Alex Pereira has his sights set on a move to heavyweight, but he is not interested in facing Tom Aspinall.
Pereira made more history at UFC 320, becoming the first light heavyweight champion to reclaim the belt since Jon Jones did it back in 2018.
In the main event, ‘Poatan’ avenged his earlier loss to Magomed Ankalaev by stopping him with strikes.
After reclaiming the title, he did not waste any time outlining his next goals. He called out Jon Jones and expressed interest in fighting him on the White House card later this year.
Daniel Cormier noted that it tells how much more appealing a fight with Jones seems compared to a matchup with Tom Aspinall.
Daniel Cormier believes Tom Aspinall needs to build his name before UFC stars take notice
Aspinall is set to defend his heavyweight title for the first time since Jones’ retirement, taking on Ciryl Gane at UFC 321.
Despite having a shot at becoming the UFC’s first three-division champion, Pereira has said he will not be pursuing the winner of that fight anytime soon.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Cormier explained why a bout with Aspinall does not make sense for big names like Pereira right now, especially with a potential matchup against Jon Jones still in play.
“(Pereira) can get up for Jon Jones at heavyweight. The big fights matter to these dudes.
“Alex is 38 years old and probably thinking at this point, ‘How do I go and make another statement that I am the guy?’ … (Beating Jones) would literally cement himself to almost stand above everyone.
“If he does move up, why isn’t he chasing the heavyweight champion? And that’s the biggest problem with Tom (right now).
“For as dominant as he has been, he hasn’t necessarily hit that point where people go, ‘I’ve got to fight this dude because I know that the value in a victory is so great that I am willing to take the chance.’
“Pereira is the underdog (against both Jones and Aspinall)…but does it bring the same type of recognition or value to a victory as fighting Jon Jones?”
Tom Aspinall admits he misjudged Alex Pereira
Tom Aspinall was paying close attention when Alex Pereira returned to the Octagon at UFC 320. Like many others, he was taken aback by what unfolded at T-Mobile Arena.
Speaking on his YouTube channel after the event, Aspinall confessed that he had misjudged Pereira, having expected him to struggle against Ankalaev in their rematch.
“What is that? One minute, 20 (seconds) or something like that? Pereira just absolutely ran through him.
“Look, I was wrong. I was wrong. That’s very, very, very impressive.”
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