Chael Sonnen discusses a potential matchup for Alex Pereira apart from the immediate rematch with Israel Adesanya

Chael Sonnen has discussed a potential fight for Alex Pereira apart from his much-awaited UFC rematch against Israel Adesanya.

In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Sonnen alluded to the fact that Pereira is likely to defend his UFC middleweight title in a rematch against former champion Adesanya next.

Alex Pereira beat Israel Adesanya in the sport of kickboxing in 2016 and did it again in 2017. Besides, the Pereira-Adesanya MMA bout transpired at UFC 281 on November 12th, 2022. 'Poatan' defeated Adesanya via fifth-round TKO at UFC 281 and captured the UFC middleweight title.

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Chael Sonnen suggested that there are several top-tier UFC middleweights whom Alex Pereira hasn't fought yet. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that most of them are currently scheduled for upcoming fights.

This includes highly-anticipated middleweight matchups such as Sean Strickland-Jared Cannonier, Robert Whittaker-Paulo Costa, Derek Brunson-Jack Hermansson, and Darren Till-Dricus du Plessis.

Additionally, Chael Sonnen harked back to Robert Whittaker's recent assertions. During the UFC 284 ticket on-sale press conference, Whittaker opined that Pereira is a better stylistic matchup for him than Adesanya, adding that he believes he could take 'Poatan.'

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Irrespective of the scheduled Whittaker-Costa matchup, Sonnen criticized Whittaker for not being vocal enough in demanding a fight against Pereira right away.

Moreover, 'The Bad Guy' explained that with Robert Whittaker and the other high-ranking UFC 185-pound fighters already booked, the UFC might simply proceed with the Pereira-Adesanya rematch next. Addressing a possible Pereira-Whittaker matchup, Sonnen stated:

"Both ways still comes to 'Izzy,' but there could be a dialogue on that [Pereira vs. Whittaker]. There could be a back-and-forth. There could be a fight. There's not gonna be a dialogue. There's not gonna be a back-and-forth. And there's not going to be a fight if the greatest thing we have to work with is 'I think I can take him.'"

Watch Sonnen discuss the topic at 4:10 in the video below:

Daniel Cormier on how Israel Adesanya's team would want his MMA rematch against Alex Pereira to play out

In an edition of ESPN MMA's DC & RC Show, Daniel Cormier highlighted that many believe Israel Adesanya was robbed of the decision victory in his first kickboxing bout against Alex Pereira. 'DC' also indicated that Adesanya was beating Pereira in their kickboxing rematch and their MMA bout before 'Poatan' rallied to stop him via knockout.

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On that note, Daniel Cormier emphasized that barring the ending, Israel Adesanya's team wouldn't want his upcoming MMA rematch against Alex Pereira to play out differently. Cormier said:

"Well, if you are team Adesanya, you don't want it to go any differently, outside of the ending. Because he was fighting well."

Watch Cormier's assessment at 20:28 in the video below: