“Winner of Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall" - UFC veteran makes eye-opening remark on how Alex Pereira can secure heavyweight super fight
There have been rumors that Alex Pereira could face top middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev in his next bout after the light-heavyweight champion revealed on X that he won’t be fighting Magomed Ankalaev.
UFC head honcho Dana White meanwhile has expressed a desire to watch a clash between heavyweight king Jon Jones and the interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Fight fans can expect this super fight in 2025, as hinted by White.
'Bones' had previously voiced his preference to fight 'Poatan' over Aspinall but the promotion announced that this bout would not occur.
A UFC veteran has now weighed in on how 'Poatan' can secure a heavyweight superfight. In episode #533 of the WEIGHING IN podcast, when discussing whether the Brazilian phenom could stop Chimaev's takedowns and overcome his wrestling pedigree, both podcast hosts stated that it would be difficult for Pereira to do so.
Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson asked his co-host John McCarthy if the fight between 'Borz' and 'Poatan' would take place. McCarthy stated he sees it happening in the future and that the former kickboxer may lose to Chimaev.
'The Punk' stated his views on the same and said:
"This is what I think, John... The Jon Jones fight may come to fruition if he walks through Chimaev and you know Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones the winner of that I mean there’s a fight for Alex. I could see Alex being like I wiped out 185, let me wipe out 205. I’ll see you at the heavyweight division of the winner of Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall. He has got to go through Chimaev."
Check out Josh Thomson's comments below about Alex Pereira (19:48):
Thomson also believes Pereira can defeat Chimaev since he is not as big as 'Poatan.' The Brazilian's striking and power, combined with Chimaev's superior wrestling, will make for an exciting bout.
Robert Whittaker gives his views on Khamzat Chimaev vs Alex Pereira
Robert Whittaker, who is coming off a loss to Khamzat Chimaev, recently commented on a hypothetical battle between Chimaev and Alex Pereira, predicting who will win. The former middleweight champion talked about the bout on his MMArcacde podcast and stated:
"I saw a rumor that Chimaev might go up and fight Pereira. Imagine that. Chimeav (will win)... Unless the heavyweight strength changes the dynamic. Chimaev will get the takedown and it’s just that he’s good at what he does, he plays into his strengths... hypothetically, Chimaev slows down, gasses a little bit, Pereira won’t."
Whittaker continued:
"He can strike asleep, dead tired, dude’s been doing it his whole life. He’ll kill Chimaev in a standup."
Check out Robert Whittaker's comments below about Alex Pereira and Khamzat Chimaev: