Following Dana White’s booking of #8 ranked Khalil Rountree against light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, UFC fans have been having a meltdown on the internet. However, according to UFC veteran, Chael Sonnen, Rountree might be Pereira’s Buster Douglas as he reaches Mike Tyson’s level.
Reacting to the LHW scrap, the veteran shared his thoughts with his Good Guy/ Bad Guy co-host Daniel Cormier and claimed that Pereira was now entering Tyson’s territory with that intimidating aura…
…or Cain Velasquez or Anderson Silva closer to home, who would make opponents want to quit even before walking into the ring. But Rountree could be a headache for Poatan, Sonnen claimed.
“Mike Tyson used to make guys quit in the back, Cain Velasquez would have guys wilt in the back, Anderson Silva would make guys wilt in the back as they were so scared of what was going to happen. (Alex) Pereira is entering that territory…(Khalil) Rountree is the wrong match-up!”
Explaining his thoughts, the former middleweight contender said that Rountree excels in pressure situations and has power in both hands, and the upcoming LHW title fight is not an easy fight for Pereira in any manner.
Moreover, the American has the wind in his sails, carrying forward the momentum from the five straight wins including the ones over former title challenger, Anthony Smith and Pereira‘s former Glory rival Dustin Jacoby.
Meanwhile, middleweight contender and former champion, Sean Strickland weighed in on his thoughts on Pereira’s potential return to 185 lbs.
Strickland unsure of Poatan’s 185 lbs move
All-American slugger, Sean Strickland is currently the next line for a title fight against middleweight king, Dricus du Plessis after an Uncle Dana confirmation.
But a recent update involving Alex Pereira’s reaction to du Plessis‘ win at UFC 305, now has everyone’s attention and that unfortunately includes Strickland as well. Win or lose, that is a bad man to have in your division. Besides, the only reason Pereira might be coming down a weight class is for the title.
So nobody’s safe at middleweight anymore.
With this sentiment making rounds in the community, former title holder, Strickland, in an exclusive to MMA Fighting claimed that Pereira wasn’t actually coming down to 185 as it would be miserable.
“His big a** ain’t going back down to 185 dude. As a welterweight that moved up to 185, once you get used to that weight class, the thought of going back down sounds miserable. I think Alex should fight (Dricus du Plessis) at 205 any day of the week. Any day of the week, he sits at 205, 100 percent…”
‘Tarzan’ then mentioned about seeing Pereira for his last MW bout in the locker room. And according to him, the Brazilian “looked like death,” all drained up. So, Pereira for sure isn’t going back down to MW as per Strickland and damage his legacy to risk a fight.
