Alex Pereira is getting what he wanted. Well, he could, if all goes well. The Brazilian defeated Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320 in October to win back his UFC light heavyweight title. However, since then, he has been pushing for a fight against Jon Jones at heavyweight. Although this fight became unlikely recently, Pereira’s intention to move up hasn’t changed.

Jon Jones took a second retirement U-turn. And Tom Aspinall has been sidelined due to surgeries related to his double eye-poke injury. In the meantime, ‘Poatan’ recently revealed he is “very close” to finalizing his next fight before revealing his current weight—242.5 pounds. Now, a new report appears to suggest a fight at heavyweight could be on order.

Who is on UFC 327 and UFC 328?

According to a report from a Brazilian combat account on X, MMA Hoje, Alex Pereira is reportedly set to move up to the heavyweight division—and his debut could come against Ciryl Gane.

“UFC 328 Main Event: Alex Poatan vs. Ciryl Gane for the linear heavyweight belt,” MMA Hoje wrote. “Co-main: no fight set in stone, but it will be a women’s fight.”

If that matchup materializes at UFC 328 as the report suggests, it would almost certainly mean the Brazilian star vacates his UFC light heavyweight title. According to Hoje, the now-vacant belt would then be contested by Jiri Procházka and Carlos Ulberg at UFC 327.

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“UFC 327 Main Event: Jiri Procházka vs. Carlos Ulberg for the vacant light heavyweight belt,” Hoje added in a separate post. “Co-main: Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira for the flyweight title.”

While Pereira’s rumored move to heavyweight has not been officially confirmed by the promotions, the UFC 327 card—set to take place on April 11 at Miami’s Kaseya Center —is already beginning to take shape. The reported lineup includes:

• Dominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker (Light Heavyweight)
• Tatiana Suarez vs. Loopy Godinez (Strawweight)
• Paulo Costa vs. Azamat Murzakanov (Light Heavyweight)
• Cub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr (Featherweight)
• Kevin Holland vs. Randy Brown (Welterweight)
• Kyle Daukaus vs. Vicente Luque (Middleweight)

Meanwhile, Procházka rebounded from his rematch loss to Alex Pereira by defeating Khalil Rountree Jr. in October 2025. Ulberg, on the other hand, enters the potential title fight riding a nine-fight winning streak, most recently scoring a victory over Reyes in September 2025.

As for the flyweight title bout, Joshua Van is coming off a first-round stoppage victory over Alexandre Pantoja in December. Tatsuro Taira competed on the same card, earning a win over Brandon Moreno. If finalized, the matchup would mark Van’s first title defense and Taira’s first opportunity to compete for UFC gold.

Coming back to Alex Pereira, while the Brazilian isn’t getting his shot at Jon Jones, he isn’t mad.

Alex Pereira responds to Jon Jones’ second retirement U-turn?

Jon ‘Bones’ Jones recently revealed he is battling severe arthritis in his left hip—an issue serious enough to qualify him for a hip replacement. The news, of course, cast doubt over a fight between Jones and Pereira at the White House, scheduled for June 14. Despite the uncertainty, Pereira isn’t upset about his future.

“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.”

While Jones’ status remains unclear, ‘Poatan’ is still eager to compete. 

“Whoever they put in front of me, I’ll be fighting,” he said. “I love fighting, so it doesn’t matter weight classes… At light heavyweight and heavyweight, [the opponent] is indifferent to me.”

If the report is right, Alex Pereira will face Ciryl Gane. Meanwhile, Jiri Procházka and Carlos Ulberg will fight for his vacant belt. Do you think these fights will happen?