Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier clash over fighter of the year between Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria

Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen compared Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira's accomplishments in the year 2024. Pereira defended the light heavyweight title three times in 2024, while Topuria won and defended the featherweight title.

Both secured their victories by stoppage, sparking a debate over who should be named the Fighter of the Year.

In the recent episode of the Good Guy / Bad Guy podcast, Sonnen advocated for Pereira, noting that he was the only reigning champion who stepped up to headline the milestone UFC 300 event:

"In theory, that was the biggest event of Dana White's career. Alex Pereira was so sincere in his desire to headline that card that he was willing to take on Tom Aspinall at heavyweight, and that was not a bluff."

Sonnen also mentioned that Pereira agreed to fight despite suffering from a toe injury and took on the challenge on short notice again at UFC 303 after Conor McGregor withdrew due to a similar injury.

Cormier contended that while Pereira achieved victories over former 205-pound champions Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill in 2024, Topuria's wins are more significant in terms of the level of competition faced.

"Topuria beat Alexander Volkanovski... One of the greatest featherweights of all time, considered No.2 to Jose Aldo... He beat Max Holloway, the third best featherweight of all time. In terms of importance, he literally went in one year and did away with last eight years of the division."

Check out Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen's comments below:

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Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira's 2024 title runs at a glance

Coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over Josh Emmett in 2023, Ilia Topuria defeated Alexander Volkanovski by second-round knockout at UFC 298 to capture the featherweight title. He successfully it against Max Holloway at UFC 308, becoming the first fighter to stop the Hawaiian by strikes.

Meanwhile, Pereira achieved a first-round knockout win over Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 to secure his first title defense. Following a lopsided UFC 303 rematch in which he finished Jiri Prochazka, the Brazilian scored a significant fourth-round TKO win over Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307.

With the win, Pereira set the record for the shortest period to achieve three title fight victories, accomplishing it in just 175 days, beating former women's champion Ronda Rousey's record of 189 days.