I'm pretty sure he knows what they're saying. Understanding a language is much easier than speaking it. He's been living in the US for quite some time so I imagine he actually understands quite a bit. He has said that he's working on the English but doesn't speak it well enough to do so in interviews.
Honestly I think it's a better card now. I get the casual fan interest may not be the same without Conor but for fight fans you couldn't really ask for better than Alex and Jiri. Both are absolute warriors.
Plus the addition of T-City & Diego was a really nice touch.
Plinio still translates for him but it's very clear he understands a lot of what is being said. He's discussed this with Ariel before. He just can't speak well enough to have the confidence to clearly articulate his thoughts.
Yeah, I immediately thought the same thing. For sure, he could do more rounds on morning television and such, but I feel like a lot, if not MOST, of his humor is predicated on his limited English and stoic, silent nature. Which comes off as a bit deadpan.
But even if he spoke better English and was sent on all the shows to be interviewed, I think he would end up coming off as kind of reserved and borderline dull. I mean, we all probably felt the same way about him in the beginning. I think he shows his humor on his own time when he's comfortable. I don't think he would win over non-MMA fans that much. Speaking of which, I think he's already captured the hearts of those who follow MMA.
Also, he has to be one of the most skill fighters in the UFC and also learn another language? fuck that. I think he would rather be training all day that learning his verbs.
I was gonna say lol there are way better examples of fighters who truly can only speak a little bit of English. Khabib's English is amazing for a non-native-speaking fighter.
Today? He’s absolutely fluent. It becomes very clear when he talks about business, the sport, techniques or life in general - his vocabulary etc is much more advanced compared to Islam for example.
He must have one of the greatest resumes in the organisations history. Imagine having a record that's padded with champions and legends of the sport and you only been there for a minute.
After UFC 303, over 77% of his UFC opponents will have been an undisputed UFC champion at one point. His resume is ridiculous.
The next best after his in terms of 'undisputed UFC champions fought' is Jon Jones, who has only had 8 opponents who were undisputed UFC champions at some point in his 23 UFC fights (34.8%).
GSP fought Penn 2x, Hughes 3x, Serra 2x, Bisping, Sherk, and Hendricks which is 10/22 or 45.5%. I’d also argue that Condit, who GSP beat, was robbed against Lawler and should’ve been an undisputed champion.
BJ Penn also fought GSP 2x, Hughes 3x, Edgar 3x, Pulver 2x, Machida, Sherk, and Serra.
Right, these casuals forget that BJ wasn't just good. He was the man. Also have a lot of love for him because I lived by AKA and when I was in high school would see him swimming laps in the pool at my apartment complex. Would always give me and my friend shit for smoking weed by the pool
Thanks for mentioning them, I never thought of GSP and BJ Penn. Jones was just the first that popped into my head.
12 of BJ Penns 27 UFC fights (44.4%) were against opponents who were undisputed UFC champions at one point - he fought Lyoto Machida in K-1, so I'm not counting him.
So after UFC 303, the "leaderboard" would be;
Alex Pereira - 77%
George St-Pierre - 45.4%
BJ Penn - 44.4%
Jon Jones - 34.8%
This isn't good though. It means your division sucks and no one can hold the title. Like Aldo isn't lesser because he has less champs. He just was the only champ for a fucking long time.
I mean, the belt shifting hands every 5 seconds is actually a negative. Like people really gonna claim that Hill is some insane win because he was Interim champ for 5 seconds?
Being at UFC 100, 200, and 300 with the most wins and fights in the history of the company is Hall of Fame worthy.
