Alex Pereira’s TKO victory over Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 left people impressed. He not only successfully defended his light heavyweight title, but also kept up his winning streak, along with being quite an active fighter (he fought thrice in 2024). No doubt former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is as impressed as anyone else. But what he said will surely hurt his friend, Islam Makhachev.

Pereira’s resume speaks volumes about his skills. Ever since he made his UFC debut in 2021, he has become a t͏w͏o-division cham͏pion faced some of the biggest names like Strickland, Adesanya, Blachowicz, and Jamahal Hill. Doubling down on this, Usman shared his thoughts on Pereira in his latest podcast episode.

The welterweight fighter said, “Alex Pereira, I believe right now is the best pound-for-pound king. I believe so. You can say what you want, Henry [Cejudo], but I do believe he is the pound-for-pound king because of the way he is able to fight.”

“Not just because of the way he’s able to fight, but because of the way he’s able to make his opponents fight and the way he’s able to dispose of his opponents. I love Islam and his abilities; I think Islam, of course, has more tools in the shed. But with what you have to work with, Alex Pereira, I believe, is the pound-for-pound king,” Usman said on Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru Usman & Henry Cejudo on YouTube.

Well, it is a big thing that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ recognized the Brazilian’s talent. But Islam Makhachev might not be happy with this. Why? Well, he is the current P4P king.

The current pound-for-pound ranking (top 5):

1. Islam Makhachev
2. Alex Pereira
3. Jon Jones
4. Ilia Topuria
5. Belal Muhammad

It must be noted that Kamaru Usman and Islam Makhachev share the same manager and a statement like this can turn their relationship a bit sour. However, this also reminds us about how the Dagestani once really wanted to be the P4P king.

Last year, at UFC 284, Makhachev successfully defeated Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision. But he was shocked when the updated P4P rankings still had him at #2. “I never expected justice and still don’t. Because we have always seen the attitude towards us in the example of our other fighters, (Magomed) Ankalaev, Petr Yan. The main thing is I flew 13,000 kilometers, defeated their champion there. Referee raised my hand up. With my head up, confident, with a belt, I came home,” Makhachev shared back then.

So we aren’t sure how the Russian will react to Usman’s opinion. Regardless, later in the conversation, Usman praised Israel Adesanya as well. Why?

Usman praises Israel Adesanya after witnessing Alex Pereira’s UFC 307 performance!

After his middleweight clash against Israel Adesanya back in UFC 287, Alex Pereira is yet to be stopped by any fighter. His amazing performance against Khalil Rountree Jr. got appreciation from the entire MMA community. Even Israel Adesanya came forward to determine that it’s ‘Chama’ time for the UFC.

While the entire focus is on ‘Poatan’ right now, Kamaru Usman has come forward to appreciate the efforts of Adesanya in previously knocking out Alex Pereira.

During the same conversation, he said, “I don’t want to take anything away from Alex Pereira and what he’s done but this makes Israel Adesanya’s finish of Alex Pereira even more, I mean, you put a guy like that away…That makes it even more impressive.”

“For what Israel Adesanya was able to do. To be able to stop a titan like that, it makes it even more impressive. But not to take anything away. This is Alex Pereira’s moment. I mean, what a fantastic, fantastic, systematic breakdown.”

Kamaru Usman and Israel Adeasnya were part of the ‘Three African Kings era’ which also included Francis Ngannou, so their friendship goes way back. Regardless, what’s your take on Usman’s statement? State your thoughts in the comments below.