Chael Sonnen doesn’t see Alex Pereira sticking around at light heavyweight after UFC 313.
Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) defends his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) in the March 8 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).
Sonnen predicts that regardless of the outcome, “Poatan” moves onto bigger things.
“If Pereira wins, he’s going to be looking for something else to do, and if Pereira loses he’s gone,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I feel like many of you have forgotten how Pereira got to 205 pounds. He did not get to 205 by cleaning out 185. He got to 205 by losing at 185. That’s what opened the door: no belt no vacate – a move right up.
“So no matter what happens after Ankalaev, things are going to be very different for Pereira. I predict he’s moving up, and the ticking time bomb of Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall carrying this on and dragging this out, that time bomb reaches midnight as soon as Pereira is done with his piece of business with Ankalaev – win or lose.”
UFC CEO Dana White guaranteed that the title-unification bout between heavyweight champ Jon Jones and interim champ Tom Aspinall happens in 2025, but later said the promotion is willing to move on if the fight doesn’t materialize. Jones initially said he preferred a super fight with Pereira over Aspinall, after he retained his title with a finish of Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 this past November.
It appears Pereira has options. Unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk expressed interest in boxing Pereira as part of a two-fight retirement plan.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