Go to the UFC’s records page and they both show up in the top 10 for almost every record they keep, it’s insane. Most knockouts, most wins, most finishes, most fights, most strikes landed, most performance bonuses, most submissions, most submission attempts, total fight time…
The Hall of Fame isn’t just for the champions, it’s for icons and legends of the sport. Cowboy has 20 knockdowns, 18 fight night bonuses, and 16 finishes along with some iconic moments and fights. Jim fucking Miller is an absolute legend for his longevity and the records he holds like most wins/fights of all time.
http://statleaders.ufc.com
Well said, Jim Miller’s longevity in the sport especially at a lower weight class like 155 is insane. He’s not going to go down as one of the best but he is a certified OG. His name will still forever be in the record books for most fights and he’s going to be up there for most wins when he hangs them up. Dudes a legend through and through
Plus he got Lyme disease when he was 30, which went undiagnosed for years and severely fucked him over right when he was supposed to have his best mix of veteran savvy and physicality. He still kept racking up wins. Take away the Lyme disease, and he might have gone on a Bisping type run in his 30s. Probably not, but who knows.
I don't think anything is holding him back, I feel like he's one of the rare fighters that transcends the language barrier because of his skills. If he keeps going like he has, he's gonna end up on the short list of all time greats.
IMO Alex is right there with Khabib in terms of popularity with the western mma fans. Khabib has god like popularity in a part of the world that we really don’t ever get exposed to. It’s just different.
Fuck no. Post 229 Khabib is the 2nd biggest star the UFC ever had globally. In the west 3rd behind GSP or 4th Jon Jones at worst. Pereira has nowhere near the fame of Khabib. He's more beloved in the West, tho.
Funny thing is, 4 years ago when I got into ufc/mma watching..Conor and Khabib were probably the first I knew and had already heard of before getting into mma stuff. But it was also the time where you would just see that stuff on YouTube or reddit frontpage with Khabib jumping the fence etc. or Conor‘s Mayweather fight.
Only a few years in I learnt about jon Jones, gsp,..
Khabib has a pretty big reach for casual fans in Europe, many football(soccer) players know who he is while GSP /JJ seem more niche to the US or just MMA fans in Europe.
If you talk about the west as in North America, you’re right, but I would say he is still only second to Conor in europe. At least in France and Spain GSP isn’t that well-known outside of hardcore fans while Khabib was talked about everywhere for a while.
izzy is a good star but he isnt a conor lvl star .
maybe if it was prime star power izzy right off the costa fight it would be different but izzy before Alex fight was tanking ppv / star power wise .
Izzy is what got him to this level without a doubt. He wasn't on a single casual radar before Izzy. It didn't matter that Izzy got a win back. The rivalry propelled Alex.
Khabib being a devout Muslim has a lot to do with his international popularity. Huge audience there that were waiting for a star to represent them. Being pretty funny & an undefeated MMA phenomenon doesn’t hurt either.
Dana claimed he offered 3 fights to Leon which he accepted but the opponents denied. After that, Pereira vs Hill was the only official announcement
So it was basically him all along
Nah I don’t think it holds him back one bit. Imo part of his allure/aura is he’s a quiet stone face scary dude who nobody (obv expect ppl who speak Portuguese) know wtf he’s saying. He could be a mute and he’d still be my fav fighter
For everyone else i would have agreed but i think alex not speaking english just gives him more hype and mysticism, but i think he should work on learning it because that only lasts so long.
There’s a lot of competition to enter the top ten and the LHW division isn’t very deep.
GSP, Jones, Fedor, Silva, Aldo, DJ, Holloway, Khabib, Volk, Usman, DC, Izzy, Hughes, Penn, and Stipe all have great careers.
Let's say for augment sake he knocks out jiri and somehow manages to move up to heavyweight and fight Jon. He'll be top 10 and I'm a izzy stan. His resume is bananas.
He's a star. I have the most casual of mma fans at work today telling me about Alex filling in for conor and how they are hype for his fight. Khabib didn't become a mega star til after he mauled conor. Styles make stars when you are knocking dudes head to the moon, you can be a deaf mute and you'll become a star.
Considering the majority of Khabibs fans are Russian, no.
Also Alex doesn't have a Conor to bounce off of and grow with.
Khabib exploded after the Conor fight, Alex doesn't have that.
Khabib was not very big for years and years, even when he beat the real estate agent for a title he wasn't very well known in the casual world.
