Chael Sonnen surely made the world of mixed martial arts buzz when he claimed that Alex Pereira was the best heavyweight fighter in the UFC. During a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy, Sonnen shared his thoughts with Daniel Cormier by picking ‘Poatan’ over Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones, two fighters who many consider to be MMA GOATS. He said, “I’m gonna ride with Alex Pereira, I believe. Well, our heavyweight champion, our heavyweight champion that we’re discussing right now, has fought one time in three years. Our other heavyweight champion has fought one time in four years and only one time in the division.”

So it was no surprise that many questioned the logic behind his claim and what were all the factors he took into consideration. Well, it seems like the question has reached the ears of Chael Sonnen, as he gave a detailed explanation as to why Pereira is a better heavyweight, according to him. The 47-year-old claimed that it is a striker’s world’ right now. So according to him, Pereira is simply the better striker out of the lot. While Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou, despite their strengths, actually lack the striking skills necessary.

Taking to his Instagram, Sonnen said, “Whoever you’re gonna say is the best heavyweight right now, you would also have to say is the best striker at heavyweight right now. I went with Pereira. It is a striker’s world right now, like largely we have never seen or even predicted. And that’s where I come with Pereira. I don’t know how much you can bring Francis into it, regardless of how great he looked. That was one MMA fight dating all the way back to his time in the UFC—that was when we fought Ciryl Gane. And then you have Jon with one performance; I mean, it’s a very interesting thing. I think it probably does come down to Aspinall and Pereira.” 

Well, fans surely will agree with Chael Sonnen here. Alex Pereira is blitzing his way into entering the UFC Hall of Fame. The Brazilian, who debuted in the competition in 2021, became champion of the middleweight division by defeating Israel Adesanya. Adesanya would return the favor and defeat him in the rematch a few months later. After this first achievement, ‘Poatan’ decided to move up a category. At the end of 2023, he beat Jiri Prochazka and became the 205-pound champion.

He has also defended this title: at UFC 300 against Jamahal Hill and at UFC 303 this weekend in the rematch of Prochazka. In just three years, Alex Pereira has reigned in two divisions. Now, the Brazilian could have his eyes set on 265 pounds.

Alex Pereira and the opportunity to become the first triple-champion in UFC history

When Joe Rogan asked Alex Pereira about moving to heavyweight just after he knocked Prochazka down and earned the approval of the T-Mobile Arena fans, the possibility of being the first triple UFC champion was unanimous. ‘Poatan’, however, left that option in the hands of the competition. He said, “I think that’s in my future. I said that last time I was here; I say that a lot, but there didn’t seem to be too much interest in the organization. But I’m here, I’m available, and I do think that this is in my future… I think the fans have a lot of say in this, whatever they want. In the end, these are the people paying for this, and if this is what they want, it’s going to be inevitable.”

Being a double champion is something that many try, but few achieve. The last one was none other than Alexander Volkanovski. Before losing his featherweight belt to Ilia Topuria, ‘Volk’ tried to become a double champion (simultaneous) by challenging the lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev. He failed in his two attempts in 2023. Never in the history of the competition has there been a triple champion!

But now that Pereira is showing true dominance inside the Octagon, it wouldn’t be surprising to see if ‘Poatan’ actually manages to create history in the Dana White-led promotion. What do you think? Will Pereira be able to become the first Triple Champion? Let us know in the comments.