UFC 321 Star Boldly Claims Alex Pereira Could Get Next Title Shot Against Tom Aspinall

Almeida acknowledged Pereira as the obvious challenger, even though he is in the top 5 in the heavyweight rankings. ‘Malhadinho’ is set to take on Alexander Volkov in the UFC 321 undercard in a bout that is pivotal for his title contention dreams. If he wins on October 25th at the Etihad arena, Almeida will undoubtedly cement his case for a title shot against the winner of Aspinall vs Gane.

Parallel to that, Pereira enters the conversation with the competitive and commercial leverage of being a reigning two-division UFC champion. ‘Poatan’ has captured titles at middleweight and light heavyweight in a short span and has defeated multiple former champions, such as Jiri Prochazka and Israel Adesanya, creating an exceptional case for accelerated placement despite having no heavyweight fight yet.

As of now, the focus remains on the title fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane at UFC 321. The matchup is pivotal for the division, as the heavyweight title is on the line almost a year after Jon Jones defeated Stipe Miocic to retain championship gold. For Aspinall, it represents a chance to keep his belt and cement his undisputed status, whereas Gane will look to win his third shot at the title.

Tom Aspinall talks about potential Alex Pereira showdown

Tom Aspinall has proved himself to be one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC with his record-breaking knockouts and ability to finish fights early. All of his fights in the UFC have ended in a finish and have not exceeded the second round. The British champion has one asterisk on his record: the loss against Curtis Blaydes, which ended in injury. However, he cleared it by defeating Blaydes in 2024.

Alex Pereira has recently followed a similar path, avenging his UFC 313 loss to Magomed Ankalaev by knocking out the Russian in the first round of their UFC 320 bout. The Brazilian champion has cemented himself as one of the most dangerous champions in the sport due to his “touch of death“ and improved grappling prowess. Aspinall recently spoke about a potential bout between them at heavyweight.

I am not fussy about who I fight. If they tell me that I have gotta fight him, I am obviously gonna fight him. In my opinion, if I fight Alex Pereira, that is going to be one of the toughest fights of my career, and I will be treating it that way. I think he is really one of the most dangerous guys on the UFC roster. The guy is an elite striker, absolutely elite, and his grappling is improving as well. I can’t say enough good things about Alex Pereira.

Tom Aspinall via UFC

Tom Aspinall wanted to bring back glory to the heavyweight division after a lack of proper champions following Stipe Miocic’s dominant reign. A matchup and victory against Alex Pereira would undoubtedly allow the British star to back up his claims and cement his legacy. For Pereira, however, a win against Aspinall would make him the first UFC fighter to win belts in three separate divisions.