Bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley drew attention to how much weight former midddleweight champion Alex Pereira cuts to make the 185-pound limit in his UFC 287 breakdown.
Pereira is big for the weight class and even his team knows that a move to the light heavyweight division is just around the corner. After Pereira was brutally knocked out by Israel Adesanya in the UFC 287 main event, O’Malley reiterated that ‘Poatan’ sheds too many precious pounds.
“I was saying it. I said it in that fight reaction video. Izzy, and it’s true for both, Izzy just needs to crack him. Alex Pereira cuts so much weight,” O’Malley said on his Timbo Sugar Show on his YouTube channel.
“You cut that much weight, you chin is compromised. Izzy had him rocked in the first fight because he landed big. He said that he played possum. He kind of covered up and he unloaded that f**king right hand. Cracked him. It was over from there. Pull the bow. He hit him three times for the one time.”
“Too sharp. Too fast. Too focused,” continued O’Malley. “The motherf**ker came with a level of focus that you have to have to compete at this level. You could tell his entire training camp was dialed in. Took no shortcuts, and you could just see it in his eyes.”
Sean O’Malley things Alex Pereira may be ‘done’
“I think Pereira’s done,” said O’Malley. “How old is he? I think he might be done. Done, done. I think he might call it… “I think cutting too much weight is definitely hurting him.”
The loss to Adesanya was Pereira’s ninth career MMA fight. He’s 35-years old. The loss was also Pereira’s first in the UFC. His seven-fight winning streak came to an end along with his title reign. People around Pereira expect him to eventually make the move up to the light heavyweight division.
Israel Adesanya says that he’s ‘closed the chapter’ on Alex Pereira
Sean O’Malley: ‘Alex Pereira cuts too much weight’
