Schaub started off the discussion about Adesanya's move up with a mention of his archrival, Alex Pereira. He implied how the UFC had signed even the arch nemesis of Adesanya to provide him with new competitors. But even after claiming Adesanya’s title for a short while, Pereira was also devastated by ‘The Last Stylebender’.
‘Big brown stated, “His[Alex Pereira] run was tailor-made to get him to the title shot. Great manager. Dana’s like we got a narrative like Izzy’s killing everybody at top 5. So let’s get out, let’s pair it right up there”.
However, he also had Izzy’s previous Light Heavyweight run in his mind. This might be the reason behind Schaub stating, “At Light Heavyweight, not really the same kind of easy test there, man”. It was probably due to Adesanya’s previous loss that Schaub didn’t want him to face Blachowicz once again at Light Heavyweight.
Although Izzy’s coach, Eugene Bareman, wanted him to challenge the Light Heavyweight king, Jamahal Hill, Smith and Schaub presented different opinions. Schaub gave out his take, stating, “I’d like a johnny Walker fight for him. I even think Jiri will be a better matchup than Jan for him.”
Smith also joined ‘The Sting’ as he stated, “Even Rackic is a tough matchup. He is a striker. But he can wrestle when he wants to”. Schaub presented his final suggestion, mentioning, “And Ankalaev, take a high dude, you’re gonna ruin all the stars”. However, from his words, it may be said that Schaub adjudged Ankalaev as an unfair matchup for ‘Izzy’.
Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira revealed his plans to move up a weight class and fight in the light heavyweight division. The Brazilian believes he's done his part in the middleweight division and sees this as the perfect time to compete at 205 pounds.
"My next fight will be at 205 [pounds]. Yeah, you heard right. I think I did my work and now I'm feeling good to go up to 205... This division 185, I always made weight... But now it's the moment for me to go to the next division."