“I don’t know if there’s going to be a rematch,” famed MMA coach Firas Zahabi said after Alex Pereira’s career-defining win over Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 320 rematch. He believes that a trilogy fight is out of the question, given how dominant the knockout was. Also, Pereira has already set his sights on Jon Jones in a bid to fight at the White House. However, this fight may not be in the UFC’s best interest.

Alex Pereira has regained his star status in grand fashion, and now rematches don’t look enticing enough, according to Zahabi. Jiri Prochazka has lost twice already, so the fight is unlikely to take place. But the one fight that has a high probability of taking place is between ‘Poatan’ and the middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev.

Insider claims Alex Pereira could end up fighting Khamzat Chimaev

Tristar Gym’s Firas Zahabi, who coached UFC great Georges St-Pierre, said, “I’m thinking [Khamzat] Chimaev,” in a video on his YouTube channel when discussing Alex Pereira’s future. Although some people, like Henry Cejudo, believe that Pereira could butt heads with Jon Jones, and that too, at the White House, ‘Borz’ recently called out ‘Poatan’ for a superfight, and there is a possibility that this fight will take place someday.

When Dana White offered the first draft for the maiden Saudi Arabia card, the officials of the hosting nation were left unsatisfied. So the CEO went back to the drawing board to set up a more compelling card for the General Entertainment Authority. Similarly, Zahabi insinuates that who’s to say that White won’t be forced to put Khamzat Chimaev vs Alex Pereira against each other, for the Middle Eastern giants, splash the cash for that particular fight?

“Chimaev is for sure already calling out Pereira. He wants to jump up. And let me tell you something. If that fight happens, which I have a feeling it’s not going to happen, I think there’s going to be a lot of push for Pereira-Chimaev,” Zahabi added via YouTube. “Of course, the UFC wants to keep Pereira as champion. He’s a big seller… But also the rich Arabs in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, they’re gonna be like, ‘Hey, man! Let’s do a superfight here in the Middle East between Chimaev and Pereira.’ And of course, that’s something they’re going to be pushing for.”

Alex Pereira competes in a weight class higher than Khamzat Chimaev and has made calls for a heavyweight move. Surely some people will back ‘Poatan’ to beat ‘Borz’ due to the sheer size discrepancy. However, the Tristar Gym coach is backing Chimaev to edge past Pereira, and that too, in dominant fashion. “If Pereira fights Chimaev, in my opinion, Chimaev wins in a quite dominant fashion and with a finish. I think it’d be a dominant win for Chimaev,” he further stated.

Khamzat Chimaev’s call-out to Alex Pereira did not go unnoticed by the now 2-time light heavyweight champion. But the response may come as a bittersweet one for the Chechen star because his Brazilian counterpart seems fixated on what he wants.

Pereira is not looking for a Chimaev fight

Alex Pereira, at 38 years old, is closer to the end of his storied career. As such, he’s got his plans mapped out, and even though a match against Khamzat Chimaev in the Middle East does look like a fight that will make bank, he’s looking for a legacy superfight. What’s better than fighting and possibly beating the consensus GOAT, Jon Jones? In a respectful manner, Pereira has turned down the middleweight champion’s offer.

“Thanks for congratulating me, but all I want is a super fight. I wanna fight at heavyweight, but all I can say is thank you,” said Alex Pereira at the post-fight presser last weekend.

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what’s next for Alex Pereira. Dana White has insisted that he’s still got a few exciting fights left in the division, and the CEO seems interested in finding out how those pan out. But who do you think Pereira should be fighting next? Let us know in the comments section below.