Bet! Pereira Challenges Schaub, Will Fight Chimaev At 205

Alex Pereira is ready and willing to prove his legitimacy as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion.

“Poatan” received heaps of praise from the mixed martial arts (MMA) community for his massive come-from-behind fifth round technical knockout title win against Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 on Nov. 12, 2022 (watch highlights). Not everyone was impressed, however.

Former UFC Heavyweight contender, Brendan Schaub, spoke on his podcast shortly after the fight, expressing that Pereira can’t beat “a single guy in the top 5” of the 185-pound division. Despite literally doing that in his last two performances against Adesanya and Sean Strickland, Pereira is fine proving himself.

Schaub went on to mention surging Welterweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev, who revealed his interest in facing Pereira directly after the coronation. Noting how Chimaev “beats the s—t” out of Pereira, Schaub now finds himself challenged by the Brazilian titleholder.

“I’m not injured, I’ll fight Chimaev in Rio [de Janeiro, Brazil at UFC 283 on Jan. 21, 2023] at light heavyweight,” Pereira told The MMA Hour. “Not a problem for me. Brendan Schaub, I think he was running his mouth. Brendan talked a lot of crap that Chimaev would run me over and blah, blah, blah. He said Chimaev would be able to take me down in 30 seconds.

“So here’s the deal,” he continued. “I’ll fight Chimaev in Rio at 205 and I propose a bet to Schaub. He’s running his mouth — $50,000 if I beat Chimaev. Those $50,000 from both sides, we donate to kids in need. Also, $50,000 more that I don’t get taken down in 30 seconds and we double those $50,000 to donate for the charity, too. Not only to Schaub, but Chimaev, too. If he wants to jump on the bet train, let’s bet. We’ll donate to the charities. A lot of kids are hungry today, let’s make somebody happy.”

Just looking at Pereira, it’s easy to see he’s one of the largest fighters in his division. Clocking in as high as 230 pounds to start his previous fight camp, Pereira finished off his challenge claiming that the 205-pound Light Heavyweight cut would be the most difficult part of a fight with Chimaev.