The interim heavyweight champion believes that there is a clear next option for one of the biggest stars in the sport.
At UFC 313, Alex Pereira was defeated by Magomed Ankalaev with the Brazilian’s incredible light heavyweight title reign coming to an end via the scorecards.
The new champion has already weighed in with his thoughts on what should be next for him with Ankalaev shutting down a heavyweight move.
With Pereira having aspirations to conquer another weight class, Tom Aspinall tuned in to the main event to see how it all played out on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Aspinall believes that Pereira and Jon Jones is now off the table but he does have another option in mind for ‘Poatan’ following his second UFC loss.
Tom Aspinall says Alex Pereira should get an immediate rematch with Magomed Ankalaev
Tom Aspinall gave his reaction to the UFC 313 headliner via a recent video on his YouTube channel.
After watching Magomed Ankalaev finally secure the 205-pound gold, the interim heavyweight champion quickly pointed to what should be next for both men.
Aspinall believes that Alex Pereira should be granted an immediate rematch with the first man to defeat him in the light heavyweight division.
Having defended the title via knockout on three occasions in 2024, though Pereira’s reign wasn’t incredibly long, it was arguably the best thing in MMA last year.
Dana White seemingly agreed with the need for a rematch in his post-fight press conference and though most people seemingly had Ankalaev winning the fight, some of the rounds were very closely contested.
Aspinall said that whilst he can see the fight going the same way in a rematch, Pereira deserves that opportunity.
“Alex Pereira’s run as a champion is done for now. In my opinion, immediate rematch should be there next. Alex Pereira is a massive, massive, massive star in the sport of MMA, massive. Lost it last night, lost his title but the run that he has been on has warranted an immediate rematch in my opinion. Magomed Ankalaev, to me, looks like he’s got his number. It looks like the same thing could happen again in my opinion. I want to see it again, I absolutely want to see that fight again.”
Alex Pereira’s loss should secure Tom Aspinall’s status as Jon Jones’ next opponent
Following Alex Pereira’s defeat on March 8, this would appear to make a fight between ‘Poatan’ and Jon Jones less likely.
Though things had gone fairly quiet in regards to a heavyweight title unification clash between Jones and Tom Aspinall, Dana White gave a promising update following UFC 313.
The UFC president said that he is feeling positive about the fight happening with the current hold-up being caused by ironing out a date and location.
Pereira may be beloved by the fan base but if the UFC is able to put together the most anticipated fight of the year, it would certainly help to put Saturday night’s outcome in the rear-view mirror.