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via Imago

via Imago

Alex Pereira has managed to speedrun the UFC and become a two-division champion in only seven fights in the UFC. After his victory over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 last year, ‘Poatan’ has defeated four champions in his as-of-yet short but extraordinary UFC stint.

And as the Brazilian sets up to face former champion Jamahal Hill in the main event of the UFC 300 anniversary mega card, UFC commentator and analyst Michael Bisping spoke very highly of Pereira’s achievements in a recent YouTube video and compared the 34-year-old to GOAT contenders Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Bisping blown away by Alex Pereira

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Alex Pereria was a champion kickboxer, who became the only concurrent two-division champion at Glory FC. This was before taking up MMA later in life. It was at Glory that his fateful rivalry with Israel Adesanya began, with ‘Poatan’ emerging victorious in both their kickboxing contests.

It was this rivalry that brought Alex Pereira to the UFC as he took strong offense to Adesanya, then the UFC middleweight champion, talking trash about him in an interview, stating, “No one knows who the f**k he is”. Moreover, it drove Pereira to start training in MMA to protect his honor by defeating Adesanya.

Given this oven-ready storyline combined with Alex Pereira’s championship pedigree, it was no wonder to see him fight Adesanya for the middleweight title in only his fourth fight in the UFC. Three fights later, he defeated former champion Jiri Prochazka to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion.

Michael Bisping commended Pereira for his extraordinary run of form in the UFC and pointed out that he will have beaten five champions if he manages to get past Hill at UFC 300, which will put him in league with the greatest fighters in UFC history, even though he is not quite at the level of a Jon Jones or an Anderson Silva or a GSP.

“Alex Pereira is doing some crazy things, man,” Bisping said in a video on his YouTube account.

“He’s beaten four champions if he beats Jamahal [Hill] then he’s beating five champions in eight fights. That’s insane. It’s like the man only fights champions. He certainly only fights the very best fighters out there, and I thought as he fought and beat the most champs. Of course, I was miles away. Jon Jones one, Georges St-Pierre (two), Randy Couture (three), Demetrius Johnson (four) and Anderson Silva (five).” Bisping felt that while Nurmagomedov is not on that list either, there is a compelling reason he is considered the GOAT.

Bisping on what makes ‘Khabib’ one of the greatest

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Michael Bisping was prompted to discuss Khabib Nurmagomedov, who had a brief reign as a champion, causing some to believe it negatively impacted his legacy. According to him, it prevented him from solidifying his status as the GOAT. The former middleweight champion felt that while Nurmagomedov may not have beaten as many champions as other GOAT contenders like Jon Jones or Anderson Silva, the Dagestani’s greatness comes from him being arguably the most dominant fighter in UFC history. In fact, not having dropped a round in his illustrious career adds value to his greatness.

“And, of course, on that list there was nowhere to be seen the name Khabib Nurmagomedov… But that doesn’t matter. Khabib is the goat for other reasons. Undefeated, that’s definitely something to be respected. The man never lost a round. Again, that kind of creates this narrative that the man was just unbeatable,” Bisping told the viewers.

Clearly, Alex Pereira has proven himself to be not just one of the biggest stars in the UFC within his short stint at the UFC, but also one of the most decorated combat sports athletes, period. Having become double champions in two different sports, Bisping thinks he’s not too far off from joining the handful of fighters who have a claim to being the greatest.

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