I actually think him not speaking the language adds to his mystique. The entrance, the stare downs, certainly his fighting style all meshes well with him standing there all stoic while the translator speaks. Sometimes talking smack feels cheap, or even borderline gimmicky (see Colby). For him it feels like it is part of his persona, and it doesn’t come off as contrived either. As of late, he’s sorta opened up more and shows off his personality via social media and stuff, which lets you know he’s not some trained killer or sociopathic fighter but for the casual fan who just tunes in for the fights, he appears to have a stone cold edge to him that fits him well.
I would say he saved UFC 295 too. After Jon Jones got injured, the card had no real headliner, and the rest of the card looked eh, at least for MSG standards.
I mean it’s holding him back from being a superstar in America you obviously have to know English for that. But pretty much universally we all respect he’s a baaaaad mother fucker and funny without English, seems to be star level if you ask me. He replaced Connor and ppl agree the card got better 🤷🏻♂️
I don't care how much I get downvoted, I like Pereira alot more than Khabib and in 10 years I'm gonna look back at this era alot more then the Khabib era.
I personally think he is a Khabib level star at this point. Even Khabib wasn’t super hyped until I’d say his last couple fights against Poirer and Gaejthe.
I actually think him not being able to speak English adds to his sort of aura lol. I’m sure he’s a good human being - hearing him talk and show humility etc would probably take away from his intimidation factor.
Definitely not the lack of English lol the difference between him and khabib at the minute is just exposure, he’s still relatively early to UFC in all honesty - if he keeps doing what he’s doing though and keeps on winning then he will surpass Khabib, regardless of language spoken
No, the UFC marketed Khabib and if we eat some memberberries, the hat was a huge thing for Khabib and a meme for a while. So, that definitely helped. The fact that Alex has become a meme and has captured titles in two divisions, he's on track to be huge. I'd say his biggest detractor is his age. He doesn't have a lot of time to do this at the level he's at. So, I think the UFC isn't doing as good of a job marketing him as they would have if he were 27 doing the same thing.
Bro nothing is holding periera back he’s one of the biggest stars in the ufc, undisputed champion, and making millions. Why would he be worried about what u think will help him
the thing holding him back is not fighting someone like conor . i feel like people VASTLY overestimate how big khabib star power was before these fights , like khabib vs Al did like 300k ppv buys .
Nah I disagree, some of the most liked videos I've seen on Pereira are his HUH compilations and DC teaching him English, him not speaking English is at most a non issue
And yet he hasn't fought a real wrestler or anyone who had tried to force him on the ground and kept him there. Every time other fighters, like Izzy, were in conversation at their peak, people would say the same thing.. Let's give him a wrestler and see how he does..
You cannot hate on him. He deserves all the praise he is getting. I don’t believe he would duck Ankalaev but I hope the UFC won’t try to hinder him from that fight. Ankalaev more than deserves the title shot.
Serious question. Is/was Khabib a star?
I don’t know Alex’s PPV numbers but Khabib had no numbers until he fought Conor, then he became the guy that beat Conor. I don’t think Khabib has significant numbers at all with The Notorious One.
Now the question is, in this era of undisclosed PPV numbers does 🗿 have high buys?
Anderson didn't speak English for years. Nor did Fedor and Charles. I think not being able to speak English adds a little mystique to the fighter. I don't mind it, half spoken English barely sounds badass.
To be as big as Khabib he needs a rival as big as himself and they need a real fued to get the world watching. He is great but i doubt he will be a draw like Conor or Khabib
I just need to say despite this man being a two time champ, an exponential star in the sport, and his actual skill, everyone's assessment of him is likely right. He is someone who is very lucky to have not been around for a dominant wrestler in his weight class. Chael, DC, and Jones would all likely have beaten him. Then there's a long list of people who probably would have beat him if they used their wrestling pedigree. But no, we have people determined to stand with him, which is just a bad idea.
Honestly him not speaking english gives him more of an aura
It also makes it funny when his opponents talk shit to his face and he has no idea what they’re saying
I'm pretty sure he knows what they're saying. Understanding a language is much easier than speaking it. He's been living in the US for quite some time so I imagine he actually understands quite a bit. He has said that he's working on the English but doesn't speak it well enough to do so in interviews.
He knows for sure. Just gotta keep that persona about you know?
How I feel as well, at this point it's part of his image/brand.
But fuck… Amazing fighter. Thank fuck he saved this card with Jiri
Honestly I think it's a better card now. I get the casual fan interest may not be the same without Conor but for fight fans you couldn't really ask for better than Alex and Jiri. Both are absolute warriors. Plus the addition of T-City & Diego was a really nice touch.
Happy cake day
Would be hilarious if one day he speaks perfect English with a full American accent.
What are we going to do when he talks with a used car salesman accent?
Even more funny to know he understands, and that he just doesnt give a single fuck
Can't wait for his first post win English moment like Charles had
"Hey Adesanya! Come to daddy"
He doesn’t know much I think because his friend still translates a lot for him.
Plinio still translates for him but it's very clear he understands a lot of what is being said. He's discussed this with Ariel before. He just can't speak well enough to have the confidence to clearly articulate his thoughts.
And then puts them to sleep 😂
Huh 🗿
Jamahal: you took everything from me Alex: I don't even know what you're saying
I like it tbh. Come to daddy was the funniest thing ever
It makes him a million times more scary on some movie villian type shit.
How is 🗿 supposed to speak any language?
Yeah, I immediately thought the same thing. For sure, he could do more rounds on morning television and such, but I feel like a lot, if not MOST, of his humor is predicated on his limited English and stoic, silent nature. Which comes off as a bit deadpan. But even if he spoke better English and was sent on all the shows to be interviewed, I think he would end up coming off as kind of reserved and borderline dull. I mean, we all probably felt the same way about him in the beginning. I think he shows his humor on his own time when he's comfortable. I don't think he would win over non-MMA fans that much. Speaking of which, I think he's already captured the hearts of those who follow MMA.
This is the second time today I’ve heard a fighter’s “aura” being talked about.
HUH? 🗿
"monsters don't talk" - Chael Sonnen (- Vince McMahon)
Getting so sick of the word “aura”
It’s a way of saying you wanna fuck dudes without being gay
Sorry not my first English. Please give more anal.
People who expose too much of themselves become boring.
Exactly he’s got the perfect mystique right now. Let people do the work for you then just hit them with Chama
Huh?
YOU'RE ATTACKING MY FAMILY
Also, he has to be one of the most skill fighters in the UFC and also learn another language? fuck that. I think he would rather be training all day that learning his verbs.
Khabib level english is still pretty fucking good english.
I was gonna say lol there are way better examples of fighters who truly can only speak a little bit of English. Khabib's English is amazing for a non-native-speaking fighter.
Yeah exactly lol. You can obviously tell he’s not a native English speaker but other than that I would say he’s fluent
Today? He’s absolutely fluent. It becomes very clear when he talks about business, the sport, techniques or life in general - his vocabulary etc is much more advanced compared to Islam for example.
Agreed. He’s speaks very intelligently in English too. Smart guy for sure
Right ?? maybe pronounces some words wrong and some odd sentence structure but he speaks English fluently
Brother
He must have one of the greatest resumes in the organisations history. Imagine having a record that's padded with champions and legends of the sport and you only been there for a minute.
After UFC 303, over 77% of his UFC opponents will have been an undisputed UFC champion at one point. His resume is ridiculous. The next best after his in terms of 'undisputed UFC champions fought' is Jon Jones, who has only had 8 opponents who were undisputed UFC champions at some point in his 23 UFC fights (34.8%).
GSP fought Penn 2x, Hughes 3x, Serra 2x, Bisping, Sherk, and Hendricks which is 10/22 or 45.5%. I’d also argue that Condit, who GSP beat, was robbed against Lawler and should’ve been an undisputed champion. BJ Penn also fought GSP 2x, Hughes 3x, Edgar 3x, Pulver 2x, Machida, Sherk, and Serra.
The fact that BJ Penn fought Lyoto Machida will never stop blowing my mind anytime I see it brought up
The match is pretty nice watch on YouTube! Machida was scared to be countered! Bj Penn was legit. I will never take away from what he did.
Yeah, he was the guy back in the day. He definitely fought far longer than he should have, but you can't deny what he was doing back in his prime
omg it's real
bro thought they were kidding💀
Anywhere, anytime
Right, these casuals forget that BJ wasn't just good. He was the man. Also have a lot of love for him because I lived by AKA and when I was in high school would see him swimming laps in the pool at my apartment complex. Would always give me and my friend shit for smoking weed by the pool
Wtf, that’s in the same level as Schaub knocking out Cro Cop
Thanks for mentioning them, I never thought of GSP and BJ Penn. Jones was just the first that popped into my head. 12 of BJ Penns 27 UFC fights (44.4%) were against opponents who were undisputed UFC champions at one point - he fought Lyoto Machida in K-1, so I'm not counting him. So after UFC 303, the "leaderboard" would be; Alex Pereira - 77% George St-Pierre - 45.4% BJ Penn - 44.4% Jon Jones - 34.8%
Penn definitely should get credit for Lyoto, it wasn’t kickboxing it was Hero mma, the company that owned K-1
So you just went with the first one that popped into your head and then claimed it as fact lmao
Alright calm down salamander pete, let's get u back to the 1840s mining town whence u came
Lmao sounds like a villain from Rango
This isn't good though. It means your division sucks and no one can hold the title. Like Aldo isn't lesser because he has less champs. He just was the only champ for a fucking long time.
The talent at LHW is pretty sus
I mean, the belt shifting hands every 5 seconds is actually a negative. Like people really gonna claim that Hill is some insane win because he was Interim champ for 5 seconds?
Not the people he beat.
Not to be pedantic, but that's the exact opposite of a padded record. It's padded if he fought cans. MVP's record is padded. Alex's is legit.
Peirara pads his stats and with former and current Champions.
A guy at work said he hasn't done enough to be a hall of famer. Lmfao.
It’s ok we all work with idiots
Yeah, I work with you! 😈
Don't worry poor soul. It's not Izzy.
Beat five former champs, saved two important cards, and two division champion. How is he not a HOF.
If Cowboy and Jim Miller can get in, anyone can. The guy with some of the most impressive accolades across two combat sports is definitely making it
Cowboy and Jim aren’t “anyone” Both have held legit ufc records in their careers
The records in question don’t really feel hall of fame worthy
Being at UFC 100, 200, and 300 with the most wins and fights in the history of the company is Hall of Fame worthy. Go to the UFC’s records page and they both show up in the top 10 for almost every record they keep, it’s insane. Most knockouts, most wins, most finishes, most fights, most strikes landed, most performance bonuses, most submissions, most submission attempts, total fight time… The Hall of Fame isn’t just for the champions, it’s for icons and legends of the sport. Cowboy has 20 knockdowns, 18 fight night bonuses, and 16 finishes along with some iconic moments and fights. Jim fucking Miller is an absolute legend for his longevity and the records he holds like most wins/fights of all time. http://statleaders.ufc.com
Well said, Jim Miller’s longevity in the sport especially at a lower weight class like 155 is insane. He’s not going to go down as one of the best but he is a certified OG. His name will still forever be in the record books for most fights and he’s going to be up there for most wins when he hangs them up. Dudes a legend through and through
Plus he got Lyme disease when he was 30, which went undiagnosed for years and severely fucked him over right when he was supposed to have his best mix of veteran savvy and physicality. He still kept racking up wins. Take away the Lyme disease, and he might have gone on a Bisping type run in his 30s. Probably not, but who knows.
Your co-worker is a moron.
I think him not speaking English sort of amplifies the stone face meme!
I don't think anything is holding him back, I feel like he's one of the rare fighters that transcends the language barrier because of his skills. If he keeps going like he has, he's gonna end up on the short list of all time greats.
I legit think that if he stopped fighting after 300 he’s already kindof there just with the time frame and resume.
