Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen made an interesting selection of male fighters in the interim awards he recently announced alongside Daniel Cormier.
While interest in the awards really picks up at the end of each year, the first six months of 2024 will be packed with action and memorable moments on mixed martial arts' biggest stage.
In line with that, ESPN recently announced its interim awards, with a 14-person voting committee that included prominent journalists such as Brett Okamoto and Brett Okamoto voting in several categories following UFC 303.
And the event contributed to one result: 100 percent of the votes for Male Fighter of the Year went to UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Pereira is the only titleholder with two victories in 2024, as “Poitan” knocked out Jamahal Hill in the main event of a milestone UFC 300 card in April before scoring a brutal finish against Jiri Prochazka, this time on short notice, last month.
This performance might make the Brazilian the obvious choice to beat, but one former fighter sees it differently…
Sonnen backs O'Malley title defense over Pereira's two knockouts
In a recent episode between him and Cormier, Good guy / bad guy During a segment on ESPN MMA's YouTube channel, Sonnen shocked his co-stars by predicting one of the intermediate prizes.
Pereira put in dominant performances against two highly ranked former light heavyweight champions, but “The Bad Guy” came out victorious against bantamweight king Sean O'Malley.
“When I look at male fighters of the year, I pick Sean O'Malley,” Sonnen said. “When Sugar Sean fought Tito Vera, I didn't know Sean was that good. I believed Sean was the best guy in the world. I thought he was competitive. There are guys that can beat him, and he can beat them. But when he fought Tito Vera and dominated it…
“You look at Shawn's development (from his first fight with Vera), not to mention the pressure he's put on to go from the apex to the top spot, to a $14.1 million dollar attendance fight, and then you have to watch the Dustin Poirier show,” Sonnen continued. “There was a lot of pressure on this young man, the showman. … Can I back up my words? Not only did he do it, he did it for 25 minutes. He could have put the brakes on at 15 minutes … but it just wasn't enough for him. He tried to finish the fight. … I thought it was great overall.”
Cormier shook his head at Sonnen's choice but was adamant that Pereira was the right choice and deserved it.
Whether that will be the case at the end of the year awards ceremony remains to be seen, but O'Malley would certainly have the advantage if he beats the likely next challenger, wrestling specialist Merab Dvalishvili.
But that debate could be put to rest if Pereira faces Magomed Ankalaev, widely considered the biggest threat in the 205-pound division, and wins.
