"Champ, champ, champ" - MMA legend weighs in on Alex Pereira's post-UFC 320 possibilities

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UFC legend Chael Sonnen recently shared his two cents on Alex Pereira's future in the sport. Pereira is set to face Magomed Ankalaev in a highly anticipated title rematch at UFC 320 in October. Sonnen explored the possibility of Pereira losing again and moving to heavyweight to attempt to become a three-division champion.

In their last encounter at UFC 313 in March, Pereira lost to Ankalaev via unanimous decision and lost the light heavyweight throne. Given their fighting styles, many have questioned Pereira's ability to get the better of Ankalaev.

In an interview with Mike Bohn, Sonnen broke down Pereira potentially coming up short once again at UFC 320 and said:

"I do think that we need to be prepared for what if Alex loses. There was nothing that any analyst saw in that first fight that would lead you to believe that if we do it again, we're going to get a different outcome. There was a matchup issue. It's the same two guys."

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He continued:

"What do we do if he gets beat? First off, he did. Secondly, he's likely to do it again [lose]. I don't think it hurts him. I still want to see him at heavyweight. That's what I want as a fan. Champ, champ, champ status is amazing. Do you realize that if he achieved that, you and I no longer get to argue about the GOAT... It's a very interesting thing."

Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below (33:41):

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Caio Borralho previews Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira rematch at UFC 320

Caio Borralho recently shared his thoughts on the Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira rematch at UFC 320 in October. While the middleweight contender acknowledged Ankalaev's fight IQ, he pointed out that Pereira could work on his takedown defense and potentially change the outcome of the fight.

In an interview with Helen Yee, Borralho shared his breakdown of the upcoming light heavyweight title fight and said:

''I heard that [Pereira] was hurt on the first fight or something like that. He didn't say anything to me, but I heard that he wasn't 100% on this fight. For sure, Ankalaev is a hard guy to fight because he's a very intelligent guy when he's fighting. So, I think the fight will be mostly the same, but I think Alex could pressure a little bit more because now Alex knows that he can defend the takedowns because he defended a lot of takedowns in the first fight.''

He continued:

''So I think right now [Pereira] can risk bringing more pressure to Ankalaev to find that knockout and all that, and then I think the fight will be better for him after he does that.''

Catch Caio Borralho's comments below (6:57):

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Nishant Zende.

Nishant brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his MMA reporting for Sportskeeda. During his 1.5 years with the organization and previous work, Nishant has established himself as a prolific writer in the MMA community. With a Bachelor's degree in Media and Journalism and a Master's degree in International Relations, Nishant's educational background enhances his analytical and reporting skills.

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