Is Alex Pereira being protected by the UFC? This is not an uncommon thought at this moment in the combat sports world and many veterans including Tim Welch and his team think so. Pereira started his UFC journey in 2021 and quickly became one of the most legendary stars in the promotion with his dominant fighting style. As the light heavyweight champion the Brazilian has already defended his belt two times. Now he is going to face Khalil Rountree Jr at UFC 307.

However, this is not enough for some people including veterans to think that he is a legendary fighter. Tim Welch and his team dissected what UFC was thinking concerning Alex Pereira and there was a pretty long argument about that.

Tim Welch and the team think that Alex Pereira is being protected by the UFC

During the recent podcast, while talking about various topics under the UFC, they spoke about how apparently ‘Poatan’ was ‘overrated’ and might have been protected by the UFC against more dangerous fighters. Nick who was sitting beside MMA Guru said, “Dude you’re trying to tell me right now Like if he (Pereira) does not go out like if say in There some universe where he goes out and gets knocked out by Khalil Rountree, he is getting wrestlers his next three fights and he is losing all three of those fu** fights.”

However, Welch had a point of rebuttal saying, “Who knows how many fights he has left first of all but the UFC is also like hey this is a big star They are not gonna they’re just like let’s just get him to give him the best guys that are his worst matchup and get him outta here. They are not gonna do that.”  Even Magomed Ankalaev had accused Pereira of dodging out of difficult fights. “You are so weak [Alex]. You only pick on the guys who are in lower division than you… there is a reason why you are fighting Khalil and not me,” said Magomed Ankalaev.

This came after Pereira said that he would go down to middleweight to fight Dricus Du Plessis after he defeated Israel Adesanya to defend his title. Even Jan Blachowicz was not happy that UFC booked Pereira against no 8 ranked Rountree. Surprisingly another Daniel Cormier also had similar ideas so it seems like many veterans are in the team of accusing UFC of protecting Pereira.

What does Blachowicz have to say about this scenario?

Jan Blachowicz, who lost to Alex Pereira by a split decision in 2023, recently shared his thoughts on the UFC 307 booking during an interview with James Lynch. Blachowicz made it clear he was baffled by why Pereira, now the champion, was booked against someone ranked as low as #8. This isn’t the first time speculation has arisen about the UFC seemingly protecting the popular Brazilian champ.

Daniel Cormier also raised similar doubts when Pereira was not matched against the #2-ranked Magomed Ankalaev. Despite Pereira fighting anyone the UFC has put in front of him, people are still questioning the quality of his opponents, feeling he should be fighting tougher contenders.

Even though ‘Poatan asserted his readiness for the Russian fighter, he accepted whoever the UFC decided to line up for him. With all these debates circulating, it brings into question whether Pereira is being protected. Do you agree with the veterans, or is it just part of the game? Let us know your thoughts!