Dana White recently revealed that one matchup he cannot stop hearing about is Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones. This fight made the news ever since ‘Poatan’ shared his plans to become the first three-division champion. The UFC CEO admitted that there is significant demand to make that fight happen, even from UFC color commentator Joe Rogan.
Recently, Alex Pereira knocked out Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303. That set out a flurry of discussions as to who will ‘Poatan’ fight next. Dana White addressed this topic at the UFC 303 post-fight press conference. The UFC CEO revealed that Joe Rogan had pitched the idea while he was wrapping Pereira’s belt on him.
I’m standing up there with the belt and I had Joe Rogan in my ear the whole time we were up there, ‘Let him fight heavyweight. Come on. Just do it.
Dana White at the UFC 303 post-fight press conference
Dana White acknowledged that it is the fight the people want to see. Alex Pereira took over the UFC with just nine fights under his belt. He first claimed the middleweight title and then moved up weight classes to take over the light heavyweight division. Now he has plans to move to heavyweight and become the promotion’s first three-division champion.
Dana White on Alex Pereira fighting at heavyweight: “I know that’s what people want to see” 👀 #UFC303
“I’m standing up there with the belt and I had Joe Rogan in my ear the whole time we were up there, ‘Let him fight heavyweight. Come on. Just do it.'” pic.twitter.com/GSzpfv0c0e
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 30, 2024
Meanwhile, Jon Jones is Dana White’s pick for the best mixed martial arts fighter of all time. Jones dominated the light heavyweight division for years before taking over the heavyweight division. Other than a disqualification in 2009, Jon Jones has never lost a fight in his entire MMA career. Both have expressed willingness to face each other in the octagon. That is a fight that will definitely generate big numbers.
Alex Pereira has generated over $30,000,000 in the UFC
Alex Pereira could be the next golden goose for the UFC after Conor McGregor. ‘Poatan’ has taken the UFC by storm since he made his debut in 2021. With a worldwide fan following and PPV events breaking the charts, the light heavyweight champion has reportedly generated over $30 million in revenue.
Alex Pereira knocks out Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 (via MMA Fighting)In the past six months, Pereira has stepped in on short notice twice and both these headlined events have broken past PPV records. Alex Pereira was supposed to make his first title defense against Jamahal Hill at UFC 301. However, they stepped in early and headlined the main event at UFC 300. That fight reportedly generated $16.5 million. And then at UFC 303, Pereira and Prochazka stepped in for Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler and that fight generated over $15.9 million.
Alex Pereira has now headlined two of the top 4 highest gates in UFC history:
1. UFC 205 – McGregor vs Alvarez ($17.7M)
2. UFC 229 – Khabib vs McGregor ($17.2M)
3. UFC 300 – Pereira vs Hill ($16.5M)
4. UFC 303 – Pereira vs Prochazka 2 ($15.9M)#UFC #MMA #UFC303 pic.twitter.com/HaxW68Iab3— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 30, 2024
Now ‘Poatan’ wants to take some time off the octagon and recover from his injuries. However, there are plenty of high-level matchups waiting for the light heavyweight champion to take on. Jamahal Hill has been pushing for a rematch since losing at UFC 301. However, Hill isn’t nearly as big a draw as Prochazka was.
Meanwhile, Magomed Ankalaev is another name being thrown around quite a lot in the past few weeks as a likely contender for Pereira to take on. Of course, there is always the chance that ‘Poatan’ decides to move up weight classes and eventually take on the heavyweight champion Jon Jones in a showdown of epic proportions.
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