Pedro Rizzo: Reach loss biggest problem for Pereira at heavyweight

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Pedro Rizzo believes Alex Pereira's biggest obstacle at heavyweight was not the weight jump but the loss of his trademark reach advantage.

Rizzo, considered one of the most aggressive strikers in UFC heavyweight history, told Sherdog that Pereira's height dominance evaporates when facing larger opponents. "Alex is too tall for middleweights and light heavyweights, and he lost that advantage at heavyweight," Rizzo said. The Brazilian had picked Pereira as the favorite before his second-round knockout loss to Ciryl Gane in the UFC White House co-main event.

Technical breakdown mirrors Fedor Emelianenko finish

The finishing sequence reminded Rizzo of Fedor Emelianenko's knockout of Matt Mitrione. Both featured southpaws landing counter jabs on orthodox fighters who failed to step outside. "The right hander not stepping outside and the southpaw's lead hand landing first," Rizzo explained. He posted side-by-side footage on Instagram showing both fighters made identical mistakes in their positioning against southpaws.

Regarding Pereira's complaints about illegal strikes during the finish, Rizzo acknowledged referee Herb Dean missed some shots to the back of the head but called the impact debatable. "Undoubtedly there were some illegal strikes in the whole sequence, but it's difficult to say that it influenced the final result of the fight," he said. Rizzo noted the difficulty of stopping a barrage mid-exchange when only some punches land illegally.

Rizzo, who fought Kevin Randleman and Randy Couture for UFC heavyweight gold, sees a better landscape for Pereira than he faced. The modern heavyweight division skews toward strikers rather than the wrestler-heavy era Rizzo battled through against Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, and Josh Barnett. "I still believe that 'Poatan' is the greatest striker in MMA today," Rizzo said. He wants to see an immediate rematch and still favors Pereira to stop Gane on a better night.

Original reporting:

• sherdog.com — Pedro Rizzo: Loss of reach advantage biggest issue for Alex Pereira at heavyweight