Dana White gives final verdict on potential Alex Pereira vs. Tom Aspinall fight
Dana White has put forth his opinion regarding a potential Tom Aspinall vs. Alex Pereira super-fight. Aspinall is the interim UFC heavyweight champion, whereas Pereira is a former UFC middleweight champion and the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion.
Aspinall captured the interim heavyweight belt by beating Sergei Pavlovich via first-round KO in the co-headlining matchup of UFC 295 in November 2023. On the other hand, Pereira bagged the light heavyweight belt by besting Jiri Prochazka by second-round TKO in the headlining bout of the UFC 295 event.
Following that, the MMA community has been rife with speculation that Pereira could move up in weight to challenge Aspinall for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Furthermore, based on Pereira and Aspinall's social media posts, some fans conjectured that perhaps their super-fight could transpire at the landmark UFC 300 event on April 13, 2024.
Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White has consistently maintained that when UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones returns from his injury hiatus, he'll face Stipe Miocic first. White recently indicated that Aspinall could face someone else in the meantime before eventually fighting the Jones-Miocic winner in a title unification clash.
Upon recently being questioned about Aspinall's next matchup in a backstage UFC interview, White stated:
"He [Aspinall] is ready to fight anybody right now. He doesn't care. He'll fight anybody. He'll fight Jon [Jones]. He'll fight Stipe [Miocic]. He'll fight somebody else, you know? In the heavyweight division, he doesn't care. So, we'll get him figured out too."
Moreover, when asked about Pereira possibly moving up to heavyweight and facing Aspinall, White said:
"I'm not into that stuff. He just got there, you know? Defend the belt, do some stuff. Both of those guys, you know, got some work to do before they start thinking about moving up weights and fighting each other."
Check out Dana White's comments below:
Tom Aspinall vs. Alex Pereira: UK MMA stalwart addresses potential fight against 'Poatan'
Tom Aspinall recently took to social media, seeking the MMA world's opinions concerning whom he ought to fight next. In response to the same, one X user indicated that they'd love to see him clash against Brazil's Alex Pereira in their much-discussed super-fight.
Nevertheless, the UK star insinuated that the Pereira super-fight is unlikely to come to fruition anytime soon. Aspinall tweeted:
"[Alex Pereira] wants to defend his 205 title. Which I understand."
As for Alex Pereira, he appears to be on a collision path against former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill. The latter is currently on an injury hiatus from professional MMA competition, but he's expected to return to the octagon this year (2024).
'Poatan' has implied that he isn't looking at a heavyweight move against Aspinall right now, and he's focused on his division, likely eyeing a clash against Hill. Neither Pereira nor Aspinall's respective next matchups have been officially announced yet.