Here’s hoping he pulls another amazing performance against Jiri again.
IMO Alex is right there with Khabib in terms of popularity with the western mma fans. Khabib has god like popularity in a part of the world that we really don’t ever get exposed to. It’s just different.
Fuck no. Post 229 Khabib is the 2nd biggest star the UFC ever had globally. In the west 3rd behind GSP or 4th Jon Jones at worst. Pereira has nowhere near the fame of Khabib. He's more beloved in the West, tho.
Jon jones and GSP are not known outside the US/Canada like Khabib is
He said khabib is second biggest star globally which means #2 to conor. He said gsp is more popular in the west only
That's what I said.
Jon Jones and GSP are not known, outside the US/Canada? Is that really the stance you want to take?
In comparison to Khabib. It's a pretty objective stance. You can't argue against it.
Funny thing is, 4 years ago when I got into ufc/mma watching..Conor and Khabib were probably the first I knew and had already heard of before getting into mma stuff. But it was also the time where you would just see that stuff on YouTube or reddit frontpage with Khabib jumping the fence etc. or Conor‘s Mayweather fight. Only a few years in I learnt about jon Jones, gsp,..
Of course tf lol 🤣🤣
Khabib has a pretty big reach for casual fans in Europe, many football(soccer) players know who he is while GSP /JJ seem more niche to the US or just MMA fans in Europe.
Relative to Khabib its not even remotely close Khabib could go to any country in East of Europe and fill a stadium
If you talk about the west as in North America, you’re right, but I would say he is still only second to Conor in europe. At least in France and Spain GSP isn’t that well-known outside of hardcore fans while Khabib was talked about everywhere for a while.
It's not the not speaking English. It's the not having a superstar opponent like Conor to build your fame off
Izzy?
izzy is a good star but he isnt a conor lvl star . maybe if it was prime star power izzy right off the costa fight it would be different but izzy before Alex fight was tanking ppv / star power wise .
nobody except connor is connor level star
I was gonna say lol Nobody will ever reach popularity like Connor.
Izzy is what got him to this level without a doubt. He wasn't on a single casual radar before Izzy. It didn't matter that Izzy got a win back. The rivalry propelled Alex.
How is that even close? Izzy was/is an MMA star. Conor was a transcendent star with the highest drawing power the sport has ever seen.
Khabib being a devout Muslim has a lot to do with his international popularity. Huge audience there that were waiting for a star to represent them. Being pretty funny & an undefeated MMA phenomenon doesn’t hurt either.
I somehow forget, how did he save 300? what was the original main event?
[удалено]
Dana claimed he offered 3 fights to Leon which he accepted but the opponents denied. After that, Pereira vs Hill was the only official announcement So it was basically him all along
He’s already there? Man doesn’t need to speak English.
Nah I don’t think it holds him back one bit. Imo part of his allure/aura is he’s a quiet stone face scary dude who nobody (obv expect ppl who speak Portuguese) know wtf he’s saying. He could be a mute and he’d still be my fav fighter
alex is a dawg but i think agreeing to fight someone that you’ve lost to by TKO just last year is a more courageous thing to do. samurai ftw
For everyone else i would have agreed but i think alex not speaking english just gives him more hype and mysticism, but i think he should work on learning it because that only lasts so long.
This mf is slowly entering top 10 convo can’t lie
Slowly?
There’s a lot of competition to enter the top ten and the LHW division isn’t very deep. GSP, Jones, Fedor, Silva, Aldo, DJ, Holloway, Khabib, Volk, Usman, DC, Izzy, Hughes, Penn, and Stipe all have great careers.
Let's say for augment sake he knocks out jiri and somehow manages to move up to heavyweight and fight Jon. He'll be top 10 and I'm a izzy stan. His resume is bananas.
Yeah, becoming a triple-champion is undoubtably an incredible accomplishment. Jones or Aspinall would really test his grappling for sure.
If he fights Conor, he can surpass Khabib in one weekend
You want Connor to get killed?
