Chael Sonnen has provided the world with an interesting twist regarding the matchup between Alex Pereira and Tom Aspinall. Earlier in October, ‘The American Gangster’ hinted the light heavyweight champ and the interim heavyweight champ were in discussions to fight sometime in January 2025 in California. However, ‘Poatan’s real interest was in fighting the heavyweight champ Jonny ‘Bones’ Jones. But Sonnen has come forth with yet another scoop. 

Pereira recently had a private meeting with Dana White, and with the visuals released on the internet, the netizens began wondering if the Brazilian got the fight that he was hoping for. He had already announced that the number one contender Magomed Ankalaev wouldn’t be the one fighting him. And this made the fans wonder if he got a match against Aspinall. Taking to his YouTube talk show, Bad Guy Inc, ‘The Bad Guy’ shared, “Now, I shared some inside scoop with you guys that there are hopes and a desire, to what level that appetite I don’t know. Pereira vs. Aspinall. That’s true. That happened. But that was specifically to be targeted for January in California of which that card is finalized, press conferences have happened, light heavyweight championship, around the line.” 

But there was no Aspinall vs. Pereira. Sonnen was sure to make that clear. He continued, “That story as I understood it, at the time that I understood it, which was limited at best to be fair, but a lot of the motivation of doing that fight did have to do with that date. So that date now taken care of, I would assume, possibly falsely, that the appetite, that was limited to begin with, for Aspinall and Pereira is gone.” 

While Aspinall might not get to test himself against Pereira anytime soon, he didn’t fail in giving out a few words of praise for the light heavyweight champion as he analyzed his fighting style. Let’s see what he had to say.

Tom Aspinall showers praise for Alex Pereira

Not too long ago, Aspinall broke down ‘Poatan’s techniques and his specialization in distracting his opponents. Needless to say, Pereira’s left hook is his most lethal weapon at light heavyweight now. And the way he sets up the trap to execute his hook is beyond phenomenal. ‘Honey Badger’ pointed out that the Brazilian often jabs to the body. This ensured that his opponent’s mind was off of his hook. Aspinall continued, “Because, in my opinion, he has got one of the best if not the best hooks in MMA period. So, what he will do is he will hurt this (calf) he will hurt … But he will keep the range all the time he will never step into rapid range.” Even Mike Tyson‘s former coach, Teddy Atlas, was of a similar mind regarding Pereira’s strong fists. 

No wonder the interim heavyweight champion had the desire to go up against the man with the hands of stone. Even though Pereira was not a fan of moving up to the heavyweight division to fight the British champion, he had immense respect for him. Currently, Aspinall is expected to fight Jon Jones for the union of the heavyweight belts. Many have lifted Jones as the victor. But Pereira chose Aspinall as the one who might defeat ‘Bones’ in a fight. After all, he had the agility, striking, and wrestling prowess to do so. 

And now, we need to put our thinking caps back on and ponder about the reason why Pereira was so jolly after his meeting with the UFC head honcho in Las Vegas. With Aspinall and Ankalaev out of the picture, who has White secured for Pereira? Only time has the power to tell that for sure.

But what would happen if Pereira actually clashed against Aspinall? Would Dana White be up to make it happen? Drop down to the comments below and keep the speculations running.