Jon Anik: Alex Pereira will be a combat sports legend if he beats Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295
11/11/2023 17:00
Alex Pereira will find himself in rarefied air if he wins the UFC light heavyweight title on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, according to Jon Anik.
The former middleweight champion will look to become a two-division UFC titleholder in just his 11th pro MMA bout when he faces Jiri Prochazka in the main event of UFC 295. Anik, who will be on the call with Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan, was asked what this accomplishment would mean if "Poatan" accomplishes this incredible feat.
"In all of the parameters in which we judge these things, this makes absolutely no sense to me that this is a possibility," Anik told MMA Fighting. When you talk about combat sports legends and crossover — Kayla Harrison, Henry Cejudo, certainly Israel Adesanya, Daniel Cormier represented the United States in the Olympics. Alex Pereira would be a combat sports legend [if he wins this fight]. Bona fide.
"Kenny Florian said on the Anik & Florian Podcast that Francis Ngannou was now a combat sports legend and he lost his fight [with Tyson Fury], and I think Ken-Flo's right. Francis Ngannou crossed the threshold with how competitive he was against the historically great Tyson Fury. Francis Ngannou is now a combat sports legend, and some people would probably not say he's there yet.
"If Alex 'Poatan' becomes a two-division UFC champion, does it not speak to the mixed martial arts appetite? The appetite for knowledge. Glover Teixeira, certainly a key cog and all of that, but I wouldn't put it past 'Poatan.' He's just a great dude. I could hearken back to our fighter meetings, right? Two guys — and I could include Alexander Volkanovski — [Pereira] and Israel Adesanya: Alex, always on time and in attendance for every single fighter meeting, despite how high profile they are, despite maybe how hard it was for Alex to get down to 185 pounds. I think the world of 'Poatan,' and wouldn't be at all surprised to see him get the job done, but what a fight, man."
Prochazka returns for the first time since winning the 205-pound title against Pereira's coach and confidant, Glover Teixeira, in June 2022 at UFC 275. A shoulder injury sidelined Prochazka ahead of a scheduled rematch with Teixeria at UFC 280 this past December, which led to "BJP" vacating the belt.
While losing Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic from the top of the bill stings, Anik believes there may not be a better fight the UFC can put together right now that can replace it than Prochazka vs. Pereira this Saturday.
"So Mick Maynard was so excited at the possibility of really just matchmaking Jiri Prochazka against anyone," Anik said.
"Sometimes I look forward to the time that I retire and I can just be a professional fan, and Joe Rogan calls us professional fans because when I sit here and wax poetic about a matchup between Alex Poatan and Jiri Prochazka, I hope people don't suggest that it's because the promotion cuts my check. Like, can we put a better fight together on paper? How explosive is the potential for that light heavyweight championship fight? Now, under 4.5 rounds would seem like a pretty good bet for me. If this fight goes 25 minutes, the epic nature of it could just be historic. So I'm very excited to see these guys obviously match their skills, particularly on the feet.
"But there's no doubt that Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira, they both just have an appetite for training, and for grappling, and for the clinch, and getting better, and cardio, and they're true martial artists. And yeah, I think it's a great showcase for the light heavyweight division, and hopefully we get some clarity. It's been a weird 24 months for the 205-pound division, for sure, and it will obviously be good to see Jiri back in there."
