Alex Pereira, the UFC light heavyweight champion, plans to defend his title against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 and has paused any potential moves to other weight divisions, although he remains open to future challenges and training opportunities.
Alex Pereira isn’t going anywhere—at least for now. The UFC light heavyweight champ is set to defend his title this Saturday. He’s up against Khalil Rountree in the main event of UFC 307 in Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, he’s put a pin in any talk about moving to middleweight or heavyweight.
When asked at his UFC 307 media day whether he’d bulk up for heavyweight or slim down to 185 pounds to reclaim his title from Dricus du Plessis, “Poatan” was clear. He plans to stay put. “I would choose to defend my belt,” Pereira said. Cutting weight? Gaining weight? Both require careful planning, he explained, but he’s comfortable right where he is.
Pereira left the middleweight division after losing a rematch to Israel Adesanya back in April 2023. Fast forward, and he finished the year as the 205-pound champion with a knockout victory over Jiri Prochazka. Quite the turnaround!
He’s already defended his UFC title twice in 2024, knocking out both Jamahal Hill and Prochazka. Recently, he mentioned an interest in returning to middleweight for a showdown with du Plessis—after facing Rountree, of course.
The UFC hasn’t announced who’s next in line for either division yet. However, Magomed Ankalaev might get a shot at Pereira if he beats Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 later this month. Meanwhile, Sean Strickland, who trained with Pereira for UFC 307, has his eyes set on du Plessis and that middleweight gold.
Pereira had a meet-up with UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones at The Sphere in Las Vegas during UFC 306. Despite some online buzz about “Poatan” moving to heavyweight for a potential clash with Jones for a third belt, he’s more interested in learning from the legend than fighting him.
“He’s made it pretty clear that he’s only doing one more fight and retiring,” Pereira noted. “And I’m not even part of this division, so I would be far from doing that fight.” Training with Jones? Now that’s something he’d absolutely consider—gotta keep an open mind!