‘Poatan’ was targeting some of the biggest fights of 2025 until his light heavyweight title reign came to an end.
Alex Pereira’s incredible run at 205-pounds was stopped by Magomed Ankalaev in the main event of UFC 313.
The former champion was openly talking about potential fights outside of his weight class heading into his fourth title defense earlier this month.
Pereira has shown interest in moving up to heavyweight to face the likes of Jon Jones for some time now but another exciting opportunity fell onto his lap in recent times.
Oleksandr Uysk named Pereira as one of the two fights that he wants before retiring but this will have to be pushed back for the time being whilst the Brazilian superstar looks to avenge his loss.
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Alex Pereira says heavyweight super fights in UFC or boxing would’ve been next after UFC 313
It looks like Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev are gearing up for a rematch later this year with August being mentioned by both men.
Whilst ‘Poatan’ could get back on track by reclaiming his title before moving on to a super fight, those plans have been put on hold until the rematch.
Pereira recently appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show where via his coach Plinio Cruz, the former champ revealed what his next move would have been if he had beaten Ankalaev on March 8.
“Probably defend the belts but if I could go and after that choose, not my weight class, it would be the fight for the heavyweight in the UFC or fight Usyk in boxing.”
Pereira went on to make it clear that there had been no discussions about either option at the time, this is simply what his preference would’ve been if he was asked.
“The reasonable following step would be his weight class to defend but if it was on his choice, he would not defend the belt after this fight. He would have went to heavyweight in the UFC or boxing, he wanted to move up.”
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Alex Pereira has to avenge his loss to Magomed Ankalaev for these opportunities to exist
Alex Pereira’s loss to Magomed Ankalaev wasn’t a one-sided beatdown but it was a disappointing performance from the Brazilian who didn’t look himself.
If he had moved on from this loss, super fights still could’ve been made even if they wouldn’t have been as big now that he’s not the champion.
However, with the rematch seemingly being on the cards, this fight is a must-win for Pereira because back-to-back losses might completely kill the talk of these blockbuster matchups.
Fans would still want to see it because they know how good both Pereira and Ankalaev are but the hype wouldn’t be nearly the same after ‘Poatan’ loses his shine to some degree.