“I want a superfight. It would be at the White House against Jon Jones,” Alex Pereira detailed his request right after his jaw-dropping return to the light heavyweight throne with an 80-second KO against Magomed Ankalaev. That has garnered mixed reactions from the world of MMA, but one veteran heavyweight’s verdict looks set in stone.

Moving up weight classes right after a wobbling setback against Ankalaev before the UFC 320 rematch feels a bit jarring to say the least. For someone in MMA for over a decade now, the move gets even more difficult, owing to the physical wear and tear over the years. Curtis Blaydes shared his sentiment on the matter with brutal honesty, without sugarcoating the truth.

Alex Pereira’s White House super fight call invites disaster

Curtis Blaydes debunked that hype on the Home of Fight podcast with James Lynch. “That kind of sucks. That would screw up the division. I would rather that didn’t happen,” Blaydes opined. “I think you only get to move up if you, if you swept your division. Like when Izzy did it. When Izzy pumped up the fight, he had already smoked everybody in that division.”

Israel Adesanya had defeated the likes of Robert Whittaker, Paulo Costa, and Marvin Vettori, defending his middleweight belt 5 times before vying for the LHW belt.  Adesanya’s philosophy was to defend his belt against all middleweights before he hunted Jon Jones, which Blaydes believes to be a non-negotiable prerequisite for moving up weight classes.

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This is not just to maintain the division belt’s reputation, but also to ensure elite fighters like Pereira don’t hit a stumbling block after a decorated UFC career. While he doesn’t doubt Pereira’s reign at the top, Blaydes points to a legacy that he has yet to prove and defend before he can look to be a triple champion. However, Blaydes understands the urgency and why that’s more reason for ‘Poatan’ to steer clear of the heavyweight division.

“I think there’s a rush or a pressure to get Pereira into heavyweight because he’s getting older. How long has he been active in combat sports? 20 years? That’s a lot of sparring rounds, a lot of wear and tear. They probably want to get the value out of him before his body starts breaking down.”

UFC veterans like Chael Sonnen have shown enthusiasm for Pereira at 265 lbs. However, entering the Octagon, especially against heavyweight division kings, requires putting on an extra 60 lbs. And that is destined to backfire against the striker, ruffling feathers in the debate over his UFC reign. Even UFC boss Dana White finds that decision to be a hard pill to swallow.

Dana White shares his verdict on Alex Pereira at 265 lbs

Dana White is not completely opposed to the ‘Poatan’ taking on heavier beasts in the heavyweight division. But he’s not fully convinced either. Recounting the story of Pereira showing up at the UFC Performance Institute to demand a heavyweight super fight, White brought Pereira’s focus back to his UFC 320 title fight. “There’s still fights here in this division but we’ll see,” White added.

However, White shared that Pereira is the fighter to have in the promotion. But that doesn’t diminish the battle Pereira would have to put up to even jump another weight class. As White remarked, “It’s not like jumping up two weight classes in boxing. It’s a big jump.”

Further, he added, “We’ll have to talk about it. I just don’t see why, unless he wants to retire, throwing him at heavyweight makes any sense… Other than, I just end up saying he wants to do it so bad, I’ll just say yes.”

While Pereira has proven his fighting groove against some of the UFC’s best, the light heavyweight division is far from done. And as Blaydes quipped, given the toll on his physique over the years at the top, Pereira can invite more trouble than legacy if he makes the move to heavyweight at White House. Do you think Alex Pereira can extend his dominance in the 265 lbs division, too? Comment below.