What’s next for Alex Pereira? After staying in the news from the start of this year, with news circulating about his personal life, a recent rumor speculating a professional move could see him chasing a historic feat in the UFC.

After the two-division champion avenged his UFC 320 loss by knocking out Magomed Ankalaev, Pereira called out Jones on multiple occasions for a superfight at the White House. With the heavyweight division struggling at the moment, Pereira’s move into the division could’ve revived it and have him chase the historic third division UFC title. But, there could be some truth to the rumors, it seems. According to a new report, Pereira is likely to move out of the light heavyweight division. And this includes him vacating his crown at 205 lbs.

Alex Pereira could vacate the 205 lbs title

“Alex Pereira has informed the UFC that he intends on vacating his title to move up to Heavyweight. Decision made, announcement will follow before the end of the month,” an MMA reporter, Ruben Carter, shared on X. 

For the unversed, Carter is the same source who first broke Israel Adesanya’s return against Joe Pyfer for the UFC Seattle main event. So there is definitely some credibility behind this information, even though no official confirmation has been made yet. 

Last year, both Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev had to vacate their titles while chasing double-champion status. So if Pereira truly wants to move up, he would likely have to follow the same path. With that said, Jiri Prochazka vs Carlos Ulberg could realistically end up fighting for the undisputed light heavyweight title. 

Now, with the light heavyweight division potentially lining up its next title fight, another big question emerges. Who would Alex Pereira face at heavyweight? The most realistic answer appears to be Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title, especially after Jon Jones claimed that Dana White does not want ‘Bones’ to fight ‘Poatan’ at the White House event. However, among all the possible matchups, another contender has also quietly thrown his name into the mix. 

Khamzat Chimaev targets ‘Poatan’ with White House callout

Khamzat Chimaev and Alex Pereira have been trading verbal shots ever since they shared the middleweight division. And that animosity did not fade when the Brazilian moved up and became the light heavyweight champion. Now, with ‘Poatan’ setting his sights on heavyweight glory, ‘Borz’ has once again called him out, this time with a bold White House threat.

“Let’s go White House. Don’t worry, I will finish you fast @AlexPereiraUFC.” Chimaev wrote on X.

There is no doubt that Pereira vs Chimaev would pack any arena on pure star power alone. However, the fight looks unlikely to happen as Chimaev is yet to defend his Middleweight title. With the LHW champion eyeing a heavyweight move, the fight remains out of the equation.

With Alex Pereira’s potential heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane for an interim title looking more and more possible, his involvement in the White House event remains uncertain. That said, the bigger question still stands: How do you think ‘Poatan’ would perform against the true heavyweight giants? Let us know in the comments section below.