After a hugely successful 2024, in which he finished the year as Fighter of the Year and the UFC's biggest active star, Alex Pereira teased a possible move to heavyweight.
In 2024, UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira defended his title three times, the most of any champion for the entire year.
The 37-year-old headlined two of the biggest UFC events of the year, the monumental UFC 300 and the International Fight Week event, UFC 303, both on relatively short notice.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
The rumors about Alex Pereira's next fight continue
After knocking out Khalil Rountree Jr at UFC 307 last October, 'Poatan' teased a possible move to the heavyweight division.
Talks then intensified when UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones claimed he would rather fight the Brazilian than interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in a bid to set up a superfight.
'Bones' then defended his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and stated that unless he can fight Pereira next, he will likely retire rather than fight Aspinall.
Despite this, negotiations began between the promotion and both Jones and Aspinall, with UFC boss Dana White '100%' confident they could get that fight done.
With that, rumors began to circulate that Pereira could still move up to heavyweight for his next fight and fighter, Alexander Volkov.
The rumor was fueled by Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, who claimed that the fight was discussed following Pereira's claim that his next fight would not be against light heavyweight number one contender, Magomed Ankalaev.
Alex Pereira's heavyweight move was halted as Ariel Helwani provided an update
Volkov was on the wrong side of an extremely controversial decision loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 310 that even White disagreed with.
Despite this, rumors of Pereira taking on Volkov have been quashed by renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, who provided an update on what to expect for 'Poatan's next fight.
According to sources, Alex Pereira's next opponent will be Magomed Ankalaev. That's the plan.
There are no plans for him to move to heavyweight anytime soon. According to his team, he needs at least six months to progress the way they want.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 10, 2025
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Ankalaev felt hit hard by missing out on the light heavyweight title at UFC 307, and the vast majority of fans agreed with him given his 13-fight undefeated streak.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently shared a theory on why Ankalaev might not be next for Pereira, highlighting that Ramadan falls during the time when Pereira is targeting his return.
It is currently unclear what date the promotion is targeting for Pereira's first title defense of 2025, with 'Poatan' hoping for a return in March.
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