Written by Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
The light heavyweight division might crown a new No. 1 contender at UFC 308 when Magomed Ankalaev faces Aleksandar Rakic, but recently retired UFC veteran Matt Brown believes 205-pound champion Alex Pereira should hold out hope for another option instead.
As much as Ankalaev appears to be the rightful challenger with a 12-fight unbeaten streak, Pereira has options available to him after defending his belt three times in 2024, which included stepping up when the UFC needed him on a couple different occasions. Because Pereira likely has enough sway right now to call his shot for what comes next, Brown says the Brazilian champion should just wait a few weeks to see if Jon Jones gets through Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and find out of that’s a fight that could be available for him.
“You wait,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Everybody’s correct. The person that loses in all of this unfortunately is Ankalaev. He’s done all the right things, especially if he goes out and beats Rakic, does all the right things and he gets f*cked and it’s not even a big name or anything. But yeah, if you’re Alex Pereira, you don’t need to give a f*ck about Ankalaev’s life. You’re dealing with your own shit.
“You absolutely go up to heavyweight, 100 percent. There’s never been a three-weight champion so be the first or shoot for those stars. You can always come back and fight Ankalaev later. Absolutely go for it.”
Having already conquered the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions, Pereira has teased his interest in potentially moving to heavyweight but admitted after his most recent win over Khalil Rountree Jr. that the process would take some time.
Despite his height and large frame, Pereira still needs to add some more size and muscle to deal with much bigger opponents but a chance to tangle with arguably the greatest fighter of all-time might be too tempting to resist.
On the flipside, Jones has teased that his fight against Miocic could be the final appearance of his career. Still, Brown can’t help but wonder if the potential for a matchup against Pereira might just be exactly the kind of opportunity that keeps the reigning UFC heavyweight champion around for a little while longer.
“I don’t doubt this could be as big as any Conor [McGregor] fight,” Brown said. “This could be promoted to the max. They could do it [International] Fight Week or one of the gigantic cards maybe at the Sphere, something crazy. This could be enormous. Jon’s a smart guy. He’s here for the money now, I think. Legacy and money and Alex is going to bring that. It could be promoted as much as you want to promote. This could be the money fight. It’s heavyweight, too. Heavyweight fights always bring a stigma to them that those lighter fights just don’t bring. Like Conor obviously brought the trash talk and all the antics, the funny stuff and the cool stuff, there’s a certain aura when Conor comes into the cage.
“But there’s a different aura that can be sold here when Jon Jones, the greatest of all-time, who just beat the greatest heavyweight of all-time — assuming that happens — fighting another guy trying to do the biggest thing of all-time, [become] a three-weight world champion. I can’t think of a bigger fight outside of Conor, but I think it could be as big as any Conor fight.”
With Jones scheduled to fight Miocic in November, Brown pitched the idea that Pereira should be front and center for that matchup to start building towards an eventual showdown next year.
Pereira staring a hole through Jones might not materialize into a fight but Brown feels like it’s too enticing of an opportunity to pass on given the current landscape in the UFC.
“Be there at [Madison Square Garden] and whatever happens, happens. As long as Jon wins, we can set this up,” Brown said. “Usually when the main event ends, we all turn it off or people start leaving the stadium. Alex Pereira walks in there, people might turn around and go back to their seat.
“If Jon goes out there and wins, the stars have f*cking aligned perfectly to have a super explosion. Again, I think it could be the biggest fight since Conor. I think it could match Conor’s [fights]. How much fun could you have with the promoting of this? So many routes you could take. So many angles you could take. What two perfect guys to be promoting, too. I love listening to Jon Jones talk shit. He’s so stoic with it, serious and Alex is the perfect rival to it. The perfect guy to talk back. The press conferences, everything about this just says money in the bag.”
That said, Brown heavily favors Jones to win should that fight actually happen but perhaps an even bigger obstacle to that potential matchup awaits at UFC 309.
“Realistically though, it’s hard to think that Jon Jones make this a pretty easy fight [with Alex Pereira],” Brown said. “Take him down, elbow his face, get your money, go home, probably not a scratch on you. It’s hard to believe that’s not how this ends.
“Jon Jones has got to get through Stipe first. Let’s not forget that. Stipe is not a walkover. Stipe is not an easy fight. He’s got to get through him first. [Jon Jones] hasn’t been tested like that at heavyweight. Don’t discount Stipe shocking everybody and being like “f*ck your Jon Jones-Alex Pereira fight.’”