“I’ll fight anyone at heavyweight.” This is how Alex Pereira capped off his return to the light-heavyweight reign. ‘Poatan’ has long eyed the heavyweight belt, wanting to set sail in the division with his debut in UFC 301 last year. While those narratives were put to rest after Ankalaev handed him his second UFC loss, his recent climb back to the top has provided the rumors with a new home.

Alex Pereira himself was the first to bring up the heavyweight saga in the post-fight presser, where he demanded a mega-fight with Jon Jones. While Dana White wants a bout with Tom Aspinall instead, that doesn’t shut the triple UFC champion spell Pereira is currently eyeing. But Joe Rogan seems to be playing right into that fantasy.

Joe Rogan names Alex Pereira one of the hardest strikers in the UFC

In episode 2429 of the Joe Rogan Experience with Tom Segura, Joe Rogan weighed in on Pereira’s potential heavyweight challenger. “There’s a lot of chatter about him fighting in the heavyweight division. There’s a lot of chatter about him, perhaps even fighting Ciryl Gane. I don’t know how much is true. I haven’t talked to Dana about it. But it’s not an illogical move,” Rogan stated.

Furthermore, he noted that Pereira could possibly dominate the bout, given his elite striking and explosive knockout power, which is hard to replicate. “He’s 240 pounds right now. Make no mistake about it, that guy can knock out heavyweights. No doubt about it. He hits harder than anyone they’ve ever recorded,” he continued.

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This statement from Rogan has revived Pereira’s White House narrative, which was stuck in limbo after Pereira abruptly ended the saga just days ago. Posting a photo of him with Dana White on Instagram, Pereira wrote, “Looks like the White House is a NO GO!!!” which left fans looking for possible explanations for this abrupt shift in his attitude, who was eager for a HW title fight at the beginning of December.

In a cryptic Instagram post, Pereira dropped, “2+1=3 CHAMA,” hinting at his triple champion ambitions. That sparked a reaction from the middleweight champion, Khamzat Chimaev, who simply commented, “-1,” in an attempt to follow up on his cold superfight threats to ‘Poatan.’

In another video clip, some time earlier, Pereira roused fan interest, as he visited X-Cel Gym in Florida to trade shots with Cuban 6’7″ heavyweight Robelis Despaigne, highlighting his preparation for moving up weight classes. However, after Pereira had shut the talks with his latest Instagram post, Joe Rogan brought it back from the dead.

That said, unlike Joe Rogan, not everyone thinks the decision is wise for the two-division UFC champion.

Curtis Blaydes offers an honest take on Alex Pereira’s heavyweight dreams

Alex Pereira’s callout for the White House bout with former heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who vacated his belt after a brief retirement this year, has garnered heavy criticism from analysts, who believe the decision is a poor move. Heavyweight top contender Curtis Blaydes has joined that list of critics.

“That kind of sucks. That would screw up the division. I would rather that didn’t happen,” Blaydes said on the Home of Fight podcast with James Lynch. He further added, “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.”

Bringing direct comparisons with Israel Adesanya, who had smoked everyone in the middleweight division before making his move to the LHW division. However, in Pereira’s case, who’s only bouncing back from a decision loss against Ankalaev, his move to shift weight classes raised eyebrows. Blaydes also pointed out the massive disparity in the wrestling skills of Jones and Pereira, quoting how a motivated Jones could turn the tables against Pereira despite his famed KO power.

Clearly, despite Rogan’s backing of ‘Poatan,’ all is indeed not well for Pereira, with the discussions still in limbo. Would you like to see Alex Pereira make his move to Heavyweight? Or is that decision primed to backfire against ‘Poatan’? Let us know.