Daniel Cormier says he's "past betting" against Alex Pereira, claims 'Poatan' well suited to find success at heavyweight division despite obstacles
Daniel Cormier is not ruling out a UFC heavyweight championship for Alex Pereira. With 'Poatan' mentioning his desire to potentially move up another division, the former two-division champion said his days of doubting the Brazilian are now in the past.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, Cormier said he believes Pereira can "do whatever he wants" with the remaining years of his UFC career. 'DC' followed up to say he is "past betting against Alex Pereira," who is 7-1 in the Octagon with three championship wins in his brief MMA career.
Cormier said:
"[Alex Pereira] can be successful at heavyweight. I think that he can do whatever he wants. Man, I'm past betting against Alex Pereira [and] saying that he can't do something. Time and time again, Alex Pereira has proven he can do whatever he wants... Him at heavyweight, there are issues. But there are [those same] issues at 205 [pounds]."
After defending his light heavyweight title in the UFC 300 main event against Jamahal Hill, Pereira claimed he wanted to make a quick turnaround and compete at UFC 301 in his home country. The 36-year-old would soon change his mind, saying he had returned his focus to the 205-pound division.
Pereira, however, was mentioned as a potential opponent by current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. 'Bones' claimed the fight is one of the biggest that the promotion could put together as Pereira would become the first fighter to win a belt in three divisions should he become the heavyweight champion.
Daniel Cormier admits he believes Alex Pereira would knock him out in a hypothetical fight
Former two-division champion Daniel Cormier is now retired from MMA but has not stopped comparing himself to the current UFC champions and contenders.
Cormier, who twice served as the UFC light heavyweight champion, spoke with Anthony Smith during UFC 301 fight week in a video released to his YouTube channel. Though Smith was preparing to face Vitor Petrino at the event, 'DC' questioned 'Lionheart' on his feud with divisional champion Alex Pereira.
Smith asked Cormier what he thought on a hypothetical fight against 'Poatan,' to which the former wrestler claimed getting knocked out by Pereira.
Check out Daniel Cormier's comments on a hypothetical fight with Alex Pereira from his YouTube channel below:
In his career, Cormier had success against similar power punchers but appears to believe Pereira's striking skill set and power is amongst the best of all time in MMA.