Daniel Cormier can now personally attest to the type of energy Alex Pereira generates.
Simply days forward of UFC 295 the place Pereira will try to assert the vacant mild heavyweight title, the Brazilian performed a prank on Cormier earlier than displaying the type of devastation he can wreak together with his leg kicks. First issues first, Pereira needed to indicate Cormier how he may deal with a golf membership, which made the previous two-division UFC champion moderately nervous as he stood behind him.
“It was enjoyable,” Pereira stated concerning the video he posted on Instagram. “As a result of at first, he didn’t need to do it. I needed to persuade him however when he regarded ahead, clearly I used to be by no means going to swing the golf membership on him however I noticed a video on Instagram earlier within the day so I did it to him. It was actually enjoyable.”
So far as the leg kicks, Cormier requested Pereira to exhibit how he threw certainly one of his handiest weapons whereas trying to cut down his opponents. After all, Pereira is well-versed in each hanging approach as a former two-division champion in kickboxing whereas additionally only in the near past turning into the third particular person to ever get inducted into the GLORY Corridor of Fame.
The leg kicks didn’t come at full pace however Cormier requested 25-percent energy from Pereira — and it’s protected to say he’s not concerned about discovering out what 100-percent seems like.
“I’ve seen it time and time once more, I needed to know what it felt like so I requested ‘Poaton’ to provide me a few the little leg kicks,” Cormier stated. “They’re as painful as they give the impression of being.”
With regards to his struggle on Saturday, Pereira will compete in his third title struggle since becoming a member of the UFC roster simply two years in the past. He already claimed the middleweight championship with a knockout over longtime rival Israel Adesanya and now he’ll search a second belt in his struggle with Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295.
With solely 10 fights on his complete MMA resume and much much less expertise than most fighters at this degree Pereira has completed so much in little or no time, which undoubtedly earns reward from Cormier.
“I tip my hat to Alex Pereira greater than most any fighter within the UFC,” Cormier instructed MMA Preventing. “As a result of this man has lower than 10 fights in his profession, 10 at most, he’s been a UFC middleweight champion and now he’s preventing for the sunshine heavyweight championship. He has no expertise. He doesn’t know this recreation. He is aware of the best way to kickbox and he’s parlayed that into three title fights already. Three title fights in quite a few years! He made his [UFC] debut in New York three years in the past!
“So three years, now you’re telling me this man is preventing for the championship for the third time? So in three years, he’s primarily averaging a championship struggle annually even when he hasn’t been the champion. That’s to be recommended for a man that has no background in wrestling. No background in grappling and was only a kickboxer. I’ve an insane quantity of respect for this dude.”
