Alex Pereira revealed the fight he wants next hours before his sensational win at UFC 320.
‘Poatan’ took back his light heavyweight title by knocking out Magomed Ankalaev on Saturday night.
Post-fight, Dana White discussed what could be next for the biggest star in MMA today.
Alex Pereira made his plan for 2026 very clear during a pre-fight conversation with the UFC CEO.
- LATEST NEWS: Jon Jones reacts to Alex Pereira holding moment of silence for his late brother after UFC 320 KO
Alex Pereira eyes a move to heavyweight
Dana White detailed the unexpected chat he had with Alex Pereira ahead of UFC 320.
“I went over to the PI [UFC Performance Institute], and he was at the PI,” the UFC boss said.
“I was like, ‘Well, you’re the last guy I expected to see here today. What are you doing here?’
“They were telling me, ‘We wanna fight at heavyweight’. I said, ‘How about we win tonight. Focus on tonight, and then we can talk about heavyweight.’
“I don’t know. There is still fights here in this division, but we’ll see.”
Dana White isn’t keen on Alex Pereira moving up
Dana White doesn’t love the idea of Alex Pereira moving up to the heavyweight division.
The MMA mogul is worried about how the former UFC middleweight champion would cope against the biggest fighters in the sport.
“Probably that he was a middleweight and he’s going to jump up two weight classes in the UFC,” White said when asked to explain why he’s not keen on Pereira moving to heavyweight.
“It’s not like jumping up two weight classes in boxing. It’s a big jump.
“I just don’t see, unless he wants to retire, why throwing him in at heavyweight makes any sense.