Chael Sonnen outlines quicker path for Alex Pereira to move up to heavyweight: "Getting him beat"
Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on the idea of Alex Pereira moving up to heavyweight and outlined a path he believes would be quicker. Sonnen noted that there are difficulties with a reigning champion moving divisions, but there could be a way to solve it.
The reigning light heavyweight champion has expressed interest in competing at heavyweight, which has generated plenty of interest from fans. Despite initially shutting down the idea, Dana White appeared to have changed his stance after 'Poatan's impressive second-round TKO win over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303.
'The American Gangster' recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he discussed the current landscape of the light heavyweight division and whether the Brazilian moving up is realistic.
Sonnen used Pereira's move to 205 pounds as an example and mentioned that he could move to heavyweight a lot easier should he lose his title. He said:
"This already happened once. We got [Alex] Pereira from middleweight, who we thought was very good, we got him to light heavyweight but how did we do it?...It was by getting him beat. He was free to go and do whatever he wanted and the same is true now. The conversation for Pereira at heavyweight aside from illness or injury...there's not going to be a viable way to sidestep [Magomed] Ankalaev." [6:44 - 7:24]
Check out Chael Sonnen's full video below:
Chael Sonnen compliments Magomed Ankalaev's title pursuit while taking jibe at rest of the division
Chael Sonnen complimented Magomed Ankalaev's persistent pursuit for a light heavyweight title fight against Alex Pereira.
During the aforementioned video, the former UFC middleweight title challenger mentioned that Ankalaev is making a strong case for a title shot, which can't be said for the other contenders. He said:
"He's [Ankalaev] speaking up saying he wants the fight...saying how many ways he could beat him [Pereira]. Laying out his record, laying out his wins-losses...his ranking...Ankalaev is doing everything that a guy that would like to get a fight should do...If you got a division of [Cory] Sanhagens, there's nothing you could do. There's nowhere to go." [9:14 - 9:52]
Check out Magomed Ankalaev's tweet regarding Alex Pereira below: