Kamaru Usman believes Alex Pereira is the top pound-for-pound fighter

Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev sits atop the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, but there’s growing number of people who believe light heavyweight titleholder Alex Pereira should be in that spot. 

Pereira arrived in the UFC in late 2021 carrying a lot of recognition for his two kickboxing wins over then middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.  Three fights into his UFC career, Pereira faced Adesanya in the UFC 281 main event in November 2021.  He had only been in the organization for a year.  

He stopped “The Last Stylebender” in the fifth round to capture the UFC middleweight crown.  Adesanya would get his revenge in the rematch and Pereira moved up to the light heavyweight division after losing the belt to “Izzy.”  

Since moving up a weight class, Pereira has been flawless.  In the UFC 307 main event, Pereira defended the 205 pound championship for the third time, defeating Khalil Rountree Jr. by knockout.  In his ten fights inside the octagon, Pereira captured two divisional titles and defended one three times.  

Former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman believes Pereira’s resume and finishing ability is enough to warrant the Brazilian being ranked the top pound-for-pound fighter.  

Related: Israel Adesanya believes Khalil Rountree Jr.’s ‘stock goes up’ after Alex Pereira loss

“I have to admit when, and this is a part of being a man, you have to admit when you feel like you’ve made an error,” Usman said on the Pound for Pound podcast.  “What I’ve come to is, I realized I’ve been judging Alex Pereira based on what I would be judged at. There’s a lot more men that weigh, walk around on this earth close to 170 to 185 pounds.”

“I think he is pound-for-pound king because of the way he’s able to fight. Not the way he’s able to fight but the way he’s able to make his opponents fight and the way he’s able to dispose of his opponents. I love Islam and his abilities, I think Islam of course has more tools in the shed, but for what you have to work with, Alex Pereira, I believe he’s the pound-for-pound.”