Tom Aspinall has given his thoughts on a potential fight with Alex Pereira, should ‘Poatan’ make the move up to heavyweight.
There has been no official confirmation on either Pereira of Aspinall’s next fight, with some fans believing a match-up between the pair could happen for the UFC Heavyweight Title before the end of the year.
Tom Aspinall Comments On Alex Pereira Heavyweight Rumours
After it was confirmed that Jon Jones would not be defending his UFC Heavyweight Title against Tom Aspinall, the English MMA superstar was upgraded to the full heavyweight king of the UFC.
As the new UFC Heavyweight Champion, Aspinall is now on the lookout for his next opponent. The 32-year-old has admitted he is open to fighting anyone, and just wants to get active again and keep the heavyweight division moving.
That being said, Jon Jones has seemed to make a retirement U-turn, revealing that he is keen to fight on the proposed UFC White House card, if indeed it happens. Conor McGregor has teased his return in 2026 on the UFC White House card too, but this seems highly unlikely.
For now though, all eyes are on Aspinall and who he will face next in the first defence of his heavyweight crown. Ciryl Gane, Curtis Blaydes, Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov are just some of the names who Aspinall could face next in the first defence of his belt.
Another potential opponent for Aspinall is a mammoth showdown with two-division UFC king ‘Poatan’. Alex Pereira’s next fight is yet to be confirmed, but he could rematch Magomed Ankalaev for the 205-pound belt after losing it in their first fight.
However, recent footage of Pereira has shown the Brazilian looking bigger than usual, with UFC fans taking this as a possible move to heavyweight to fight Aspinall instead.
If he were to move up and get the fight against Aspinall, this would give Pereira the chance at making history in becoming the first fighter in UFC history to win world titles in three weight classes.
Meanwhile Aspinall is keen to get back in the octagon and face anyone. Whether that is ‘Poatan’ or not remains to be seen.
Tom Aspinall: ‘Any Fight Is Interesting To Me’
In a recent interview with UFC on EuroSport, Tom Aspinall, whose net worth has surpassed £2m, has revealed that he is open to any fight at all.
This includes a potential showdown with Alex Pereira, who could be set for a permanent move to heavyweight with rumours that he is looking bigger than ever.
Some rumours are suggesting that the two-division champion could be walking about at as high as 250-pounds right now – 45lbs over the light-heavyweight limit. If this is the case, then a move to heavyweight could well be on for ‘Poatan’.
When asked about whether or not Alex Pereira, who boasts a 10-3 UFC record with 10 KO’s, could well move up to heavyweight, Aspinall revealed that if it was up to him, he would rematch Magomed Ankalaev first and win back the 205-pound belt:
“If I was him, I’d want to get a rematch and get the light heavyweight belt back. But I’m not him, so I don’t know. I don’t know.
“But I think the weight thing, the guy and his team know what they’re doing on social media. They know how to make headlines, which is good. I think, as far as I’m aware, that’s quite normal for him and other big light-heavyweights to get up to 240, 250,” said Aspinall.
When questioned on whether the Pereira fight interest him, Aspinall simply said, “Any fight is interesting to me. I don’t need much to be enticed into a fight with somebody. I’m the easiest guy. Just tell me who I’m fighting, and I’m in.”
Could Tom Aspinall vs Alex Pereira Happen Next?
With rumours that Alex Pereira could be making a permanent move to heavyweight, this has opened up the discussion of a potential Tom Aspinall vs Alex Pereira fight for the UFC Heavyweight Title.
Tom Aspinall’s next fight is unlikely to be against the Brazilian, but it could well happen in 2026. It all depends entirely on what Pereira wants to do and whether he first wants to regain his light-heavyweight belt from Magomed Ankalaev.
If he does and win the belt back, then a showdown with Aspinall next year all of a sudden gets a whole lot bigger. Aspinall vs Pereira for the UFC Heavyweight Title is without a doubt the biggest fight in MMA in 2026.
If that fight were to happen next, the best UFC betting sites would likely favour Aspinall to get the job done. He is the far bigger man and established heavyweight, as well as being the younger, fresher and more explosive fighter.
Time will tell whether or not Tom Aspinall vs Alex Pereira happens next, or if it is just all smoke and mirrors.
