Alex Pereira rejects Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane as he targets another heavyweight star

Since making the jump from middleweight, Pereira has often spoken about one day moving up again, this time to heavyweight. His goal is clear: to become the first fighter in history to hold titles across three different weight classes.

After reclaiming the light heavyweight belt from Ankalaev, ‘Poatan’ revealed he had initially planned to use his post-fight speech to call out former heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Instead, he chose to dedicate it to Jones’ late brother, Arthur, who passed away last Friday.

Even so, Pereira later said on About Last Fight that he is targeting a bout with Jones at the White House event and is not interested in facing Tom Aspinall or Ciryl Gane.

“Heavyweight (is the most probable next). No, (not Aspinall or Gane), I want a super fight. It would be at the White House, against Jon Jones. That’s a super fight,” he stated.

This callout plays right into what Jon Jones has been hoping for. He has been pushing for a return at the White House event since retiring earlier this year.

Dana White is not sold on adding him to such a high-profile card just yet. The UFC boss has also raised concerns about letting Pereira move up, arguing there are still plenty of matchups left for him in his current division.

Who’s next for Pereira at light heavyweight?

Jiri Prochazka secured another impressive victory on the UFC 320 undercard, stopping Khalil Rountree Jr. in the third round. However, he already lost twice to ‘Poatan’.

On the other hand, Carlos Ulberg is in the mix for a title shot, riding a nine-fight win streak that has put him firmly in contention.

It remains to be seen whether Pereira will follow through on his plans to move up to heavyweight or stay at 205 pounds and continue defending his title.