MMA Fans Speculate as Alex Pereira Teases his Next UFC Fight

What does 2025 hold for the UFC light heavyweight champion?
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Following a stellar 2024, Alex Pereira has sent out a teaser for fans that are eagerly awaiting news of the UFC star's next fight.

Pereira Teases First Fight Of 2025

Celebrated by a number of combat sports outlets as 2024’s “Fighter of the Year”, Pereira successfully defended his light heavyweight belt three times with knockout-wins over former champions Jamahal Hill and Jiří Procházka before stopping Khalil Rountree Jr. in a “Fight of the Night”-winning main event at UFC 307.

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MMA Fans Speculate as Alex Pereira Teases his Next UFC Fight
Oct 5, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) fights Khalil Rountree Jr. (blue gloves) in a light heavyweight title bout during UFC 307 at Delta Center. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Procházka and Hill are set to square off on the main card of UFC 311 this Saturday, and while both men have made it clear that they intend to earn another crack at Pereira (Procházka has lost to him twice) many fans are hoping that the Brazilian will take on a new face in his next Octagon outing.

“Poatan” is taking some well-deserved time off after fighting four times between November 2023 and October 2024, but based on a recent social media post it looks like fans won’t have to wait much longer before getting some fight news for the UFC light heavyweight champion.

Fans Speculate On Pereira's Next Fight

Magomed Ankalaev is currently the light heavyweight division’s #1 contender following his win over Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 308, but one X user was quick to note that Pereira has previously addressed the idea of that fight.

Following an upset-loss in the last second of his UFC debut against Paul Craig, Ankalaev went on a nine-fight win streak that earned him a shot at the vacant light heavyweight title against former champion Jan Błachowicz at UFC 282.

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Ankalaev followed a split draw in the Błachowicz fight with a No Contest against Johnny Walker due to an illegal knee, but after stopping Walker in the rematch and taking a decision over Rakić the 32-year-old now has back-to-back wins and is undefeated outside of his 2018 loss to Craig.

MMA Fans Speculate as Alex Pereira Teases his Next UFC Fight
Dec 10, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Magomed Ankalaev (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Jan Blachowicz (red gloves) during UFC 282 at T-Mobile Arena. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Pereira’s dismissive post about a fight with Ankalaev could certainly have just been an attempt to drum up interest around the matchup, but there’s also been significant fan speculation that “Poatan” might decide to move up to heavyweight in the near future to pursue a third UFC title.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.