Time for Heavyweight “Poatan?”
Alex Pereira became a two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion at UFC 320 last night (Sat., Oct. 4, 2025) after running through Magomed Ankalaev
in less than two minutes inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights).
Following his latest destructive performance, Pereira once again teased a move to Heavyweight — something he’s hinted at and dismissed multiple times over the past year. But this time feels different. Now that he’s reclaimed his 205-pound crown, “Poatan” appears ready to chase even greater glory: becoming the first three-division champion in UFC history.
And according to UFC CEO Dana White, Pereira has already made his intentions clear.
“So today, I was at work and I went over to the PI, and [Pereira] was over in the PI, and I’m like, ‘Well, you’re the last guy I expected to see here today. What are you doing here?’” White said during the UFC 320 post-fight press conference. “And they’re telling me, ‘We want to fight at Heavyweight.’ I said, ‘How about we win tonight and focus on tonight, and then we could talk about Heavyweight.’”
Despite Pereira’s interest, White admitted he’s still not fully on board — at least not yet.
“I don’t know, I don’t know about that,” White said. “There’s still fights here in this division, but we’ll see. I mean, this guy has been an absolute stud for us…He was a middleweight, and he’s going to jump up two weight classes in the UFC. It’s not like jumping up two weight classes in boxing. It’s a big jump.
“It’s not that I have any reservations about it,” White added. “I mean, the guy is in a division that there are still some interesting fights. I don’t know. It’s just that I like the guy so much. We’ll see. We’ll have to talk about it. I just don’t see why, unless he wants to retire. Why throwing him in at Heavyweight makes any sense, other than I just end up saying, ‘he wants to do it so bad, I’ll just say yes,’ I don’t know.”
While a clear contender at Light Heavyweight exists in Carlos Ulberg, Pereira, now 38, seems eager to keep chasing history rather than defending what he’s already conquered.
For what it’s worth, Pereira reportedly planned to call out Jon Jones for a potential super fight at UFC White House, but he refrained after Jones recently lost his brother, Arthur, saying it wasn’t the right time.
Either way, “Poatan” isn’t slowing down — and a move to Heavyweight might just be next.
For complete UFC 320 results and play-by-play, click here.
