Henry Cejudo isn’t ready to crown Alex Pereira the greatest of all time, even if the Brazilian makes history with a third UFC title.
Pereira can become the first UFC fighter to win championships in three divisions if he defeats Ciryl Gane for an interim heavyweight belt at UFC White House on June 14. He already holds past titles at 185 and 205 pounds.
On the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Cejudo said that even a win over undisputed heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall after that would only take Pereira so far in the all-time conversation. “He’s in the top 5 greatest of all time,” Cejudo said.
Cejudo argued that Pereira’s path to gold at middleweight and light heavyweight has been accelerated. “No, because there’s a big difference because he was kind of pushed to the title at 185,” Cejudo said. “He was pushed to the title at light heavyweight. And now he’s being pushed to the title. It’s different when you actually run through the weight class like you did, like Jon Jones did, that shit is f*cking hard. Now if you’re able to do that, go up run through the next one, go up run through that next one, that’s a big difference. I’m not hating, I’m just telling the truth.”
Kamaru Usman took the opposite stance, saying Pereira would have to be considered for the top spot all time if he pulls off the “champ-champ-champ” feat. “I think Alex Pereira puts himself in rarified air as they like to say if this man is able to go out there and be the first-ever and only three-division champion in UFC history,” Usman said.
The interim belt itself is another sticking point for Cejudo, who is skeptical of its value with Aspinall sidelined after an eye poke in his title defense against Gane at UFC 321. “I hate to say this, it’s not real,” Cejudo said of interim gold. Pointing to Justin Gaethje’s reaction after beating Tony Ferguson, he added, “Justin Gaethje, when he had the interim title… what was the first thing when he beat Tony Ferguson, they wrapped it around his waist, he took it off, he put it on the floor, he’s like, ‘I want the real one.’”
Gaethje’s own words were simple: “I want the real one.” Cejudo summed up his stance bluntly: “It’s a silver medal. Interim just means you’re the No. 1 contender, that’s it.”
