Brendan Schaub hoping the UFC books Alex Pereira vs. Khamzat Chimaev next: “Khamzat would be a handful for him”

Fighter-turned-podcaster Brendan Schaub knows who he wants to see Alex Pereira fight next.

‘Poaton’ is fresh off his return at UFC 281 earlier this month in New York. Standing opposite the Brazilian was the-then middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. The two men previously clashed twice in kickboxing, with Pereira winning on both occasions.

During the main event in Madison Square Garden, the two middleweights put on a show. Ultimately it was Pereira who emerged victorious, coming from behind to score a fifth-round TKO. While Adesanya protested the stoppage, it was too little, too late.

In the aftermath of the event, the UFC, as well as both headliners, have indicated that a rematch is next. However, Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t seem as enthused by the idea. Over the last few days, ‘Borz’ has called to face Pereira in a clash in Brazil early next year.

That sort of matchup seems thrilling to one Brendan Schaub. On his podcast, ‘The Schaub Show’, the fighter-turned-podcaster discussed Chimaev’s callout. The former UFC heavyweight contender agreed that the middleweight title fight should be booked next.

The podcaster also noted that the UFC likely wants a rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya next. However, Schaub opined that the fight is so big, it doesn’t need a title attached.

(via Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

“‘You have one more chance, you’re next’, not if Khamzat [Chimaev] gets his way.” stated Schaub on his podcast, reading a recent social media post from Pereira. “I don’t think that the UFC would do that though. Or, the UFC might. If they call Izzy and they’re like, ‘When are you ready to do this thing?’, Izzy is like, ‘I’m having surgery, I’ll be out this long’. They [the UFC] ain’t waiting.”

He continued, “It would ruin [the rematch] right? But you could still do Izzy [vs.] Pereira fight no matter what, even if Pereira has the belt or not. But yeah, Khamzat would be a handful for Pereira. Hopefully, they do it.”

This is far from the first time that Brendan Schaub has chimed in on Alex Pereira’s title reign. Last week he made headlines for proclaiming the newly-crowned champion likely wouldn’t be able to defeat anyone in the top five.

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