UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira has vehemently rejected the idea that his first title defense of 2025 will be against Magomed Ankalaev, despite the Russian being the No. 1 contender.
If we take Alex Pereira at his word, there are only a handful of potential opponents who would make sense for 'Poatan' instead – but with two huge fights already scheduled for the first quarter of 2025, perhaps the Brazilian could having to stand on the sidelines for a while. time.
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Alex Pereira rejects Magomed Ankalaev as his next UFC opponent
Last month, No. 1 light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev teased that while Alex Pereira had not yet signed the contract, he expects to fight for the UFC title in the spring of 2025.
“Pereira has not yet agreed to the fight. But sooner or later it will happen, I think the fight can take place in May,” Ankalaev said during a question and answer session.
The 20-1-1 prospect would also reveal that he plans to beat Pereira twice in 2025, writing on social media that he will “give him a rematch in July and then one of these bums like Jamahal Hill and Jiri will beat. [Prochazka] in Abu Dhabi in October.”
Unfortunately for the Russian, it sounds like Alex Pereira is already working on his near-constant callouts.
The Brazilian sensation shared a compilation of his standout match against Khalil Rountree Jr. on Instagram earlier this morning. with the caption: “It won't be Ankalaev!”
Pereira reportedly reshared the message, “It won't be Ankalaev,” on his X page (Twitter), with Ankalaev himself quickly replying with “Chicken,” alongside three chicken emojis.
UFC fans are speculating about who could be Alex Pereira's next opponent
If we take Alex Pereira at his word and consider for a moment that Ankalaev is out of the title conversation, what are the possible options for Poatan's next title defense?
The most likely scenario would see Pereira fight the winner of one of the two huge light-heavyweight fights already confirmed for the first quarter of 2025.
The first will take place at UFC 311: Makhachev vs Tsarukyan on January 18 between former champions Jiri Prochazka (#2) and Jamahal Hill (#3).
Both men are coming off KO losses to Poatan, though we're sure Pereira will seize the opportunity to silence Hill once and for all – especially after their viral showdown at the UFC PI.
However, the most likely scenario would be for Pereira to face the winner of Jan Blachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg; which has been confirmed for the main card of UFC Fight Night London in March.
Blachowicz hasn't competed since a split-decision loss to Pereira in July 2023 – undoubtedly the toughest fight Poatan has had since moving up to 205 pounds.
Ulberg is riding a seven-fight winning streak and could very well be the new “face” of the division – as long as he has become a title contender relatively quickly since the “Black Jag” turned 34 years old in November.
One last option… Could be the big one: a move to heavyweight to challenge Jon Jones for the heavyweight title.
While that may be the most unlikely scenario, given Dana White's recent tease about “something crazy in 2025,” we'd be remiss if we didn't at least mention “Bones” as a viable option.
Ankalaev should 100% be next, but if Poatan leaves the Russian behind; we'd say the winner of Blachowicz vs Ulberg is the one to be made – what do you think?
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