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Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira has heard enough talk from potential future foe Anthony Smith.
Pereira made the jump from middleweight to light heavyweight after dropping his title to Israel Adesanya.
He began his light heavyweight career against another former champ, Jan Blachowicz, and walked away with a split decision victory.
But Smith, who previously fought (and lost to) Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title, doesn’t think Pereira will prove much of a threat at the new weight class.
At UFC Singapore media day last week, Smith said that he felt Pereira was no longer the same “large, scary monster” he was at 185 pounds and is now a “fairly normal dude.”
Smith went on to win his UFC Singapore fight with Ryan Spann via split decision. But Pereira, much like Smith, was not impressed with his potential rival’s performance.
“I always see him talking, especially about me,” Pereira said via his YouTube channel. “He talks really bad. I don’t know what he has against me but he criticized other athletes too, saying the athlete didn’t make weight and a guy who in Glover [Teixeira’s] fight in Rio de Janeiro was a backup and the guy didn’t make weight. It shows why he’s not that successful. Because someone who’s going to be a backup fighter, he takes it easy unlike Glover.
“You can see he didn’t take it seriously. He just didn’t make weight and now today he relishes bashing other athletes because he has no clue what they go through. A commentator who is a fighter knows how tough it is but somehow he chooses not to give them any credit or at least stay silent. He has to put his two cents in because he loves being in the spotlight. He doesn’t show up at the fights. I mean, he likes fighting but doesn’t show up. No one talks about him so he spouts off nonsense just to get some screen time.”
Pereira may have his sights set on some bigger fish in the light heavyweight division, where the title currently sits vacant.
But if he’s not given a title shot, it appears a fight with Smith could be in the cards.