Alex Pereira doesn’t think much of Khamzat Chimaev.
Mere hours away from his first defense of the UFC middleweight championship, Pereira was asked his thoughts on multiple UFC stars in a round of world association. For the most part, Pereira was complimentary of his co-workers, referring to Robert Whittaker, Jon Jones, and even his UFC 287 opponent Israel Adesanya, as “warriors.” However, when they asked what he thought of Khamzat Chimaev, Pereira delivered the sickest of burns with the straightest of faces.
“Dogs a**hole,” Pereira responded.
With the undefeated Chechen slated for a move to middleweight, a clash between the two behemoths seems inevitable. The two were heavily rumored for a showdown at the beginning of the year, just weeks removed from Alex Pereira’s shocking fifth-round knockout of Israel Adesanya to capture the middleweight title at UFC 281. Given the short-notice nature of the bout and the significant amount of weight-cutting involved, things fell apart quickly.
The champ had good things to say about almost all of his peers
#UFC287 pic.twitter.com/MtsPXzUrWx
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 6, 2023
Alex Pereira Has No Interest in Talking About Khamzat Chimaev
Speaking at the UFC 287 media event on Wednesday, Pereira spoke about what would be next should he successfully defend his 185-pound crown on Saturday night. Willing to take on the best in the division, Pereira was quick to dismiss Chimaev, accusing the Chechen of running away from everybody.
“Whoever the UFC puts against me after this fight, I’ll be willing and ready,” Pereira said at UFC 287’s media day. “Talking about [Paulo Costa] ‘Borrachinha’ and [Robert] Whittaker, I respect them. I don’t see them talking trash at me, wanting to promote themselves. Chimaev ran from everybody.”
After running roughshod over his first five opponents inside the Octagon, Chimaev found himself booked for his first pay-per-view main event against fan-favorite Nate Diaz at UFC 279. Stepping on the scale 36 hours before their scheduled scrap, Chimaev weighed in eight pounds over the welterweight limit. Fans quickly turned on Chimaev as the promotion scurried to mix-and-match fighters in order to save the event from cancellation.
Though he made quick work of replacement opponent Kevin Holland at the event, Chimaev’s antics before and after the fight left a bad taste in the mouths of UFC fans and fellow fighters, including Alex Pereira.
“Chimaev, I’ll not even talk about him,” Pereira concluded.