3 reasons why Alex Pereira should not move to heavyweight - and 2 reasons why he should
Following his win over Jiri Prochazka last weekend, the talk around Alex Pereira's future has increased. Could 'Poatan' move to heavyweight next?
Alex Pereira has basically proven that he's the UFC's best light heavyweight right now, but it's debatable whether a move to heavyweight would suit him.
There's a fair argument to suggest that, despite his skills, he shouldn't make the move, at least not yet.
Here are three reasons why Alex Pereira should not move to heavyweight - and two reasons why he should.
#1 Alex Pereira still has unfinished business to attend to at 205 pounds
Following his win over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, there's an argument to suggest that Alex Pereira has all but cleaned out the light heavyweight division.
Unfortunately, that isn't really true. 'Poatan' has only fought four times at 205 pounds, and while his competition has been elite, beating three opponents can't constitute as cleaning a division out.
It is true that Pereira has beaten the last three fighters to hold the light heavyweight title. He edged out Jan Blachowicz in a tight call in the summer of 2023, now holds two knockout wins over Prochazka, and dispatched Jamahal Hill with terrifying ease in April.
Despite this, there's one contender he has yet to face, and that's Magomed Ankalaev.
The Dagestani has not lost a fight in the octagon since 2018, and is currently riding an unbeaten run of 12 bouts.
More to the point, though, with different judging, he could've claimed the then-vacant light heavyweight title in late 2022. He essentially beat Blachowicz, only to see the fight controversially declared a draw.
Essentially, then, not only does Ankalaev have a claim to be the uncrowned champ at 205 pounds, he'd also be a stylistically difficult opponent for Pereira.
Therefore, 'Poatan' should not make the move up to heavyweight before he's faced the Dagestani. To do so now would almost look like he's ducking Ankalaev.
#2 Alex Pereira should wait until the heavyweight division has less flux around it
If Alex Pereira were to move up to heavyweight to challenge for the UFC title there, it's fair to say that he wouldn't be moving into a settled landscape.
Instead, 'Poatan' would be moving to a division that right now, is in a state of more flux than it's probably ever seen before.
Officially, the heavyweight champion is Jon Jones, but he didn't actually defeat the previous titleholder Francis Ngannou, who departed the UFC shortly beforehand.
That wouldn't be a problem if 'Bones' had kept active since winning the title. However, he has not fought since his title win over Ciryl Gane, which took place well over a year ago.
In the meantime, Tom Aspinall has claimed an interim title, but he is set to defend it against Curtis Blaydes this month, while Jones apparently waits for a clash with former titleholder Stipe Miocic.
In short, the UFC's heavyweight division is a mess, and it'll remain that way until the titles are unified - or if Jones decides to step away as he's teased for so long.
With that considered, adding Alex Pereira into the mix and handing him a title shot right away would only muddy the waters further.
Would 'Poatan' look to face the winner of Jones vs. Miocic? Or the winner of Aspinall vs. Blaydes, who will be seen by many as the true champion? And if it's the former, what happens to the interim champion?
With all of this considered, Pereira would perhaps be better off making at least one more defense of his light heavyweight crown, which would hopefully give the title picture at heavyweight enough time to clear up.
If he were to make a move up after this to fight a clear-cut, undisputed heavyweight champion, the situation would be far more palatable.
#3 Alex Pereira's size and chin might not allow him to succeed at heavyweight
The biggest reason that Alex Pereira ought to weigh up all of his options before deciding to move to heavyweight is the fact that such a move may not suit him.
'Poatan' has proven to be a true great of the octagon, claiming UFC titles at middleweight and light heavyweight. Thus far at least, nobody has really been able to stand up to his punching power and accuracy.
To add to this, the Brazilian clearly had no issue in moving up to 205 pounds after competing at 185 pounds to start his UFC career. Reportedly, in fact, he walks around at around 230 pounds when he isn't fighting.
At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Alex Pereira is clearly a big guy by normal standards. Against giants like Tom Aspinall, Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes, though, he might seem small.
All three of those fighters would enjoy a huge size advantage over 'Poatan'. There's no telling how his chin - which was cracked by Israel Adesanya at 185 pounds - would hold up against the power of someone like Aspinall, and whether he'd be able to get up from the bottom if he were taken down.
Essentially, it was impressive enough to see Pereira move to 205 pounds and claim gold there, something Adesanya himself failed to do. Moving to heavyweight, though, might be a step too far, even for this all-time great.
Despite this, there are some reasons why Alex Pereira should move to heavyweight, and here are two of them.
#1 Alex Pereira has the punching power to hurt anyone at heavyweight
At 6-foot-4 and around 230 pounds, Alex Pereira would almost certainly class as a small heavyweight.
The likes of Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes might not be much taller than the Brazilian, but they'd outweigh 'Poatan' by practically 30 pounds.
However, there is a chance that Pereira might have the ultimate equalizer to this in the form of his incredible punching power.
It's arguable that there's never been a striker quite so deadly as 'Poatan' in UFC history. Other fighters such as Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou probably hit harder, but the majority of heavy hitters like them aren't blessed with the best technique.
Pereira, as one of the greatest kickboxers in UFC history, has no such issues. His blend of technique and power is basically unmatched in MMA, and he's proven that time after time.
His coffin-nail left hook is obviously his most deadly shot, but he's also used his right hand to devastating effect at times. To add to this, he recently knocked out Jiri Prochazka with a picture-perfect head kick.
So could Pereira knock out someone bigger like Blaydes or Aspinall? If he could land on them cleanly, for sure. Could he do that? With a significant advantage in speed and technique, definitely.
Therefore, despite being a smaller heavyweight, there's a chance that with his striking skills, Alex Pereira could actually thrive against the UFC's big men - making a move there well worth it.
#2 Alex Pereira could go down as the most successful fighter in combat sports history if he wins the UFC heavyweight title
The biggest reason for Alex Pereira to roll the dice and make a move up to heavyweight is that he has a chance to make history, and not just in the UFC.
'Poatan' is currently one of the only fighters in UFC history to claim two titles in different weight classes. This achievement alone puts him up with the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Randy Couture and BJ Penn.
However, no fighter in the history of the promotion has been able to win titles in three different weight classes. If Pereira could do that, then he'd be on an island all of his own.
To add to this, assuming he were to move up for his next bout, winning the heavyweight title would add him to the list of simultaneous double champions, a list that contains just four fighters; Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo.
Interestingly, Cejudo used his two UFC title wins, as well as his Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling to label himself as the greatest combat sports athlete of all time.
However, if Pereira were to win a third UFC title, he'd probably stake his own claim to that status. Prior to him joining the UFC, of course, he'd claimed titles in two divisions in the world's top kickboxing promotion, GLORY.
With all of this considered, then, if 'Poatan' were to win the UFC heavyweight title, his accomplishments would essentially be untouchable. The chance of that alone would make a move up to heavyweight worth any kind of risk.