Cormier tells Pereira to his face he is not yet the GOAT, even with a third UFC title

Daniel Cormier told Alex Pereira directly at UFC White House media day that winning a third divisional title on Sunday would not be enough to crown him the greatest of all time — a verdict the former two-division champion delivered face-to-face, and with some admitted discomfort.

Pereira enters his fight against Ciryl Gane already holding the light heavyweight and middleweight titles. Victory would make him the first fighter in UFC history to hold gold across three weight classes, an achievement significant enough that UFC CEO Dana White declared it would immediately elevate Pereira above Jon Jones as the sport’s all-time great.

Cormier is not ready to go that far. When Pereira asked him directly at media day, Cormier gave him an honest answer.

“Alex just asked me that directly, and he’s big now so that’s a hard question to answer in front of him when he’s that big,” Cormier said. “I actually told him no. I told him that I don’t think he’d be the greatest just yet.”

Cormier was careful to acknowledge the scale of what Pereira is chasing. Becoming the first three-division titleholder is, in his words, “one of the greatest accomplishments ever” in UFC history. The issue, for Cormier, is what comes next.

“He would need to defend the championship at heavyweight,” Cormier said. “He’s fought for that [light heavyweight] title a lot of times. I think that he just needs more work. But to put him over Georges St-Pierre or Khabib Nurmagomedov, I don’t think quite yet. Jon Jones, you guys know how I feel about that.”

The reference to Jones carries its own weight given Cormier’s long rivalry with him, but the broader point is clear: for Cormier, longevity and title defences across multiple divisions still separate the sport’s established greats from a fighter still building his legacy, however rapidly.

Pereira faces Gane at the UFC White House card on Sunday, with the interim heavyweight title also on the line alongside his place in the record books.