Remember when Tom Aspinall said, “I’ll retire Jon Jones without even fighting him”? Well, he wasn’t bluffing. Jon Jones has officially hung up the gloves. UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the news at the UFC Baku presser: “Jon Jones called us last night and retired. Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.” With Jones vs. Aspinall now off the table, the burning question is, what’s the next blockbuster matchup at heavyweight? All signs are pointing toward one name: Alex Pereira. And guess what? The MMA world is here for it.

While having a conversation with Submission Radio, John Morgan was asked the same question, and without a moment of hesitation, expressed that the light-heavyweight division champion, Magomed Ankalaev should fight either of Jiri Prochazka or Khalil Rountree Jr for his next endeavor, “No disrespect to Magomed Ankalaev, but is anybody really clamoring for that fight, like we need to see it again? There are other names at light heavyweight that could compete in there and would be happy to be in there. You’ve got some stars in Jiri Prochazka. Hell, I mean, this wasn’t the greatest performance from Khalil Rountree, but maybe you could throw him in there.”

Morgan further emphasized that it would be surprising for the MMA community if a potential matchup between Aspinall and Pereira isn’t discussed at the UFC matchmakers meeting. He argued that if the goal is to kickstart Aspinall’s reign in the most impactful way possible, then booking him against Alex Pereira would be the most compelling choice. “You’re looking to make it the biggest fight you could possibly make, I think that’s the biggest fight right now. And that’s no disrespect to the rest of the heavyweight division,” said Morgan.

He further added, “That’s no disrespect to Ciryl Gane. But if you’re looking for superstars, and you’re looking for eyeballs and excitement and people to be fired up—yeah, Alex Pereira versus Tom Aspinall.” If you remember correctly, back when UFC 300 was still a mystery, there were rumors that Alex Pereira might face Tom Aspinall in the headlining fight. Although it never materialized, it now appears that the bout was indeed in the works, and the UFC might revisit it once again.

Well, Morgan is not the only one who is in the mood to witness the banger fight between Tom Aspinall and Alex Pereira. Former UFC title challenger Renato Moicano is all in on the fight as well. Taking to his X handle, the Brazilian wrote, “Alex Pereira will fight Aspinall for the heavyweight title! Change my mind!” Has Alex Pereira come forward to respond to this? Let’s have a look at it.

Alex Pereira responds to the UFC heavyweight title rumours against Tom Aspinall

Rumors of his potential move to heavyweight caught fire when the former light heavyweight champion stepped on the scales at a hefty 243.8 lbs. Alex Pereira usually walks around at 230 lbs, so the noticeable weight gain sparked speculation about a jump to the heavyweight division to face either Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall. Well, the Jon Jones news was a shock for even the insiders, and with him out, the MMA community is now looking towards Pereira, but what does ‘Poatan’ want?

While having a conversation with the media, Alex Pereira revealed, “Well, anywhere around the timeframe of September, October, or November for me, it makes no difference, I just want to fight. My focus right now is on fighting Ankalaev, fight that one in the division, get my belt back, and then we’ll see what happens after.”

He further added, “I have nothing to say to be honest with you, if I were able to fight at heavyweight right now (I’d say something), let these guys kill each other in that weight class right now and I’ll focus on light heavyweight.” Focusing on his upcoming potential fight against Magomed Ankalaev, Alex Pereira is determined to exact revenge, however, a fight with Tom Aspinall cannot be ruled out as of yet.