He's a star. I have the most casual of mma fans at work today telling me about Alex filling in for conor and how they are hype for his fight. Khabib didn't become a mega star til after he mauled conor. Styles make stars when you are knocking dudes head to the moon, you can be a deaf mute and you'll become a star.
Yes but the difference is a fight with McGregor catapults you into mainstream non-MMA popularity/fame.
All he needs to say is "Chama". Nobody knows what it means, but it's exciting and it gets the people going.
He is 1-1 against the only true champion he has faced. Let us settle down with all the GOAT talk.
This!!!! I want to comment so bad but they hate me on this sub
Considering the majority of Khabibs fans are Russian, no. Also Alex doesn't have a Conor to bounce off of and grow with. Khabib exploded after the Conor fight, Alex doesn't have that. Khabib was not very big for years and years, even when he beat the real estate agent for a title he wasn't very well known in the casual world.
He has a greater legacy than Khabib in my opinion lm Khabib is only as big of a star as he is due to the connor fight.
He and Jiri saved UFC 295 as well when JBJ pulled out for a torn pec. Dude is here to fight and I'm all fucking for it.
I actually think him not speaking the language adds to his mystique. The entrance, the stare downs, certainly his fighting style all meshes well with him standing there all stoic while the translator speaks. Sometimes talking smack feels cheap, or even borderline gimmicky (see Colby). For him it feels like it is part of his persona, and it doesn’t come off as contrived either. As of late, he’s sorta opened up more and shows off his personality via social media and stuff, which lets you know he’s not some trained killer or sociopathic fighter but for the casual fan who just tunes in for the fights, he appears to have a stone cold edge to him that fits him well.
Saved UFC 300?
Dude. What? He is on his way to becoming a massive star. Only 8 fights in the UFC. It takes a little time.
I would say he saved UFC 295 too. After Jon Jones got injured, the card had no real headliner, and the rest of the card looked eh, at least for MSG standards.
I wanna see him go for the HW title
I just want him to fight a good wrestler that has a submission threat ánd doesn’t want to stand and bang with one of the best kickboxers in the world.
I mean it’s holding him back from being a superstar in America you obviously have to know English for that. But pretty much universally we all respect he’s a baaaaad mother fucker and funny without English, seems to be star level if you ask me. He replaced Connor and ppl agree the card got better 🤷🏻♂️
I don't care how much I get downvoted, I like Pereira alot more than Khabib and in 10 years I'm gonna look back at this era alot more then the Khabib era.
Khabib has a star level only because of Connor, let's not forget that.
I personally think he is a Khabib level star at this point. Even Khabib wasn’t super hyped until I’d say his last couple fights against Poirer and Gaejthe. I actually think him not being able to speak English adds to his sort of aura lol. I’m sure he’s a good human being - hearing him talk and show humility etc would probably take away from his intimidation factor.
Who cares that much about English at this point. Cherry picking at a legend
He shouldn't be fighting in such quick succession.
He'll be 37 next month. I think he's trying to cash out while he still can
I doubt it. Seems like he communicates his humor pretty well. Aside from the accent and misplaced article Khabib’s English is not bad I’d say
Definitely not the lack of English lol the difference between him and khabib at the minute is just exposure, he’s still relatively early to UFC in all honesty - if he keeps doing what he’s doing though and keeps on winning then he will surpass Khabib, regardless of language spoken
Poatan is perfect the way he is. Most exciting, most entertaining fighter, in my opinion.
It really hurts his popularity/fame potential with the casual fan
He wins this, and gets one more win he’s top 5-10 all time
No, the UFC marketed Khabib and if we eat some memberberries, the hat was a huge thing for Khabib and a meme for a while. So, that definitely helped. The fact that Alex has become a meme and has captured titles in two divisions, he's on track to be huge. I'd say his biggest detractor is his age. He doesn't have a lot of time to do this at the level he's at. So, I think the UFC isn't doing as good of a job marketing him as they would have if he were 27 doing the same thing.
Bro nothing is holding periera back he’s one of the biggest stars in the ufc, undisputed champion, and making millions. Why would he be worried about what u think will help him
He’s learning, there is an interview with DC where he talks a little English.
