Alex Pereira has quickly broken out as an MMA superstar, winning the light heavyweight title in November 2023 to become a two-division UFC champion, before scoring three more knockouts in three title defenses within a calendar year. As with the fickle and fast past nature of mixed martial arts, the looming question is always about his next UFC fight and who he will defend his belt against.
Alex Pereira is seemingly on his way to Fighter of the Year honors in 2024, but after being the fastest to both win two titles and to achieve three title defenses, the best answer is for him to get a well deserved break to rest and recover.
Pereira has been incredibly active for a champion, which has been a smart move for the 37-year-old, who is trying to maximize this window while on top. That being said, he just fought four times in less than a year, even stepping up on short notice and saving the UFC on a couple of occasions. While he stopped every single one of them, he has apparently been competing despite a couple of illnesses, broken bones and injuries to his toes and ribs for a while.
He has already raised his performance and status, and hopefully received much better UFC payouts at this point. So right now, Alex Pereira should take some time off to fully recover and enjoy what he has accomplished. As for what happens after that, we’ll break down the likely options below.
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Who will Alex Pereira face in his next UFC fight?
From superfights to title defenses, Alex Pereira will have multiple options for his next UFC fight.
Pereira is on top of the MMA world right now, which does open up a wider field of options. There are a couple of light heavyweight challengers for his next title defense, and there are also potential champion vs. champion superfights available as well. Should his rival find his way back on top, there will also always be that MMA trilogy with Israel Adesanya available. That’s unlikely to happen soon though, so below are three more immediate options for Alex Pereira’s next UFC fight.
3. UFC superfight with middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis
Alex Pereira has expressed his desire to go back down to 185 lbs and fight UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
Pereira struggled to cut weight for his most recent light heavyweight fight. To be fair, he was reportedly battling illness at the time, but he really looks big even at 205 lbs and cuts a sizable amount of weight as it is. His massive cuts to 185 lbs likely hamper his performance and durability, but more importantly, it’s also incredibly dangerous, especially now that he’s older.
Du Plessis isn’t a massive draw either, so it’s unlikely that those PPV buys would be so much higher than Pereira’s other options. Technically, the fight can happen at light heavyweight, but Pereira won’t get a shot at a title that way, and I’m not sure the UFC would be interested in rewarding Dricus and making him move up for the belt just yet.
I understand wanting to be a simultaneous two-division champion, but Pereira already won a title there and should probably just completely move on to bigger things, both literally and figuratively.
2. Alex Pereira goes for UFC heavyweight championship
Alex Pereira has the option to move up to heavyweight and try to become the first ever three-division UFC heavyweight champion. This will likely depend on who remains champion soon between Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic and Tom Aspinall.
Alex Pereira already did a speed run to the Hall of Fame, taking just seven UFC fights to win titles in two divisions. He then followed up with another historically fast three title defenses to his name. Pereira will likely be a big underdog if he tries it, but after this insane run, who’s to say that we should stop him from going for a third title next?
A lot of things have to fall into place of course, with the heavyweight title picture still muddy. Jon Jones defends his belt against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, and the champion has been saying that he'd rather retire immediately after than unify the belts. Hanging up the gloves might also be on the table for the 42-year-old Miocic, even if he can somehow pull off the massive upset. In either case, interim champion Tom Aspinall could be promoted to full champion status.
Either way, the events after
UFC 309 will determine what’s next
at heavyweight, but Pereira might just find himself in the mix as well. For what it’s worth, the BJJ black belt and much larger fighter in Aspinall always noted how if they ever fought, he would straight up
spear takedown Pereira in the first 10 seconds
to avoid striking with him.
@UFConTNT
1. UFC light heavyweight title defense against Magomed Ankalaev
After getting past Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308, the most logical next UFC fight for Alex Pereira is a title defense against Magomed Ankalaev.
Since losing his UFC debut back in 2018, Magomed Ankalaev remained undefeated in his last 13 fights, and is by far the most deserving challenger at light heavyweight. On paper, the fighter from Dagestan also has the wrestling skills that pose an interesting stylistic match up against the decorated kickboxer in Pereira.
Even if it lacks the glitz of a champion vs. champion superfight, the best and most likely option for Alex Pereira’s next fight would be this title defense, especially as those two other divisions still sort themselves out.
Ankalaev not only deserves a title shot, it’s arguably long overdue, as he probably should’ve gotten the shot before the number eight ranked Khalil Rountree. After adding another win at UFC 308, Dana White also confirmed that Ankalaev is likely next in line.
What happened in Alex Pereira’s last fight?
Alex Pereira most recently knocked out the aforementioned Khalil Rountree in his last fight at UFC 307.
Rountree put up a better fight than most people predicted and even scored a flash knockdown early in their contest, but as the fight went on, Pereira proved to be the far superior striker. He battered Rountree for an extended period, before eventually getting the TKO win in the fourth round.
After just 10 UFC fights, his last bout already marked an insane fifth title fight victory for Pereira. He improved his overall record to 12-2 in MMA, with championships in two divisions, much like his Glory kickboxing accolades.
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