Henry Cejudo Says Alex Pereira Has Been 'Spoiled' and Needs to Earn His Way Back
Henry Cejudo says Alex Pereira has been spoiled by the UFC and needs to earn his way back to a title shot at heavyweight.
Henry Cejudo has a message for Alex Pereira: stop complaining.
The former two-division UFC champion went on his podcast with Kamaru Usman this week and said Pereira has been "spoiled" by the opportunities the UFC handed him throughout his career.
"This is something that I will say about Alex Pereira and it's part of him being a bit spoiled," Cejudo said. "Alex, I'm not picking on you, I'm just seeing what's been done with you and how it's been that you've skipped lines."
Pereira has been vocal since his loss to Ciryl Gane, claiming the UFC focus-grouped heavyweight title pairings and that Daniel Cormier helped build hype for Gane's fight against Josh Hokit. Both Cormier and Dana White called those claims untrue.
Cejudo is not buying the victim narrative either.
"You had your opportunity against Ciryl Gane and you lost," Cejudo said. "There were illegal blows, I agree with you on that, but man, that jab from Ciryl Gane wobbled you."
He pointed out that Pereira received an interim heavyweight title shot in his first fight at the weight class, an opportunity most fighters spend years working toward.
"To be upset, after not having a fight at heavyweight and then getting a shot to fight for the interim title at the White House? Bro, there's no complaining here," Cejudo said.
Cejudo believes Pereira needs at least two or three wins before he is back in the title conversation. He named Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes as heavyweights with stronger claims to a shot.
"He didn't go the Kamaru Usman route where he fought everyone in the top ten before he fought the number one contenders," Cejudo said. "That takes years."
Pereira is scheduled to face Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335 on December 12, a fight that could determine whether the former two-division champion has a future at heavyweight or if his run at the top is over.
Cejudo is not wrong. Pereira got the royal treatment from the UFC for three years. Fast-tracked to middleweight gold, jumped to light heavyweight and won that belt too, then walked into an interim heavyweight title fight without a single bout at the weight. That is not how it works for anybody else. Now he lost to Gane and wants to blame the promotion for some conspiracy instead of just admitting he got caught.
The jab wobbled him. The power shots hurt him. Gane was the better fighter that night. If Pereira wants back in the title picture, beating Pavlovich in December is the first step. No more shortcuts.
