Islam Makhachev's manager slams Kamaru Usman for calling Alex Pereira the UFC P4P king: "Brother, you drinking the Kool-Aid too"

Islam Makhachev's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently took a dig at Kamaru Usman for rating Alex Pereira as the best P4P fighter in the UFC. He addressed his statement by emphasizing that Pereira took on Khalil Rountree Jr., who is ranked No. 8 in the light heavyweight division instead of No. 2 ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev.

For context, Usman spoke to Henry Cejudo in their latest episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast and discussed Pereira's win over Rountree Jr. at UFC 307. The former welterweight champion praised 'Poatan', ranking him higher than Makhachev as the best P4P fighter in the promotion.

''What a fantastic performance for the pound for pound King...I said it Henry [Cejudo] and this is part of being a man, you have to admit when you feel like you've made an error...I realize I've been judging out Alex Pereira based on what I would be judged on...based on what we do at welterweight.''

Usman continued:

''Yes being able to grapple being able to shoot takedowns, take guys down, hold guys down...implement the ground and pound and grappling based on all of that I've been judging Alex Pereira on that...So with Alex Pereira has to work with, he's disposing of these guys that way so I have to give that to him.''

That did not sit well with Makhachev's manager, who criticized Usman for his remarks. Abdelaziz responded by claiming that Pereira dodged the top opponent, Ankalaev, and instead faced a lower-ranked fighter in his division.

He wrote on X:

''@USMAN84kg brother he just fought the number 8th guy in the division, there is a reason why he is not fighting the number 1 guy Magomed Ankalaev, brother, you drinking the kool-Aid too, hey @HenryCejudo you gotta pinch your partner sometimes''

According to the UFC's official website, the P4P rankings remain the same, with Makhachev holding his No. 1 position and Pereira right behind him at No. 2.

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Henry Cejudo doesn't believe Alex Pereira is the best P4P fighter in UFC

In the aforementioned Pound 4 Pound podcast, Kamaru Usman explained his decision to rank Alex Pereira higher than Islam Makhachev in the P4P rankings. However, Henry Cejudo thought otherwise.

According to Cejudo, Pereira needs to prove himself against a wrestler like Magomed Ankalaev, saying:

"I get what you're saying, but no. To me, it's still not it. We still gotta see if he gets [Magomed] Ankalaev... Does he fight? Of course. Is he a killer? Of course. But we have to see if he gets past a guy that's more likely to grapple. I'm not even sure if Ankalaev could bring in the grappling... I think, either way, I'd still put Islam [Makhachev] up there."

Check out Henry Cejudo's comments below (2:19):