Josh Thomson thinks a prime Alex Pereira would fall at the hands of a late, great knockout artist.
Nobody has torn through the UFC quite the like the former two-division champion. Pereira started a speed run in the UFC’s middleweight division, scoring KO after KO, and then going 1-1 with Israel Adesanya before he bounced back at light heavyweight.
Pereira began 5-0 at 205 lbs, with four knockouts in four title fights. Pereira eventually lost to Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313 in March, by decision. Recently cast as a A24 movie villain, ‘Poatan’ seeks his real-life revenge against Ankalaev at UFC 320 on Oct. 4 in Las Vegas.
Ahead of his sixth-straight title fight, fans online are debating not who would win between Ankalaev and Pereira, but instead Pereira and ‘Rumble’ Johnson, the bogeyman of the division in the years before him.
Josh Thomson explains why Anthony Johnson ‘destroys’ Alex Pereira in fantasy fight
Anthony Johnson was one of the greatest KO threats in UFC history, if not, the greatest.
Johnson stopped the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Ryan Bader, Jimi Manuwa, Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and nearly knocked out the legendary Daniel Cormier in their two-fight series.
One of Johnson’s most brutal KOs came over Pereira’s coach and former UFC champ Glover Teixeira in 13 seconds.
‘Rumble’ died in 2022 at the age of 38. Since his passing, Johnson has been linked to a fantasy fight with Pereira on occasion.
The UFC even photoshopped him fighting Pereira in a promo for UFC super-fights that never took place, such as Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson firmly believes Johnson would’ve KO’ed Pereira in his prime.
“I’m a huge Alex fan but Rumble destroys him,” Thomson wrote on X.
“[Too] fast and way more power than anyone who’s already knocked Alex out. Plus, rumble could wrestle if things went south.
“You didn’t just jab Rumble… you paid every-time you threw a shot at him,” Thomson responded to a fan who disagreed with his take.
“[Johnson] KO’d people so bad they discovered themselves,” the UFC veteran said.
Alex Pereira has only been knocked out once in his UFC career, which was in his middleweight rematch against Israel Adesanya in 2023. Pereira is a Muay Thai striker, a style that many fighters say is ‘tit for tat’ in the stand-up.
Where does Anthony Johnson rank all-time in KO wins?
Johnson’s name is still near the top of the UFC record books.
The legendary knockout artist racked up a total of 11 knockout wins in his UFC career and 17 as a pro.
Johnson is tied for third-most knockout wins in UFC history, alongside Anderson Silva, Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, Matt Brown, and Thiago Santos.
Known for his insane KO power, Johnson was regarded as one of the absolute nicest fighters outside the cage.