Chael Sonnen claims 'amateur' fighter could soon become all-time GOAT of UFC
Sonnen believes he could soon be viewed as the greatest fighter in UFC history.
Chael Sonnen believes there could be a new candidate for the title of UFC GOAT very soon.
Several fighters can lay claim to being the true GOAT of MMA, including Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva.
Conor McGregor is often included in these discussions given his huge impact on MMA, while Ronda Rousey recently claimed to be the 'greatest fighter that has ever lived'.
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UFC legend Sonnen believes another fighter could soon be part of those discussions, light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Pereira, a former UFC middleweight champion, retained his light heavyweight title with a first-round KO of Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 last weekend.
A potential step-up to heavyweight to face interim champion Tom Aspinall has been touted as potential future fight for 'Poatan'.
Sonnen believes that if the Brazilian can capture a third belt, which has never been done in the UFC, he should be considered as the greatest of all time.
"I look at Alex Pereira. That's an amateur; he has an amateur's record," Sonnen said on 'The Fighter and The Kid' podcast.
"He's done it 12 times now. He's only done it eight in the octagon but within those eight, he's captured two world titles, and he's beaten five world champions.
"And if I was to tell you that Alex Pereira – who's never had a wrestling match, he's never had a grappling match, he is not a black belt – is the greatest to have ever done it, you would roll your eyes.
"But if he became champ-champ-champ, and he is the first person ever that could actually do it, we stand back and go, 'He actually might be able to.' If he did that, we're not out having a conversation on who the GOAT is.
"We will just refer to him as the GOAT. Think of how great Georges St-Pierre is but you know he won 70, 185, but none of us thought he could go up to 205.
"Or Daniel Cormier, when he gets the heavyweight, the light heavyweight but we knew he couldn’t make the weight class of 185. It's one of those things where a guy can only go so far."
Topics: UFC, MMA, Jon Jones, Georges St Pierre, Anderson Silva
Rory O'Callaghan