Henry Cejudo says Alex Pereira needs to work his way back up to the UFC heavyweight title picture.
Pereira protested his TKO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 in June, where he felt referee Herb Dean missed numerous shots to the back of his head. "Poatan" also took issue with the UFC opting to go with Josh Hokit for Gane's first title defense at UFC 334 on Nov. 14, instead of a rematch.
Cejudo thinks Pereira (13-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) has been given enough big opportunities since joining the UFC roster.
"It's part of him being a bit spoiled," Cejudo said of Pereira on his "Pound 4 Pound" podcast with Kamaru Usman. "Alex, I'm not picking on you, I'm just seeing what has been done with you, and how you skip lines. You've skipped the line long enough.
You had your opportunity against Ciryl Gane, and you lost. Yeah, there were illegal blows, I do agree with you on that. But that jab from Ciryl Gane wobbled you.
"Ciryl Gane was just keeping it on his feet. We kind of saw where the fight was more likely going. It's your first debut at heavyweight. It is what it is. To be upset after not having a fight at heavyweight and then getting a shot to fight for the interim title at the White House, there's no complaining here. I feel like you need to win at least two or three more to fight for the title. I think there's a lot of people in line."
Pereira meets Sergei Pavlovich (20-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in a five-round bout, which co-headlines UFC 335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+).
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Henry Cejudo to Alex Pereira: 'You've skipped the line long enough'
