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Somehow, Alex Pereira is always the biggest man in the room.
Despite starving himself down to 185-pounds for a couple years in his bid to dethrone Israel Adesanya, “Poatan” always looked massive in the cage. His eventual move to Light Heavyweight surprised no one, and even after the 20-pound jump, Pereira has appeared bigger and stronger than most of his peers throughout his rapid rise to double champion status.
Unfortunately, Pereira’s title reign ended back in March with a decision loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Though he’s been promised an immediate rematch, there have been some alleged negotiation issues, and Ankalaev claims that the Brazilian has turned down the rematch opportunity more than once.
Maybe it’s time for a different plan? On Tuesday, Pereira posted a video to social media stepping on a scale. Being fully clothed will account for a couple pounds, but “Poatan” still hit Heavyweight numbers at 243.8 pounds. Naturally, this spurred fan imagination, and many in his comments were wondering if Pereira would be stepping into the convoluted Heavyweight mix that features champions Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.
It’s worth-noting Pereira started his fight camp just last week.
Either match up could work depending on circumstance. Pereira vs. Jones has been discussed plenty in the past and could be a BMF title bout easily. Meanwhile, if Jones has finally retired, there would be no higher profile title defense for Aspinall than a chance to deny Pereira’s triple champion attempt.
Either match up would be a massive main event, potentially more high-profile than the Ankalaev booking. A rematch first should still be considered more likely, but Pereira certainly has the size to go for “bigger” opportunities.
