Last year at UFC 320, Alex Pereira dominated Magomed Ankalaev in just 80 seconds during their rematch, reclaiming his light heavyweight title. But for his next fight, the Brazilian initially aimed for a legacy heavyweight clash against Jon Jones at the upcoming UFC White House event instead of defending his title, hoping to become the first three-division champion in UFC history. However, with Jones admitting to severe arthritis and Dana White being indifferent about the matchup, the fight happening at the White House in June appears to be a tough prospect. Amid such uncertainties, Pereira shared a confirmation that should put fans at ease.

Right now, the UFC is building the White House event into one of the biggest shows ever. Some reports suggest a potential lightweight unification title bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje could headline the event, though nothing is official yet. Still, many analysts believe a Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira fight could ultimately define the event’s blockbuster appeal. Regardless, according to the light heavyweight champion, the promotion already appears to have a fight lined up for him, which he revealed during a conversation with a Brazilian UFC fighter on his YouTube channel.

Alex Pereira talks about what’s next in the octagon

“We are talking about some things,” Alex Pereira told Valtor Walker. “My next fight, we’ve already started conversations. It took a little while, but it’s very close to something being announced.”

UFC CEO Dana White shut down Jon Jones’ potential appearance at the White House event because of Jones’ past antics and trust issues, so the matchup remained on hold. Earlier this month, Pereira hinted at a “champ vs. champ” fight during an interview at his tire shop and suggested ‘Bones’ could be his next opponent. He suggested the same thing during the conversation as well. When asked about the former heavyweight champion’s severe arthritis hindering the chances of their clash, the Brazilian didn’t think it could be as big an issue as it’s made out to be.

“I think every athlete has chronic injuries, serious injuries,” Pereira said. “If a high-level athlete says something like that, for the history he has, it’s not new to me.”

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Jon Jones has now dimmed his hopes of appearing on the White House card. Still, Alex Pereira holds hope. Right now, the UFC’s heavyweight division really needs a star, especially since champion Tom Aspinall has been out of active competition as a result of his eye surgery. It must be why many are already backing ‘Poatan’s move to heavyweight.

UFC veteran supports Alex Pereira’s move up to heavyweight

The upcoming White House event will likely feature 6–7 fights, but most of the major UFC stars are currently on hiatus, leaving only a handful of fighters open to featuring on the card. Meanwhile, heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is also absent, as he recovers from eye surgery he underwent last week.

Although surgeons have completed Aspinall’s final procedure, he has yet to fully recover, which has left the UFC’s heavyweight division without its champion. Recently, UFC veterans Matt Brown and Michael Bisping have backed Alex Pereira’s move up to heavyweight.

“That’s the thing: It only really takes one person to revitalize the division,” UFC veteran Matt Brown said. “No one really cares who they’re beating. They can kind of build-up anyone good enough to come and beat them. With that said, I think you’re forgetting the one ‘X’ factor guy and that’s Alex Pereira. He comes up to heavyweight, I think revitalizes the division a lot.

“Because him coming up for one, he was a 185’er originally, he moves all the way up to heavyweight looking for his third title, he’s not going to be the favorite even against some of these lesser ranked guys, maybe less valuable guys like a Ciryl Gane or [Alexander] Volkov… There’s good fights and good names for him that could pump up.”

Ultimately, when all is said and done, the decision remains with the UFC. And what they choose to do will determine the fortunes of many a heavyweight.

What do you make of the veterans’ remarks? And do you see Alex Pereira competing in heavyweight as the right move before he retires?