Alexei Pergande lit up Nashville on Friday night. Holy crap. Holy crap. Someone pour his opponent a double shot of whiskey. Alexei Pergande is a force to be reckoned with. He came into this fight as a -2000 favorite with BetMGM. Alexei is a dominant newcomer and the perfect combination of talent and humility. Pergande thoroughly outmaneuvered Daniel Bale, a true contender at 145, and put in a performance that made him look like a regional mid-major.
During battle, which is displayed on the right side on desktop and below on mobile, Dylan Sage Nostman @dsk_combatsportsshared an image of betting $1 live on Pergande with no return whatsoever, basically just trying to see how close you can put a dollar to the fire and pray that it doesn’t catch fire.
The only question for Alexei is whether he can maintain his weight at 145 pounds, but this could work to his advantage as he continues to grow and add muscle mass. Whether it’s featherweight or lightweight, there’s no reason to think he can’t compete at the highest level and be the face of the promotion (at least on the men’s side) for years to come.
Sam and I will be covering and recapping the event on tomorrow’s Ground N’ Pound Podcast. We’ll be discussing Alexei Pergunde, all the playoff matchups, UFC Abu Dhabi and much more. You can find the podcast on all podcast streaming services. Our MMA coverage continues to grow as well. Click here to be taken to our MMA page. We have new uploads 2-4 times per week.
