Outside Source
Pereira reclaimed his light heavyweight title with a first-round finish over Magomed Ankalaev at Noche UFC this past October. “Poatan” subsequently called out Jon Jones for a heavyweight booking at the White House in 2026. Pereira also recently posted a cryptic message hinting at triple champion aspirations.
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Pereira has seemingly decided to move up to heavyweight, regardless of whether the Jones matchup comes to fruition. The Brazilian is eyeing either a super fight against Jones or a title shot at heavyweight.
The Waiting Game
“I spoke about my interest in fighting at heavyweight,” Pereira said in a recent interview (via omelete) “… I mentioned the White House against Jon Jones, and I’ve also even spoke about a fight at heavyweight for a third belt. But I don’t know, it’s not in my control. I have my desires, but I’m also just waiting like everyone else.”
Jones (28-1) retired this past June after more than a year of keeping the heavyweight title picture in limbo. Former interim champ Tom Aspinall was promoted to undisputed champ and put his title on the line against Ciryl Gane in October. However, the matchup ended in a no contest after a double eye poke from Gane left Aspinall unable to continue. Meanwhile, Jones is also interested in returning at the White House card, although Dana White doesn’t sound very enthusiastic about the proposition.
“Poatan” defeated Israel Adesanya to win the middleweight title within a year of his UFC debut. Pereira lost the title in the immediate rematch and moved up to light heavyweight. Pereira won and defended the light heavyweight title thrice within a year before losing to Ankalaev earlier this year. After reclaiming his title in a fairytale rematch, Pereira is arguably in a position to call his shots.
🚨 Alex Pereira wants his next fight to be at heavyweight, either against Jon Jones or for the title 👀
“I mentioned the White House against Jon Jones, and I’ve also even spoke about a fight at heavyweight for a third belt.
But I don’t know, it’s not in my control. I have my… pic.twitter.com/EgTDzpQiVK
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 7, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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