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For the first time since 2019, the UFC middleweight division has a new champion. After his shocking win over Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira is now the new king at 185lbs.
While Alex Pereira looked excellent in his win over Israel Adesanya, there are definitely a number of fighters in the UFC’s middleweight division who could threaten his title reign.
Who will get the first crack at ‘Poatan’ remains to be seen, but while his striking power acts as the ultimate equalizer, a lengthy and dominant reign definitely isn’t a certainty.
Here are five UFC middleweights who could threaten Alex Pereira’s title reign.
#5. Alex Pereira vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Okay, so Khamzat Chimaev has only had one official fight at 185lbs in the UFC, his 17-second knockout of Gerald Meerschaert in September 2020. However, given that he’s already stated that a fight with Alex Pereira would be “easy money” for him, it’s definitely worth considering a clash between the two.
So could ‘Borz’ really give the new UFC middleweight champion a tough test? On paper at least, absolutely.
Sure, Chimaev would be at a disadvantage on the feet, both from a power and a technical perspective. However, while the Chechen fighter isn’t a deadly kickboxer like ‘Poatan’, what he does have is one of the most effective wrestling games in MMA right now.
Chimaev has had no issue taking down any of his foes thus far and Pereira didn’t look all that hot on the ground when he was surprisingly taken down by Israel Adesanya in their title bout. So, if the two men were to face off, there’d be every chance that the fight could hit the mat.
If it were to do that, then ‘Borz’ would definitely have a chance of sinking in some kind of choke on the Brazilian, and finishing him off soon thereafter.
So could Chimaev land a title shot at 185lbs in the future? That’s the big question mark, as there have been suggestions recently that he could be about to fight Colby Covington with a welterweight title shot on the line.
However, if he does decide to move to 185lbs permanently, then Chimaev would definitely be a threat to Pereira’s reign as champion.
#4. Alex Pereira vs. Marvin Vettori
While he’s not the flashiest fighter in the UFC’s middleweight division, it’s safe to say that Marvin Vettori is definitely one of the most effective fighters out there. So, while ‘The Italian Dream’ failed in his attempt to dethrone Israel Adesanya, could he instead take the middleweight title from new champion Alex Pereira?
Given Vettori’s impressive record over the past few years, it’d definitely make for an intriguing fight. After all, it’s arguable that the Italian did have some success against Adesanya at times during their recent fight, most notably in the clinch and when he was able to take the fight to the ground.
Admittedly, he never came close to beating ‘The Last Stylebender’ and was largely outclassed on the feet, but he did have almost seven minutes of ground control. If he could ground ‘Poatan’ in the same way, then the Brazilian may find things hard.
Add in the fact that despite facing hard-hitting strikers like Adesanya, Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa, Vettori has never been knocked down in the octagon, and he could actually be a trickier opponent for Pereira than some would initially think.
Given that he’s coming off a loss to Whittaker, Vettori would need to win at least a couple of fights before getting another title shot, but if he were to fight Pereira, then he’d be a live underdog.
#3. Alex Pereira vs. Jared Cannonier
Like Marvin Vettori, Jared Cannonier is another UFC middleweight who might feel like he’d have more success against new champion Alex Pereira than he did against former kingpin Israel Adesanya when they fought in July.
That bout saw Adesanya basically pick Cannonier apart on the feet, showing a masterful grasp of range and distance throughout the fight. However, while ‘Poatan’ has proven that he’s the one man capable of standing with Adesanya, he hasn’t really shown the same amount of octagon control as ‘The Last Stylebender’.
With that in mind, Cannonier – who is a huge 185lber – would perhaps be confident of closing the distance on the Brazilian, where he’d look to either punish him in the clinch or take the fight to the ground.
It was notable in Pereira’s win over Adesanya that ‘Poatan’ looked to have a big size advantage. However, against a former heavyweight like ‘The Killa Gorilla’, that may not be such a factor. Given that he’s got a total of six KO or TKO wins to his name in the UFC, Cannonier may even be able to match Pereira’s power.
Overall, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ would be an underdog against Pereira, but only because of the extensive kickboxing experience of ‘Poatan’. If Cannonier could ground him, though, it’d definitely become a winnable fight for him, making him a potential threat to the new 185lbs champion.
#2. Alex Pereira vs. Robert Whittaker
It’s arguable that were it not for the presence of Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker would probably be known right now as the most dominant middleweight in the UFC since Anderson Silva.
After all, ‘The Reaper’, who suffered a devastating title loss to ‘The Last Stylebender’ in 2019 and then failed to beat him in a rematch earlier this year, has basically beaten every other top 185lber on the planet pretty comprehensively.
Whittaker holds wins over Jared Cannonier, Marvin Vettori, Darren Till, Kelvin Gastelum and Yoel Romero, and his only losses at 185lbs are those two to Adesanya.
It’s definitely not a stretch to imagine him fighting Alex Pereira for the title in the near future, so could ‘The Reaper’ prove to be a tough challenge for ‘Poatan’? Absolutely.
Despite losing to Adesanya, Whittaker is definitely a high-level striker. His second bout with ‘The Last Stylebender’ showed that he’d come on in leaps and bounds since his first loss to him three years before.
More importantly, Pereira doesn’t fight in the same matador-style that Adesanya does, meaning that his more straightforward approach could be a little easier for Whittaker to handle, especially as he’s got far more experience than the Brazilian.
Whittaker is set to fight Paulo Costa in his next bout in February. A win there could net him a title shot, making him a definite threat to Pereira’s title reign.
#1. Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya
Perhaps the biggest threat to the UFC middleweight title reign of Alex Pereira is the man whom he took the title from, former kingpin Israel Adesanya.
Right now it appears likely that the two men will be put into an immediate rematch, something that definitely makes sense given Adesanya’s prior dominance and the fact that no other 185lber is really waiting for a title shot at the minute.
So could ‘The Last Stylebender’ overcome his nemesis and reclaim his title? Despite the fact that this weekend’s defeat was Adesanya’s third at the hands of Pereira, there’s definitely a chance that the Nigerian-New Zealander could come out on top in their next meeting.
After all, were it not for Pereira’s fifth round flurry that finished the bout – a flurry that was arguably set up by Adesanya stumbling following a checked low kick – ‘The Last Stylebender’ would’ve won a clear-cut decision.
In fact, before that fifth round, Adesanya was winning comfortably, after hurting ‘Poatan’ in the first round and then dominating him on the ground in the third round. Essentially, he’d done everything but finish the Brazilian.
Sure, Pereira’s size and brutal power will always make him a difficult match for Adesanya, but there’s definitely a chance that in a rematch, ‘The Last Stylebender’ will be able to hold on and pull off the win – making him the biggest threat to the title reign of ‘Poatan’.
