Daniel Cormier makes a case for Alex Pereira potentially being the face of the UFC.
Light heavyweight champion Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) rematches Jiri Prochazka (30-4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the UFC 303 headliner June 29 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Pereira will save another pay-per-view card after the original headliner between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler was scrapped. “Poatan” also stepped up to headline UFC 300 against Jamahal Hill in April after their bout was verbally agreed for UFC 301 in May.
“Alex Pereira, could you imagine the money he’s making now?” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “He says yes to everything: … (He) headlined Madison Square Garden twice. He headlined UFC 300, which was a monster. He steps in again on short notice for UFC 303. Dude is getting paid, but not only is he getting paid, Alex Pereira’s star continues to grow.”
Cormier acknowledged that Conor McGregor still is the sport’s biggest star, as well as the likes of former rival and UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones being up there. However, he points to Pereira’s activity as a reason why he could be the face of the UFC.
“Now, it will always be hard to top Conor McGregor in regards to star power,” Cormier said. “You’ve still got Israel Adesanya. You’ve still got Jon Jones. But when I think about the face of the company, because of his durability, his activity, his willingness to fight, two-division champion, he’s always present – is Alex Pereira now the face of the UFC?”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
