The greatest fighter of all time usually depends on who you ask. Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva are always in the discussion, but the GOAT discussion may soon come to an end.
UFC insider and former multiple-time title challenger Chael Sonnen believes light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira could be on the cusp of ending all debate on the GOAT topic.
“Alex Pereira is one win away, as a matter of fact, from ending a discussion known as GOAT. GOAT stands for Greats of All Time … And I believe Alex Pereira is one win away from ending our ability to have a GOAT conversation,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.
“I think Alex Pereira with a win at heavyweight, becoming heavyweight champion ends our ability to even have the discussion. When we talk about there greatest of all time, we just have to refer to Alex Pereira. I really think that.”
Pereira captured the middleweight championship at UFC 281 in November 2022 by stopping then-champion Israel Adesanya. After losing the rematch to “The Last Stylebender,” Pereira moved up to the light heavyweight division.
In his second 205-pound bout, Pereira won the light heavyweight championship by finishing former champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295. He defended the light heavyweight belt three times before dropping a decision to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. He avenged the loss in the rematch at UFC 320, knocking Ankalaev out in the first round.
Pereira has repeatedly expressed serious interest in moving up the heavyweight division to pursue a historic world title in a third weight class. If Pereira could pull that off, it would be difficult to argue against the Brazilian being the GOAT.
