"Cringey as hell” - Robert Whittaker explains why he didn’t like Alex Pereira’s viral celebration after KO win over Jamahal Hill
Robert Whittaker is one of the few who has come out with a negative review of Alex Pereira's viral celebration after defeating Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.
The Brazilian successfully defended his light heavyweight title against 'Sweet Dreams' in the card's main event. 'Poatan' needed all of one round to secure the win after he knocked out the former champion with a patented left hook followed by several strikes on the ground.
After the referee stopped the fight, Pereira could be seen standing over his opponent with his hands outstretched as if to say, "This is it?"
The celebration received an overwhelmingly positive response, but during Whittaker's recent recap of UFC 300, he shared his thoughts on the moment. While the former middleweight champion was impressed by Pereira's performance, 'The Reaper' said this about his post-fight celebration:
"The most disappointing thing of his fight was his cringey celebration... I knew it was meme-related. It's still cringey as hell. He's this cool Aztec warrior right? With face paint, screaming, bow and arrow, knocking dudes out left, right and center. Then he does a little child's meme on the end. Come on, dude."
Click here to watch Robert Whittaker discuss Alex Pereira's celebration below.
Robert Whittaker explains why he is becoming more and more of an Alex Pereira fan
Alex Pereira entered the UFC's middleweight division in 2021, making his debut at UFC 268 and securing a second-round finish against Andreas Michailidis to earn a Performance of the Night bonus.
Given his two kickboxing victories over then-champion Israel Adesanya, 'Poatan' was fast-tracked up the division with favorable matchups against Bruno Silva and Sean Strickland, winning both.
He then faced off against Adesanya at UFC 281 in a much-anticipated clash, where he secured the title with a TKO win in Round 5.
He faced Adesanya again in an immediate rematch at UFC 287, suffering a KO defeat, after which he announced his move to light heavyweight.
After Pereira's successful 205-pound title defense against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, Robert Whittaker praised the Brazilian and explained why he is becoming a fan of his:
"I personally make a point not to like any other middleweight, just because they're potential opponents. I don't want to get to know them that way, I don't want to start blurring lines... [Pereira] being a middleweight at that time put him on my radar, then he moved to light heavyweight and he's doing his thing. The longer he's in light heavyweight, the more I'm starting to like the guy... He's got to be one of the coolest fighters."
Click here to watch Robert Whittaker discuss being a fan of Alex Pereira.