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EspañolDaniel Cormier sees only one reason why Alex Pereira would willingly give up the UFC light heavyweight championship, and it's for history.
With UFC CEO Dana White announcing Friday that Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg will fight for the vacant 205-pound belt in the April 11 headliner UFC 327 at Kaseya Center in Miami, all signs point to Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) moving up to the heavyweight division.
The idea of "Poatan" jumping to a third division after capturing UFC titles at middleweight and light heavyweight has been appealing to many. Now it appears what will happen, but it remains a mystery exactly what will introduce him to the new weight.
For longtime UFC commentator and UFC Hall of Famer Cormier, the only plausible scenario is for a truly monumental opportunity.
"I think what matters to me is that Alex Pereira has given up that belt and it seems like he's going to fight at heavyweight," Cormier said on his YouTube channel. "I don't think Pereira would give up his belt just to take a fight. I don't think a guy just gives up a belt to take a fight. So if he is fighting at heavyweight, and if he is going to get an opportunity to fight for the heavyweight championship, who is it?
"Is it Ciryl (Gane)? Is it (Jon) Jones? (Tom) Aspinall's out. And if it is Ciryl Gane, how does that fit with you consider what happened in the fight between Ciryl Gane and Tom Aspinall? I don't care who it is though. I want to see a guy chase a third title. We haven't had that. We haven't had a guy hold a belt in three weight classes. Pereira is saying, 'Right now I have that opportunity.' Or at least it seems that way."
Cormier admits he has genuine excitement about the prospect of a Pereira vs. Jones fight. Both men have been campaigning for it, and it would be the type of main event for the UFC White House card in June that would satisfy expectations.
Cormier have lived in the wake of disappointment with Jones too many times, though, and he said he's too wise than to make that mistake again.
"If I was a champion and I was told, 'Vacate you belt.' I would want an absolute guarantee I would be pursuing another belt. … When I look at everything and take the whole picture in, I dream first and I cross my fingers and I wish that it is Jones vs. Pereira. But I also stay cautious in the idea that if it doesn't happen, it's someone else. And if it is someone else, it has to be Ciryl Gane. Because who else? Who else could there be to fight Alex Pereira?"
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Cormier wants Alex Pereira to chase UFC history after vacating title