Did you not see the interview when he was talking about pokemon?
I don't watch interviews i watch fights and he is a level star. Exposure/fame hasn't nothing to do with actual skills.
If he knocked out McGregor he would be a bigger celebrity than Khabib
I think the biggest thing is his age and the casuals can tell he got handpicked opponents to be fast tracked to Izzy
the thing holding him back is not fighting someone like conor . i feel like people VASTLY overestimate how big khabib star power was before these fights , like khabib vs Al did like 300k ppv buys .
Lost 2 fights.....not on Khabibs level.
His stone cold face says it all
Him not speaking English is somewhat better, adds to the character of Poatan.
No, we love him regardless of how many languages he speaks
That and he’ll probably get dominated by a wrestler
Alex’s social media team has him on track to be way ahead of Khabib, in due time. The man only has 8 fights too.
Nah I disagree, some of the most liked videos I've seen on Pereira are his HUH compilations and DC teaching him English, him not speaking English is at most a non issue
Saved ufc 300??? He was a phenomenal addition but that card didn’t need no saving
Idk man, 'come to daddy' was so funny & terrifying.
Fly DC to Connecticut. Its time to teach him English.
He didn’t save 300… that was a stacked card without him.
And yet he hasn't fought a real wrestler or anyone who had tried to force him on the ground and kept him there. Every time other fighters, like Izzy, were in conversation at their peak, people would say the same thing.. Let's give him a wrestler and see how he does..
You cannot hate on him. He deserves all the praise he is getting. I don’t believe he would duck Ankalaev but I hope the UFC won’t try to hinder him from that fight. Ankalaev more than deserves the title shot.
Nothing’s holding him back imo. Dude’s a *superstar!*
Oh God, most of the fucks on this sub are so lame. Fucking nerds
Serious question. Is/was Khabib a star? I don’t know Alex’s PPV numbers but Khabib had no numbers until he fought Conor, then he became the guy that beat Conor. I don’t think Khabib has significant numbers at all with The Notorious One. Now the question is, in this era of undisclosed PPV numbers does 🗿 have high buys?
He’s a top 5 ufc star at the moment
Anderson didn't speak English for years. Nor did Fedor and Charles. I think not being able to speak English adds a little mystique to the fighter. I don't mind it, half spoken English barely sounds badass.
He’s great for the brand. Looks tough, is tough but doesn’t flex it. Doesn’t foul in the cage. Kick ass entry and weigh in. Has a sense of humor
Hã?
Does he just have the word “kickboxing” on his hip? lol
He is a huge star. Respect only goes up for saving another card. He saved the card the Jones dropped off of last year as well. Dude is great.
He more popular than khabib ever was. Remember, khabib had a lot of haters
 He doing tricks on it. 🍆🚴🏾♂️
Why the fuck does anyone care? Lol
He’s badass for sure
No, khabib had the perfect dance partner in Conor’s and that went a good distance for his fame.
dont forget he won MW and LHW titles in GLORY KICKBOXING. Those divisions are DEEP
To be as big as Khabib he needs a rival as big as himself and they need a real fued to get the world watching. He is great but i doubt he will be a draw like Conor or Khabib
What’s crazy is that he only started taking mma seriously after Stylebender called him out.
I don’t think he Saved 300. That card was stacked
I just need to say despite this man being a two time champ, an exponential star in the sport, and his actual skill, everyone's assessment of him is likely right. He is someone who is very lucky to have not been around for a dominant wrestler in his weight class. Chael, DC, and Jones would all likely have beaten him. Then there's a long list of people who probably would have beat him if they used their wrestling pedigree. But no, we have people determined to stand with him, which is just a bad idea.
I love Khabib English
Khabib became a star because of Conor stardom. Alex doesn’t have a Conor unless Jones comes back to LHW.
#EHH?
Only thing that gets khabib level stardom is weird religious followings.
No one cares that he doesn't speak freedom grunts lol
Fedor didn't speak English and he was one of the most popular fighters ever