Kamaru Usman thinks Alex Periera is the pound-for-pound #1 fighter in the UFC after he battered Khalil Rountree Jr. at their UFC 307 clash last weekend. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ felt ‘Poatan’s utter domination of his past few opponents made him deserving of the #1 spot over current king, Islam Makhachev.

But Usman’s own (and Islam Makhachev’s) manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has taken great offense to Usman’s hot take. So much so that he took to Twitter to call out Usman in pretty strong terms for his P4P take.

“[Kamaru Usman] brother he just fought the number 8th guy in the division, there is a reason why he is not fighting the number 1 guy Magomed Ankalaev, brother you drinking the Kool-Aid too, hey [Henry Cejudo] you gotta pinch your partner sometimes,” Abdelaziz wrote along with a clip from Usman’s ‘Pound 4 Pound Podcast’ where he made those comments.

Abdelaziz, of course, is incredibly close to the whole Dagestani contingent, including Makhachev, and apparently couldn’t sit idly by as the lightweight champ’s P4P status was questioned. Even if by his own client! To be fair, Abdelaziz is correct that the UFC seems reluctant to have Pereira fight #2-ranked Magomed Ankalaev, another one of Abdelaziz’s illustrious clients.

The Dagestani has been the clear title contender this whole year. But was passed over yet again for Pereira #8 ranked Rountree Jr., whom the champ utterly outclassed just like most fans expected. But why is there this sentiment that the UFC doesn’t want Pereira to fight Ankalaev?

Fans feel Dana White is protecting Alex Pereira from Ankalaev and his ground game

Some feel that Dana White and Co. are ‘protecting’ ‘Poatan’ from the Dagestani. Even though Ankalaev is primarily a striker, he does have a competent ground game. And since grappling is allegedly Pereira’s weakest department, so they say, the UFC is afraid Ankalaev will take Pereira down and maul him on the ground.

Pereira’s credentials of defending his title thrice in seven months, saving UFC cards on multiple occasions, and conquering two divisions in just 10 fights position him as a cash cow for the MMA juggernaut. And any promotional blunder at this point would kill the hype around Dana White and Co.’s ‘golden goose’ and the undisputed face of the UFC at the moment. But soon the UFC doesn’t may not have a choice.

Anakalev is set to fight #5 ranked Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308. And if the Dagestani wins that fight, he will emerge as by far the clearest title contender. But the UFC is a business, and if Pereira-Ankalaev is just too big of a business risk, they may choose to deny the Dagestani again. After all, Dana White is nothing if not thick-skinned. Criticism and backlash from the fans are not things he worries about. Who do you think Alex Pereira should fight next?