Daniel Cormier thinks there might be some sort of miscommunication going on with Alex Pereira.
Next month, Ciryl Gane will defend his heavyweight title against Josh Hokit at UFC 334 in Madison Square Garden. It’s a matchup that bothers “Poatan,” who had lobbied for a rematch with Gane after losing to him at the UFC White House card, and earlier this week, Pereira ripped the matchup and “influencers” who pushed the fight, including Cormier.
On Tuesday, Cormier responded to Pereira’s comments via his YouTube channel, rejecting the idea that he was being told what to say.
“Alex Pereira is one of the best fighters we have seen in a very long time,” Cormier said. “Alex Pereira is a middleweight champion, a light heavyweight champion, and a guy that’s now fights in the heavyweight division. Alex Pereira and I have built a relationship over the past five years that he’s been here. I believe that it’s a great relationship, and I believe that it’s a friendship.
“But today, I was given something by Luis: Pereira did an interview, and he said some things, and I think a lot of it is just a bit confusing to me. One, it’s a bout the Josh Hokit-Ciryl Gane fight, but that doesn’t necessarily bother me much at all. It’s not true, though.
“I was not told by the UFC to promote this as the fight to happen. I will tell you why I think that was the fight to happen, after some fact-checking. … Again, I have nothing against Alex Pereira. If anything, I consider him a buddy of mine. We’ve had some great moments, we’ve had some great interviews, we’ve had some great interactions.”
Pereira’s issues with Cormier were not just restricted to the Gane-Hokit fight, though. He also claimed that Cormier told him he wouldn’t be the champion had he beaten Gane at UFC White House, which seemed to bother Pereira. But Cormier also rejected this.
“Guys, that’s not what happened,” Cormier said. “This was before the White House card, and Alex asked me through Plinio [Cruz, Pereira’s translator], if he won, would he be the GOAT? [Cormier plays a video showing the interaction he goes on to describe].
“I didn’t say he wouldn’t be the champ; I said he wouldn’t be the GOAT, yet. I’m honest. I don’t lie to these guys. I don’t sugarcoat to these guys. But I said if he was to win, defend the belt, yeah, we’d have the conversation. But I also said, of course, if he beats Ciryl Gane, he’d be the champion. But I did say that he would be in the conversation. … But I also think that could just be a miscommunication. We don’t talk the same language, all those things.”
The whole issue seems to boil down to Pereira wanting a rematch with Gane. Since UFC White House, Poatan has lobbied for a do-over, saying Gane cheated with illegal blows to the back of his head while finishing the fight. And Cormier thinks that perhaps Pereira isn’t approaching this situation in the right way.
“I think he’s a bit misguided in how he’s approaching it,” Cormier said. “Because he’s trying to get this rematch, and I really don’t know what he wants to base this immediate rematch on, outside of possibly the strikes to the back of the head. If he’s building his case on, ‘I deserve this rematch based on him finishing me in Round 2 with illegal strikes,’ maybe. But outside of that one thing, there really isn’t much to warrant him getting an immediate title fight.
“I would suggest that his history in fighting, his championship — double champion — and the fights that he’s had allowed him to jump to heavyweight and fight for the belt before other guys. But if I would have lost when I went up to fight Stipe the first time, I don’t imagine that I could have asked for an immediate rematch. I just don’t. Especially when I don’t have anything to base it on. Because if it isn’t based on the illegal strikes, then is it based on, ‘I just want this. I just want the rematch.’ I don’t know. I need Alex to tell me what he is basing this request on.
“When it comes to the fight with Josh Hokit, I said he should get the title fight, and there are a number of reasons why. … Josh Hokit has won those two early fights, and his third fight, a year into the UFC, they put him in there with the No. 5-ranked guy in the world, Curtis Blaydes, and that was one of the best heavyweight fights we’ve ever seen. Then he beat Derrick Lewis, who has fought for the title twice and is ranked inside the top 10. He’s got two top 10 wins, in a division that doesn’t have that much depth.
“Look, it could have been Volkov, because Volkov already has a history with Ciryl Gane. But even that, even if it wasn’t Hokit, they probably would have went with Volkov.”
Pereira doesn’t have time to dwell on this, though, because instead of rematching Gane, the former two-division champion is set to fight Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 in December. And if he wins that fight, then Cormier believes he will ultimately get what he’s after.
“Now, Pereira goes and wins his fight, I would definitely say he deserves to fight the winner,” Cormier said. “I just don’t know that the result at the White House helps him in any way, shape, or form to be fighting for the belt immediately. But I didn’t say he wasn’t gonna be the champion. I actually said quite the opposite: that if he won, he would be in the GOAT conversation, with two guys I admire greatly in Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson and Georges St-Pierre. So I just don’t want the conversation changing, because now it feels like we are not aligned in terms of our views, when in reality, I have been a big advocate for Alex Pereira at every single step. …
“I just have to chalk this quote up to a miscommunication and a language barrier.”