Alex Pereira’s Star Power Questioned as 70lb Lighter UFC Champ Declared Las Vegas King

Alex Pereira will be making his way back inside the Octagon for the rematch against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, taking place in Las Vegas. Moreover, it’s another main event for the Brazilian star, but does he really deserve that spot? Well, former double champion Henry Cejudo seems to have a different opinion about Dana White’s UFC 320 announcement, claiming that the CEO got the main event wrong.

Not too long ago, Alex Pereira became the third fighter in UFC history to get a special honor from legendary ring announcer Bruce Buffer. The honor in question is the coveted “The One, The Only” label that Buffer calls the fighter during the introduction of his fights. This label is something that only Conor McGregor and Jon Jones have, other than Pereira. Despite that, Henry Cejudo seems to believe that ‘Poatan’ is not that big of a star.

Henry Cejudo names another champion to replace Alex Pereira in the Las Vegas PPV headliner

Henry Cejudo believes that the bantamweight title co-main event between Cory Sandhagen and Merab Dvalishvili is going to be an interesting matchup. ‘The Machine’ has been on an unstoppable run in the UFC, and as such, it irks ‘Triple C’ to see him competing in the co-main instead of the main event, which features Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. “They’re the co-main event… They should be the main event. They are the main event… I don’t know [about Pereira vs Ankalaev],” Cejudo stated on the Pound 4 Pound podcast.

This comment took his co-host and former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, by surprise. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ wanted to be sure if Henry Cejudo was questioning Alex Pereira’s star power. So he asked, “That’s interesting that you say that.. You’re trying to say that the main event should be based on star power? Is that what you’re saying?”

Well, Henry Cejudo highlighted his reason, which, in a way, makes sense. Alex Pereira is no longer the champion unless he reclaims it at UFC 320. The situation is the direct opposite for Merab Dvalishvili, who’s defending his belt that night, and that, according to Cejudo, warrants a main event spot. “Yeah, cos’ right now the star in that whole event is probably Merab… Alex is a contender, Kamaru. He doesn’t have the belt… But that’s just my personal opinion,” the former double champion added.

The UFC 313 loss, which was a lopsided one, has hurt Pereira’s status in the eyes of the MMA community to a certain extent. But despite the doubts and the setbacks, a veteran claimed that ‘Poatan’ is still “one of the greats.” Here’s what he had to say.

A fighter from a rival promotion hails Pereira as an MMA great

Before Henry Cejudo arrives at a judgment, he might want to hear what Adriano Moraes has to say about Alex Pereira. Yes, it is the same Moraes, who’s the only fighter to beat Demetrious Johnson in the latter’s post-UFC career. So, there is weight to what he says, and as far as ‘Poatan’ is concerned, the ONE Championship star claims that UFC 313 may not have been Pereira’s day, but the former light heavyweight champion has proved himself enough to be one of the best fighters to grace the Octagon.

“Sometimes you have bad times in the office. It’s not every time you’re gonna give your best performance, and unfortunately, it happened with Alex Pereira. That wasn’t his night,” said Adriano Moraes in an interview a few months ago. “Unfortunately, I think a lot of things that he really wanted to do didn’t work on that night, but he is still one of the greats.”

Well, UFC 320 will be judgment day for Alex Pereira. Not only is his chance of winning the title at stake, but his star power as well. It remains to be seen whether he ends up proving Dana White right, who placed him in the main event, or if he proves Henry Cejudo right about him not deserving the prime spot on a PPV card. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.