Daniel Cormier thinks there might be some sort of communication problem with Alex Pereira.
Next month, Ciryl Gane will defend his heavyweight title against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden. It’s a matchup that upsets “Poatan,” who had been pushing for a rematch with Gane after losing to him at the White House UFC card, and earlier this week Pereira ripped the match and the “influencers” who pushed the fight, including Cormier.
On Tuesday, Cormier responded to Pereira’s comments via his YouTube channel, rejecting the idea that he is being told what to say.
“Alex Pereira is one of the best fighters we’ve seen in a very long time,” Cormier said. “Alex Pereira is a middleweight champion, a light heavyweight champion and a guy who now fights in the heavyweight division. Alex Pereira and I have built a relationship over the last five years that he’s been here. I believe it’s a great relationship and I believe it’s a friendship.
“But today, Luis gave me something: Pereira did an interview, and he said some things, and I think a lot of things seem a little confusing to me. First, it’s about the Josh Hokit-Ciryl Gane fight, but that doesn’t necessarily bother me that much. That’s not true, though.
“The UFC didn’t tell me to promote this as an upcoming fight. I’ll tell you why I think this was the fight that needed to happen, after some fact-checking. …Again, I have nothing against Alex Pereira. If anything, I consider him a friend of mine. We had great times, we had great interviews, we had great interactions.”
Pereira’s issues with Cormier weren’t limited to the Gane-Hokit fight, however. He also claimed Cormier told him he wouldn’t be champion if he beat Gane in the UFC White House, which seemed to bother Pereira. But Cormier also rejected that idea.
“Guys, that’s not what happened,” Cormier said. “This was before the White House card, and Alex asked me through Plinio (Cruz, Pereira’s translator), if he won, would he be the GOAT? (Cormier plays a video showing the interaction which he then describes).
“I didn’t say he wouldn’t be the champion; I said he wouldn’t be the GOAT, yet. I’m honest. I’m not lying to these guys. I’m not sugarcoating these guys. But I said if he were to win, defend the belt, yes, we would have the conversation. But I also said, of course, if he beat Ciryl Gane, he would be the champion. But I said he would be in the conversation…But I also think it could just be There’s a communication problem. We don’t speak the same language, all those things.
The whole issue seems to come down to Pereira wanting a rematch with Gane. From the UFC White House, Poatan pushed for a do-over, claiming Gane cheated with illegal blows to the back of the head as he finished the fight. And Cormier thinks Pereira may not be approaching this situation the right way.
“I think he’s a little bit wrong in the way he’s approaching the issue,” Cormier said. “Because he’s trying to get this rematch, and I really don’t know what he wants to base this immediate rematch on, other than maybe the strikes to the back of the head. If he builds his case on, ‘I deserve this rematch based on the fact that he finished me in the second round with illegal strikes,’ maybe. But other than that one thing, there’s really not much that justifies him getting a fight for the immediate title.
“I would say that his fighting history, his championship – two-time champion – and the fights that he had allowed him to move up to heavyweight and fight for the belt before the other guys. But if I had lost when I went to fight Stipe the first time, I don’t imagine that I would have been able to ask for an immediate rematch. I just don’t do it. Especially when I have nothing to base it on. Because if it’s not based on the illegal strikes, then is it based on “I just want this. I just want revenge. I don’t know. I need Alex to tell me what he’s basing this request on.
“As far as the Josh Hokit fight, I said he should win the title fight, and there’s a number of reasons for that. … Josh Hokit won those first two fights, and his third fight, a year after the UFC started, they put him up there with the No. 5 in the world, Curtis Blaydes, and it was one of the best heavyweight fights we’ve ever seen. Then he beat Derrick Lewis, who fought twice for the title and is ranked in the top 10. He has two top 10 finishes, in a division that doesn’t have much depth.
“Look, it could have been Volkov, because Volkov already has a history with Ciryl Gane. But even that, even if it wasn’t Hokit, they probably would have chosen Volkov.”
Pereira doesn’t have time to dwell on that, because instead of facing Gane again, the former two-division champion is set to face Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 in December. And if he wins this fight, Cormier believes he’ll finally get what he’s looking for.
“Now Pereira goes and wins his fight, I would definitely say he deserves to fight the winner,” Cormier said. “I just don’t know if the outcome at the White House somehow helps him immediately challenge for the belt. But I didn’t say he wouldn’t be the champion. I said just the opposite: that if he won, he would be in the GOAT conversation, with two guys that I admire a lot, Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson and Georges St-Pierre. So I just don’t want the conversation to change, because now we feels like we’re not aligned in terms of our views, when in reality I’ve been a staunch defender of Alex Pereira every step of the way…
“I just have to chalk this quote up to a miscommunication and a language barrier.”
Gn sports
