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In just eight UFC fights, Alex Pereira has accomplished more than fighters who have been slaving away in the rankings for years. The Brazilian knockout artist is the promotion's light heavyweight champion, a former middleweight titleholder, and the bane of five different ex-UFC champions.
He also headlined UFC 300, which proved a resounding success for both the UFC and the sport of MMA as a whole. As the crown jewel of the event, 'Poatan' did not disappoint, knocking out former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill to cement himself as the unquestioned 205-pound king.
Now, Pereira, who has quickly become one of the promotion's top stars, is aiming to achieve the unprecedented: capture a UFC championship in a third division. But to do so at heavyweight is a different beast entirely, and there are two potential foes he will have to overcome.
Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones
If Alex Pereira commits to a heavyweight excursion in pursuit of championship gold, the division's undisputed titleholder, Jon Jones, is the primary goal. However, the matchup would almost certainly be the Brazilian's most difficult due to the stylistic challenges Jones poses.
First, 'Bones' is a high-level wrestler and grappler, such that he effortlessly took down and choked out an elite heavyweight striker in Ciryl Gane after three years away from the octagon. Pereira, however, is not Gane, who is an inferior fighter by all accounts. Still, poor takedown defense is a recipe for disaster against Jones.
The heavyweight champion will want nothing to do with Pereira's striking, least of all due to how much Jones' own striking skills have deteriorated over the years. He was, after all, having unimpressive kickboxing bouts with the likes of a one-legged Thiago Santos, and a career journeyman in Anthony Smith.
But as a wrestler, Jones may prove too good for Pereira, who often fights tall, with his feet too narrow for him to quickly widen his base in defense of a possible takedown. Furthermore, Jones' excellence in the clinch would likely trouble the Brazilian, who does not like being smothered.
The latter was seen in his light heavyweight title win over Jiří Procházka, as the Czech samurai frequently forced Alex Pereira into extended pocket exchanges, depriving him of the time and space to make reads. However, smothering Pereira without fear is risky, as he often finds a thunderous counterpunch amid the chaos.
And if Jones is unable to either grapple or tie him up in the clinch, he will find himself in significant trouble against 'Poatan,' whose physical dimensions match the heavyweight champion, which has almost always troubled Jones due to his overreliance on being taller and longer than his foes.
Against Pereira, who is powerful enough to punish him for his tendency to post and retreat in a straight line, Jones would find himself eating blows that he is ill-equipped to take from a foe tall and long enough to catch him. But the truth of the matter is that Jones would almost certainly beat Pereira.
The Brazilian's poor defensive wrestling is too great a gap for him to survive against the MMA GOAT.
Alex Pereira vs. Tom Aspinall
The other heavyweight bout that would grant Alex Pereira a crack at a championship is one against Tom Aspinall. This fight seems far more likely than a matchup against Jon Jones for either man. The Englishman is the UFC interim heavyweight champion, which Dana White wants him to defend.
With UFC 304 on the horizon, it could be possible, especially with Aspinall expressing an interest in facing Pereira. But how would such a fight go? On the feet, Aspinall is a fast and powerful boxer with a fantastic jab-right cross combination he uses to stun his foes.
It also serves as a setup for his takedowns. He fakes the one-two to draw out his opponent's counterpunch, only to duck under with a takedown the moment they square their hips. However, Aspinall has several vulnerabilities when striking. First, he does not tuck his rear hand to his chin.
Check out Tom Aspinall's Instagram post about Alex Pereira:
Furthermore, he neither moves his head off the center-line nor does he tuck his chin into his chest. Worse still, he drops his hands when exiting the pocket. Against Alex Pereira, such habits are disastrous, as they almost were when he was cracked by Sergei Pavlovich. Fortunately, the Englishman stayed on his feet.
In the striking department, Aspinall's defensive lapses are exactly the openings through which Pereira would uncork his signature left hook. The former two-division Glory kickboxing champion is simply too good a striker. Where Aspinall shines, though, is in wrestling and grappling.
Aspinall is a slick Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, with a penchant for hunting for submissions instead of positions. Pereira is himself a poor grappler, despite recently being awarded a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt by Glover Teixeira. Whenever he faces technically superior strikers, Aspinall is quick to pursue takedowns.
This was the case when he faced Alexander Volkov, who he quickly took down and submitted, almost avoiding a striking engagement entirely. Due to Alex Pereira's poor takedown defense, this is a likely result if the two ever cross swords. But if Aspinall extends his stay on the feet, he risks being sent to the shadow realm.
