Sunday’s UFC White Home card might go down as one of many greatest playing cards of all time, however Dana White has to play promoter to promote the struggle.
Maybe one of the best instance of that is what the UFC CEO mentioned concerning the significance of the co-main occasion during which Alex Pereira strikes to heavyweight to problem Cyril Gane’s interim title and develop into the first-ever three-division champion. Pereira is already a massively in style celebrity, having held the sunshine heavyweight and middleweight belts, however by profitable a 3rd title he’ll accomplish one thing nobody has ever completed earlier than.
“If he wins his third world title that night time, he’ll leapfrog Jon Jones and develop into the best of all time,” White informed Forbes forward of the occasion.
Former welterweight Matt Brown, who spent 15 years within the UFC, understands that White has each proper to promote occasions as he chooses, however anybody who is aware of the game will shortly understand that nothing he says on this matter is true.
“That is about promoters,” Brown mentioned on the present’s newest episode. Fighter vs. Author. “It’s quite simple and boils right down to Dana saying what she must say.
“Nobody is definitely shopping for it. Possibly it is Brazilian Alex Pereira followers who do not watch a lot UFC, however I do not assume anybody with even half-way data is shopping for it.”
Brown insists that Pereira changing into a three-division champion is a big achievement and must be celebrated.
However that additionally does not imply he surpassed somebody like Jones, who gained titles in two weight lessons, however he’s primarily remembered for his lengthy reign as mild heavyweight champion and remaining nearly undefeated all through his 16-year profession.
“Typically essentially the most complicated issues are essentially the most completed and the best issues,” Brown defined. “By way of essentially the most completed participant, if (Pereira) wins a 3rd title, you can also make that argument. I do not assume he has but, however I knew you can make that argument. He has three titles. Nobody else has ever completed that.”
“It is like Floyd Mayweather. No actual boxing historian would price him as the best of all time, however is he essentially the most profitable of all time? By a large margin he’s. When folks speak about these all-time greats, they typically confuse it with different methods to explain their greatness.”
As superb as Pereira has been since he first arrived within the UFC with a 3-1 MMA document, Brown says it could actually’t evaluate to Jones or the lengthy listing of legends he has defeated over the course of his profession.
That is why Brown says that though Pereira may win a 3rd title, he’ll nonetheless be ranked behind legends like Jones and Georges St-Pierre relating to the dialogue of the best participant of all time.
“It is quite simple,” Brown mentioned. “Alex, if he goes as much as this struggle and wins, I do not assume he’ll be thought of the best of all time by anybody who is aware of something. Some would possibly say that. If Alex went up and gained, would Dana say that after the struggle? As a result of I really feel like he is on a roll proper now, however I do not understand how you’ll declare that. I would say he is essentially the most completed. He did one thing that nobody has ever completed. He did what he did.”
“Once more, I feel this implies selling a struggle. That is what he is doing. In case you’re Alex, you have to like the truth that he is saying issues like this. It is contributing rather a lot to your model. What do you do? It is a promo.” That is what Dana is doing. I do not know what he is making an attempt to perform with that. I get that, however I do not know what the purpose is. ”
Till Conor McGregor grew to become the UFC’s two-division champion in 2016, solely Randy Couture and BJ Penn had gained belts in two totally different weight lessons. Since McGregor grew to become light-weight and featherweight champion 10 years in the past, the UFC has added eight extra fighters to its roster.
Whereas that does not essentially diminish his accomplishments, Brown believes the UFC is in the same place to boxing. There, fighters routinely soar round weight lessons merely making an attempt so as to add championship belts moderately than profitable and defending titles.
And actually, that is the very last thing Brown needs to see occur within the UFC.
“The actually worst half is that it began to really feel just a little bit boxing-y,” Brown mentioned. “Whereas many fighters transfer via weight lessons, this one is transferring via weight lessons aiming for an (interim) title moderately than an actual title. It jogs my memory of boxing with fighters transferring between totally different weight lessons, discovering appropriate opponents in every weight class, and discovering titles to win in several weight lessons. I am a boxing fan…I do not care about it, I do not hate it, however it’s at all times been cool the way in which the UFC has been separated from that, the way in which they’ve at all times promoted it.”It is an awesome struggle to be separated from that too, we do not have that many belts and all this crap.
“However I really feel prefer it’s one other step in direction of that. If that is the trail (the UFC) needs to go down, I feel it is only a slippery slope.”
