Alex Pereira is one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC right now. In only 12 fights in the UFC, ‘Poatan’ is already a two-division champion. Alex Pereira defeated Israel Adesanya to become the middleweight champion and then beat Jiri Prochazka to claim the light heavyweight title.
Poatan successfully defended his belt against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, landing a vicious knockout blow to the former light heavyweight champion and put ‘Sweet Dreams’ to sleep. Following his UFC 300 triumph, Pereira is eager to test the heavyweight division, which includes icons like Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, Stipe Miocic, and many more. However, Michael Bisping feels that Pereira’s move to the heavyweight division could be a disaster.
“It’s dangerous against Tom on the feet but the real danger against Tom Aspinall is in the grappling. Tom has a ridiculously high fighting IQ and ridiculously high skill set. Right now, I don’t think the thing to do for Alex Pereira is to fight Tom Aspinall,” Michael Bisping weighed in on the potential bout between Pereira and Aspinall.
The former UFC champion believes the time is not right for Pereira to make the switch to heavyweight. With Jon Jones locked in to fight Stipe Miocic, this could be the perfect opportunity for Tom Aspinall to get back in the octagon for a huge pay day.
Is Magomed Ankalaev next in line to challenge Alex Pereira?
At UFC Vegas 84, Magomed Ankalaev delivered a lights-out finish to Johnny Walker. Ankalaev has not lost in his last 12 matches in the UFC. Besides that, Ankalaev came very close to becoming the champion but his bout against Anthony Smith was recorded as a draw. Magomed revealed that the UFC did offer him the chance to fight Pereira at UFC 300, but he had to decline due to Ramadan.
Following Alex Pereira’s victory at UFC 300, Magomed Ankalaev claimed that he could knock out Pereira and urged Dana White to give him the next title shot.
“l will stop in the first round by knockout… The man doesn’t have a chin,” Ankalaev wrote.
There are multiple fighters who want to challenge Alex Pereiriaa. Jiri Prochazka called out Pereira after his dominant win over Aleksandar Rakic, Magomed Ankalaev is demanding his title shot, and Jamahal Hill could be plotting to get a rematch. So, it would be interesting to see who Alex Pereira will fight next.