After losing to Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira made the decision to step up his game by switching to the light heavyweight division. However, Anthony Smith believes Poatan has little chance of being successful in the 205-pound weight class.
Jamahal Hill currently holds the title in the light heavyweight division. Anthony Smith is also eager to compete for the crown, though. In two weeks, Johnny Walker will face Smith, the fifth-ranked fighter in the division.
Therefore, it stands to reason that Lionheart perceives Pereira’s approach to be a threat. Despite the fact that Smith’s remark was derided by MMA fans for not considering Pereira a suitable opponent in the 205-pound division.
How did fans react to what Anthony Smith said about Alex Pereira?
Shotokhan has pretty much agreed with what Smith has said about Pereira by saying, “This is not even a difficult analysis. Pereira has no ground game nor takedown defence. He would have struggled against a good grappler at MW, imagine if he fights somebody his size with grappling skills. His luck is that LHW has more strikers than grapplers so he can thrive.”
” He’s got a point. Everyone already crowning Alex as the 205 pound champ, but realistically if Izzy was able to hold him down + knock him out , guys who are 20+ pounds heavier can do the same. ” said a user.
According to Mike Shytte, “The entire division is a joke. Outside of like two guys, he will be perfectly fine and clean house. And I promise, Anthony Smith is not one of those guys lol.”
El Bala thinks the same as he said,” As a kickboxer stylistically this guy matched up well with Izzy but don’t be deceived, he won’t do anything in LHW division. Watch and see.”
Anthony Smith: ‘I think Alex Pereira’s gonna have problems at 205’ https://t.co/cOhy0kj2ea pic.twitter.com/KaWEkCb3LC
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) April 28, 2023
Alex thinks Smith is only trying to find a way to fight Pereira as he said, “We all know Smith is trynna get that payday and a fight vs Pereira would be good for him, let him keep talking I could see Pereira debut vs Smith be a thing.”
“He’ll have his handful. I don’t see him beating top 15 at LHW. That’s the difference between LHW and MW. The talent differential is significant. The best striking talent is at LHW.” another user commented.
Alex Pereira at 205 — Don't even think of matching Him up against "the miner" in his 1st fight at 205. Maybe someone like Anthony Smith would be ok. Not because its a fun matchup. Its because leading up to the fight, Anthony would tell us how His striking is better than Pereira. pic.twitter.com/bVEVukGC1v
— MECU9 (@MECU999) April 10, 2023
Jhonki González is expecting more drama and excitement in the light heavyweight division as he expressed,” Honestly 205 is not very impressive, probably Prochazka is the bigger threat and we can’t lose track on Ankalaev, Krylov, Jan and Walker that has been evolving a lot. Hill might be the champ but still fights like a #8 so Alex might have a chance.”
“In the wrestling department yea unless he gets better, he might’ve gotten better since the first Izzy title fight, but in the Second one Izzy didn’t even attempt to wrestle, just knocked Alex out. As far as striking though he’s the best in the division.” said another user.
Anthony Smith explains why former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira will “have problems” at light heavyweight: “That dude will make him look tiny” – https://t.co/N6PXM3EjvM @ULTfightFANS #MMA #UFC pic.twitter.com/3okEGt1aPB
— Ultimate Fight Fans (@ULTfightFANS) April 28, 2023
What is your take on Anthony Smith’s comment on Pereira? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
