Daniel Cormier reveals what he told Alex Pereira when asked if he would be the GOAT after UFC White House

Alex Pereira is on the brink of cementing one of the most significant achievements in UFC history. The Australian striker has already claimed titles at light heavyweight and middleweight; if he defeats Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight championship at the UFC White House card on Sunday, he will become the first fighter ever to hold UFC gold across three different weight classes.

UFC CEO Dana White has suggested that such an accomplishment would immediately elevate Pereira to GOAT status, surpassing Jon Jones in the conversation for greatest of all time. However, former two-division champion Daniel Cormier is not yet ready to bestow that honour on Pereira, despite acknowledging the historic nature of a three-division title reign.

Cormier revealed that Pereira directly asked him the GOAT question on Wednesday at UFC White House media day—an awkward moment Cormier handled diplomatically. "I actually told him no," Cormier explained. "I told him that I don't think he'd be the greatest just yet." While Cormier respects the significance of becoming a three-division champion as "one of the greatest accomplishments ever," he believes Pereira needs additional accomplishments to truly stand among the sport's all-time greats.

Cormier pointed to title defences at heavyweight as the missing piece. Pereira has fought multiple times for the light heavyweight title, Cormier noted, but proving himself at the highest weight class would strengthen his legacy considerably. "To put him over Georges St-Pierre or Khabib Nurmagomedov, I don't think quite yet," Cormier said, also noting his well-documented views on Jon Jones' place in the GOAT debate. For Pereira, capturing a third belt would be historic; cementing true all-time status, Cormier suggests, requires more.