. With the risk of the UFC 310 main event falling off, Alex Pereira once again offered to save the card. Naturally, Pereira’s biggest rival at this point, Magomed Ankalaev jumped into the mix by taking potshots at ‘Poatan’.

With the 205-lbs title fight off the books at UFC 310, Magomed Ankalaev claimed that Alex Pereira is avoiding the fight with him – “Alex, keep running”. Since it was Pereira who showed an interest in fighting at UFC 310, Ankalaev’s comments seem a bit confusing. Furthermore, Magomed Ankalaev declined the offer to fight the champion at UFC 300 as it was the month of Ramadan.

Ankalaev will likely get the next title shot against Pereira after his UFC 308 win over Aleksandar Rakic. But, it seems like that fight will mostly happen next year, as Pereira has already fought three times this year. Furthermore, the light heavyweight champion expressed that he’d like some time to heal, especially after his UFC 307 war with Khalil Rountree.

Hence, Dana White finds himself amid this UFC 310 debacle amidst already growing troubles. For instance, Merab Dvalishvili is not happy that the UFC is booking Umar Nurmagomedov as his first title defense. While Dvalishvili speculated that the UFC was working on Song Yadong versus Nurmagomedov, White shut this down stating that the Dagestani bantamweight is ‘absolutely the next challenger’.

Besides Ilia Topuria, Alex Pereira is the hottest prospect in the UFC today. Chael Sonnen showered high praise on the light heavyweight champion, calling him the ‘captain of the UFC’. ‘Poatan’ has proved himself as one of the best fighters in the UFC with nine wins and two belts in three years.

Alex Pereira ‘doesn’t have a limit’ according to Chael Sonnen

Alex Pereira showed his mettle, stepping up on a moment’s notice against Jiří Procházka to save the UFC 303 card. Furthermore, Pereira agreed to fight Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, despite the promotion originally booking the bout for UFC 301. Fighting three championship bouts in a year isn’t a small feat, and ‘Poatan’ did so in 175 days, beating Ronda Rousey’s record for defending her title thrice within 189 days.

Taking note, ‘The American Gangster’ Chael Sonnen didn’t hold back in praising the 205-lbs champ – “I like that Pereira is not a black belt but he’s got a gold belt in two different divisions. I like that Pereira is the least experienced guy. He’s had 12 fights in total. And he’s the highest paid guy, and he gets that. [Sean] O’Malley and [Israel] Adesanya – they’re beautiful stuff but Pereira is paid and he doesn’t have a limit. So, it doesn’t matter whose guarantee is more, if you have the same participation agreements, Pereira is becoming a pay-per-view draw.”

Two things; Alex Pereira is a black belt under Glover Texeira. Chael Sonnen said otherwise because ‘Poatan’ hasn’t competed in grappling tournaments, nor has he submitted anyone in the octagon. Another point to note is that Pereira has had 14 professional MMA bouts, not 12. Factual discrepancies don’t take away from the substance of Chael Sonnen’s words, nor do they diminish Alex Pereira’s fighting legacy.

What do you think of Chael Sonnen’s assessment of Alex Pereira? Will ‘Poatan’ end up fighting Magomed Ankalaev before 2024 ends? Let us know in the comments section below.