Alex Pereira injury concerns raised by Chael Sonnen following UFC legend's stark warning to 'Poatan'

UFC Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen recently spoke about the complexion of Alex Pereira's career at the moment. Ever since losing his belt to Magomed Ankalaev last March, 'Poatan' wasn't in circulation much in MMA media. There's some talk of an immediate rematch with Ankalaev but nothing solid has been announced.

Sonnen speculates that it might be because the former UFC two-division champion is currently nursing a myriad of injuries. In less than 16 months, from July 2023 to October 2024, Pereira fought five times, winning the 205-pound strap and defending it three times and then lost to Ankalaev.

During which time, however, the Brazilian powerhouse was rumored to have been suffering multiple injuries during fight camps, but chose to push through with the bouts. Sonnen's speculation came to light when MMA legend Don Frye made a public message to Pereira, imploring him to "not do what he did."

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In the aforementioned video, Sonnen said:

"He's [Frye's] got advice for Alex Periera. He tells Alex Pereira, 'Don't do what I did. It cost me my career. It would cost me years of my life.' I was thinking, 'My goodness, what is he talking about?'"

He continued:

"This is one of the things that Don [Frye] gave back to the sport. He said, 'I was in so much pain that I was taking pain pills.' I believe he used the word 'pain pills'. I've seen other interviews where he calls it specifically Vicodin, but he says then he's taking more than are prescribed coz the pain keeps growing."

Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below (0:13):

Chael Sonnen believes Alex Pereira should move up to heavyweight

Chael Sonnen speculated that the reason why there's silence on a Alex Pereira - Magomed Ankalaev rematch is because the former champion is tending to his injuries.

Furthermore, Sonnen believes there's no need for a rematch between Pereira and Ankalaev at 205 pounds. In fact, he believes Pereira should move to heavyweight. He said:

"I wish that Pereira would say goodbye to 205. I don't feel he needs to conquer a division again. I don't feel he needs to conquer 85 again. He conquered 85, he was world champion. He conquered 205, he was the champion of the world. I would like to see him go to heavyweight. That's my own wish. I believe in my lifetime, there's one guy who I could see become champ-champ-champ and it's Alex Pereira." (4:20 onwards)

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi