At UFC 320, Alex Pereira brutally knocked out Magomed Ankalaev to reclaim the light heavyweight throne and avenged his UFC 313 loss. With ‘Poatan’ back on top, talks immediately shifted to who the Brazilian juggernaut is facing next. Well, a fresh matchup with the surging Carlos Ulberg, riding a nine-fight win streak, seemed likely. A Jiri Prochazka trilogy also sparked excitement among fans. Yet, the Brazilian made it clear. He only wants a legacy fight with Jon Jones at heavyweight. But what if there’s an even better matchup waiting?   

From January 2026, the promotion will enter into the Paramount+ CBS Era under a massive $7.7 billion, seven-year deal. Their historic White House event will also go down in the first year of the post-ESPN era. For the unversed, initially, the event was set for July 4th, but Donald Trump shifted the event to June 14th. Assuming White and company deliver this blockbuster in June, we would need some huge matchups that must build toward it. And more than ‘Bones’ vs. ‘Poatan’ at the White House, Khamzat Chimaev facing the Brazilian on an early Paramount card makes perfect sense. Here’s why. 

Alex Pereira vs. Khamzat Chimaev could headline UFC’s early Paramount+ cards   

So far, the UFC has laid out how it plans to close 2025 and wrap up its current ESPN PPV era. On December 6th, Merab Dvalishvili will face Petr Yan in a rematch headlining UFC 323, where ‘The Machine’ aims to become the first UFC champion to defend his belt four times in a single year. Adding to the stakes, Alexandre Pantoja returns in the co-main event against Joshua Van. Following the last PPV event, UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Kape on December 13th, will cap off the year. Yet, White has been silent for their first Paramount+ card. 

But rumors suggest the promotion is eyeing Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje as the first marquee matchup under its new broadcasting deal. This is a hint that even lightweight contender Beneil Dariush dropped in a Submission Radio interview a few days ago. On the other hand, fans are also buzzing about Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira for the BMF title, which ‘Blessed’ accepted during a Kick stream, revealing the fight could happen in February. So, if these two absolute bangers land in back-to-back months to kick off 2026, the remaining three months will need equally explosive matchups to keep the momentum alive. 

If Ilia vs. Gaethje, or even Pimblett, headlines the January card, and then Holloway returns to face Oliveira in a decade-in-the-making rematch in February, that leaves March, April, and May open on the Paramount+ schedule. Going by that assumed schedule, one of those slots would be the perfect stage for a Khamzat Chimaev vs. Alex Pereira superfight. Now, a fair question arises: why would ‘Poatan’ give ‘Borz’ a shot instead of chasing a legacy bout with Jon Jones? 

It’s a valid point, and we will dive deeper into this when examining the challenges tied to the White House card. But first, let’s admit—while Jones vs. Pereira would be a blockbuster, it simply lacks the fiery animosity that Chimaev shares with the Brazilian.

Chimaev and Pereira have a long-standing beef

After Alex Pereira defeated Sean Strickland at UFC 276 and secured his shot at Adesanya, Khamzat Chimaev took to X and wrote, “I want to fight with this guy UFC, Dana White let’s make it.” Pereira quickly dismissed the callout, telling Helen Yee, “Right now, I’m gonna take care of my fight with Israel for the title, and then after that, we’ll see about that.” That was one of their first exchanges, and it reignited when ‘Poatan’ became middleweight champion by defeating ‘The Last Stylebender’ at UFC 281.  

“This guy fought for the belt with a 6-1 record, let me smash him. I’m 12-0 let’s go, brother, make it happen @danawhite in Brazil,” ‘Borz’ posted on social media after Pereira went 3-0 against his eternal rival. Honestly, it would’ve been thrilling to see Pereira face Chimaev in the 185-pound division, but that possibility vanished when Adesanya avenged his loss at UFC 287. Following that monumental defeat, ‘Poatan’ moved up and captured the light heavyweight title. Yet, the callouts from Chimaev just kept coming.  

At UFC 295, Alex Pereira got himself to the rear end of the list of two-division champions by knocking out Jiri Prochazka. As the MMA world was showering the Brazilian with praises, the Chechen native again posted on X, “Dana White let me finish him”.  That’s a callout nobody could ignore. So, Pereira also didn’t ignore it. 

‘Poatan’ said on his YouTube channel, “He didn’t want to fight me at light heavyweight, and now that I’m the champ, he calls me out at light heavyweight.” He went on to call Chimaev a fighter who “runs behind the hype and fame of the champions.” If that’s not a heated exchange, nothing is. However, things cooled down afterward —with a few small digs here and there—but both seemed to realize their paths had been separated. Until UFC 320 reignited the fire once again.  

On October 4th, Alex Pereira knocked out Magomed Ankalaev at the T-Mobile Arena—the same arena where he lost his 205-pound belt—marking the greatest comeback of his career. In the rematch, he looked like a completely different ‘Poatan’ than in his previous fight. After reclaiming his shine, Chimaev, who became middleweight champ by defeating Dricus du Plessis called him out again on X: “@AlexPereiraUFC Congrats, now we need to finish our business.”

Yet, ‘Poatan’ brushed him off, already calling out Jon Jones for a legacy bout at heavyweight. Well, this refusal might raise a question: Does the two-time light heavyweight champion truly believe he can’t handle the Chechen? Most of the fans might actually agree. But what if I tell you, Pereira may have more chances than most think. 

Why ‘Poatan’ might actually have some advantage against ‘Borz’ 

What’s the most probable weapon to beat a knockout machine like Alex Pereira? If you answered “wrestling,”  then bingo — you nailed it. That’s exactly why fans picture Khamzat Chimaev steamrolling Pereira with relentless takedowns and top control. However, even as that thinking is somewhat true, writing off ‘Poatan’s grappling would be a huge mistake here. 

‘Poatan’ has mostly faced striking specialists his UFC run — names like Adesanya, Prochazka, and Rountree Jr., to mention a few. But it was Jan Blachowicz who actually took him down and gave him some problems on the ground at UFC 291. Although Pereira used his offense well and escaped with a split-decision victory, it was clear he needed to evolve his overall game. And that’s exactly what he showed against Magomed Ankalaev.

The Dagestani, a former Combat Sambo Cup of Dagestan 2016 champion, displayed that pedigree in his approach against Alex Pereira at UFC 313. Still, the former Glory Kickboxing champ stuffed all 12 of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts — which is nothing short of impressive for someone who hasn’t trained in MMA until a few years ago. And in their UFC 320 rematch, ‘Big Ank’ once again tried to drag him down, but Pereira’s relentless forward pressure and that crushing overhand right proved too much to handle.

If you look at the evolution of the reigning light heavyweight champion, it’s clear his head coach, Plinio Cruz, and teammate Glover Teixeira have focused on sharpening his takedown defense while keeping his offense intact. And if he manages to use those improvements against Chimaev, the result might actually surprise a lot of people. Well, I’m not saying Pereira would suddenly become the favorite, but his power punches give him a much better chance than most of the fighters. Don’t believe it? Here’s what Chimaev himself had to say about Pereira’s power. 

In reaction to ‘Poatan’s UFC 320 win, ‘Borz’ told Aslanbek Badaev, “Well, I wasn’t particularly surprised because that guy hits hard. I always knew he could land accurately. And if he lands clean, it’s not just Ankalaev, everyone’s lights will shut off. So there was always the expectation that he might connect.” 

Then there is the size factor. For UFC 320, Pereira gained a massive 28 lbs after the weigh-ins and came in at 234 lbs on fight night. That’s a proper heavyweight build right there. So, it’s not just the punching power from the weight; he might be able to keep Chimaev’s wrestling at bay with sheer size alone.

If the reigning middleweight champ approaches Pereira with full awareness of the power he brings, there’s not much reason to doubt his chances of pulling off a win in that superfight. However, all this hype has only fueled the intrigue around a potential matchup. Some fans might love to see it at the White House event, but there are still a few hurdles standing in the way.  

Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones or Khamzat Chimaev is almost an impossible deal at the UFC White House   

Now, what makes the UFC White House event special? The true essence of this event lies in patriotism. Although the still-unofficial card has shifted from July 4th (America’s Independence Day) to June 14th, 2026, it’s safe to assume that the pride for the red, white, and blue will stay intact. So, going by the entire theme of this spectacle, Dana White will need American fighters to headline this coveted event.   

Right now, the UFC has only one American-born undisputed champion, Kayla Harrison, in the women’s bantamweight division. Sure, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler are the front-runners to feature on the card, but if they take the top spot, does that mean they’d overshadow the championship fights? Or maybe the bigger question is — will there even be any title fights at all?

They could easily build a card featuring big names like Sean Strickland and Colby Covington— all non-champions who could still draw massive attention. But would that mean the actual titleholders miss out on performing at what could be the biggest event in UFC history? These are the tough questions that probably explain Dana White’s nightmare. Still, if he somehow manages to bring Jon Jones back — despite their strained relationship — it could ease that headache, at least a little. 

Let’s be honest here. Even though Jon Jones got a ton of hate for stepping away before facing Tom Aspinall in their highly anticipated heavyweight clash, he’s still one of the biggest stars the UFC has. And if the former two-division champ manages to patch things up with Dana White, there’s a good chance he’d compete at the White House event. But it wouldn’t be against Alex Pereira, it’d be against the Brit, for the HW title. And that too is a toss-up.

If Aspinall loses at UFC 321, though, things could look very different. Suppose Jones gets the green light to return, and Ciryl Gane beats the British champ at Abu Dhabi and remains champ heading into the White House card—it wouldn’t make much sense for ‘Bones’ to face an opponent he’s already dominated to win the heavyweight title.  

In that case, if ‘Bones’ still wants to headline the event, he might have to answer Alex Pereira’s call from UFC 320. But would Jones really cut back down to 205 lbs? Or would they go for a catchweight bout that doesn’t hold much meaning? That’s exactly why a Pereira vs. Jones superfight doesn’t make a lot of sense right now. And if we’re already considering ‘Borz’ vs. ‘Poatan’ for the White House card, then what’s stopping Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev from taking the main event spot? 

Because neither of these fights really ties into the core theme of the event. The American pride. So, it would make more sense for Dana White to book Alex Pereira vs. Khamzat Chimaev as a superfight on an early Paramount card instead of saving it for the White House. That said, what do you think about the arguments made here? Do you see it differently? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.