Alex Pereira, the man who steamrolled his way through two UFC divisions, just got a reality check from one of the sport’s original tough guys: Don Frye. If you’re picturing Frye, think mustache, fists, and a resume that reads like a bar fight in a steel mill. Frye’s not just a UFC Hall of Famer, he’s the guy who fought giants in Pride, brawled through the early days of the UFC, and somehow survived enough punishment to rack up dozens of surgeries along the way.
Don Frye on Alex Pereira
When he talks, even the most decorated champions might want to put down their belts and listen. So what’s Frye’s beef with Pereira? It’s not about technique, and he’s not critiquing the Brazilian’s left hook. Frye’s message is simple: don’t buy into your own legend. He’s seen what happens when a fighter starts believing the hype, skips rest, and lets the promoters squeeze every ounce out of them.
Frye admits he made that mistake, fighting through injuries, popping pills, and never taking time off. The promoters, he says, didn’t send so much as a Christmas card after he nearly died in the hospital. “They don’t give a damn about you,” Frye warns speaking to Submission Radio, and he’s not sugarcoating it for anyone.
Alex Pereira, for his part, has been the UFC’s go-to guy for last-minute title defenses and headline-saving heroics. In 2024 alone, ‘Poatan’ Alex Pereira knocked out three top contenders and defended his light heavyweight belt four times in sixteen months, numbers that make even Jon Jones look like a part-timer. But all that activity came at a price: injuries, health issues, and, most recently, a tough loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Rumors swirled about hand injuries and norovirus, but the real story might be even simpler: sometimes, the body just says “enough.”
Chael Sonnen
Enter Chael Sonnen, the self-appointed voice of reason in MMA. Sonnen breaks it down: the biggest mistake a fighter can make is thinking they’ve arrived. “You start to believe you’re invincible, that you can’t be touched. That’s when the fall comes,” he says, echoing Frye’s warning to Alex Pereira. He said:
“The biggest mistake you can make in this sport is thinking you’ve arrived. You start to believe you’re invincible, that you can’t be touched. That’s when the fall comes. Frye’s telling Pereira: don’t let that happen to you. Stay hungry, stay focused, because the second you start buying into your own legend, the game will humble you.”
Don Frye comes out and says, “Alex Pereira, don’t make the same mistake that I did.” Now, Don Frye is a legend. When he says something, you listen. He’s not talking about technique—he’s talking about the dangers of believing your own hype, of getting comfortable at the top. That’s a warning Pereira needs to hear.
“Pereira’s got the world at his feet right now—champion, star, all the attention. But that’s exactly when you’re most vulnerable. I’ve seen it a hundred times. Guys start to coast, they start to think the rules don’t apply to them. That’s when someone hungry comes along and takes it all away.“
Here’s the kicker: you don’t have to agree with everything Don Frye says, but you’d be a fool not to listen. He’s been to the mountaintop, made the mistakes, and is trying to save the next guy from the same fate.
