Alex Pereira won't make MMA's Mount Rushmore even with a win at UFC 313, claims former MMA referee: "14 fights is not an incredible career"

Alex Pereira is the only man to have captured middleweight and light heavyweight gold in the UFC but one of MMA's more active analysts does not see him securing an MMA Mount Rushmore spot with a win this weekend. Pereira looks to defend his 205 pound crown against the streaking Magomed Ankalaev in the headliner of UFC 313 on Saturday night.

On episode 553 of Weighing In, John McCarthy and Josh Thomson were discussing the Brazilian knockout artist's legacy in the sport with the former Strikeforce champion asking if Pereira can enter a rarefied air of greats in the coming days.

When asked if the reigning light heavyweight champion could be on MMA's mount rushmore with a win on Saturday night, the former MMA referee didn't seem to agree. After mentioning that Ankalaev's current winning streak is around the same amount of fights Alex Pereira has had in his entire MMA career, McCarthy expounded upon his answer when he said:

"What Alex has done has been special and in the amount of time that he's done it has made it even more special because he has been incredibly busy. He's a guy that has; he's taking fights. Sometimes he's taking fights when he probably shouldn't because he's a little beat up. He's the UFC's poster child but he's like the life ring off of the ship."

He continued:

"When you fall overboard just throw it out there... He'll be the guy that oh, I'll take the fight, you know. You now have a main event. So he's been fantastic. It's hard for me to say someone is on the Mount Rushmore when they've got a total of 14 fights. It's just tough right now... 14 fights is not an incredible career. I mean he's had 14 tough fights [laughs]."

Check out John McCarthy's thoughts on Alex Pereira being on MMA's Mount Rushmore [at the 35:55 mark] below

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Alex Pereira could be pound-for-pound number one with a UFC 313 win according to Dana White

While Alex Pereira would not be on John McCarthy's MMA Mount Rushmore with a win over Magomed Ankalaev, a victory at UFC 313 could push Pereira to Dana White's number one pound-for-pound spot.

White described Ankalaev as a very serious threat when speaking to First Take and mentioned how the title challenger was probably the toughest fight that the 37-year-old champion has ever had. When discussing the looming clash for 'Poatan', White quipped:

"Alex comes out of this the way he's come out of every other fight, he might be the pound for pound best fighter in the world."