The reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, needs an opponent for his first title defense. So, who should it be?
There’s only been a handful of mixed martial artists to obtain double-champ status inside the Octagon. And Pereira accomplished the feat on November 11 when he trounced former 205-pound king Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295.
Jamahal Hill had vacated the belt earlier this year, and the two gladiators were pitted against each other for it as the New York City headliner. Entering the contest, both men had an intriguing storyline.
Like Hill, Prochazka had been forced to drop the hardware due to injury, and he intended to reclaim what he never lost in the cage. On the other end, “Poatan” was fresh off his divisional debut — a unanimous decision victory over another former light heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz.
Pereira (9-2), a former two-division world champion in Glory Kickboxing, fought at middleweight in his first five UFC matches, which included his title-winning KO against Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 in November 2022. They rematched in April, and Adesanya retook his accessory by knocking out Pereira at UFC 291.
At that point, Pereira was ready to move up a division and alleviate some of his weight cut. He did, and the rest is history.
The Brazilian is 36, which is not ancient at light heavyweight, but Pereira would likely be best served to keep a busy schedule to maximize his time before father time has his say.
Who should Pereira fight next?
Yes, I know Pereira called out Adesanya for a trilogy match after he became the light heavyweight kingpin. Yes, I know that’s probably the biggest fight they can make in the division right now. But, “The Last Stylebender” went on a fighting hiatus after losing his 185-pound strap to Sean Strickland in September, and it doesn’t seem like he’s ready to return anytime soon.
In my judgment, he’s off the table. And sadly, I won’t be pitching Jon Jones either (I’d be all in, of course).
The obvious choice would be Hill, who was cageside at the event in Madison Square Garden. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan asked Poatan in his post-fight interview about fighting Hill. Though Pereira seemed interested, he also pointed to Hill’s unclear timeline.
“Sweet Dreams” tore his Achilles tendon in July. In an interview with MMA Fighting ahead of UFC 295, Hill said he hoped to be back to full training in early 2024 with a planned UFC comeback “in the second quarter of the year” — that’d be April, May, or June. He also said he had been guaranteed a title fight upon his return against whoever was holding the championship at the time.
The promotion’s pay-per-view schedule is set until March 9’s UFC 299, and each event already has a headlining act. So, if everything goes to plan, we could see Pereira vs. Hill as early as UFC 300.
But, because of the nature of the tentpole event and the possibility of Conor McGregor headlining the mega-card, I could see the UFC pushing Pereira and Hill to May or June.
The only downside is that Pereira would have to sit on the shelf longer than he’s accustomed to. Since making his organizational debut in November 2021, Poatan has fought six more times. He’s been adamant about remaining active, and waiting for the Hill fight would keep him sidelined for around six months — at best.
So, if Pereira is ready to scrap and Sweet Dreams isn’t, another contender could be produced in January.
First, No. 3-ranked Magomed Ankalaev and No. 7 Johnny Walker are scheduled to rematch on January 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Their UFC 294 clash in October was ruled a no-contest after Ankalaev cracked the Brazilian with an illegal knee, and they’re ready to settle the score.
Then, two more top-ranked light heavyweights will run it back a week later. Blachowicz, who’s currently sitting at No. 4, will look to notch another victory over No. 5 Aleksander Rakic. They dueled in May 2022 a the top of a UFC on ESPN event, and Blachowicz won via TKO. The finish was from Rakic blowing out his knee, however, and he hasn’t fought since.
Within a week, two men will presumably take a step forward in the title picture. Whoever had the most impressive performance or is fight-ready may be called upon to make a quick turnaround and challenge for Pereira’s throne.
Still, if Pereira is willing to wait, the fight between him and Hill is the one to make. If not, the UFC should feed him one of the aforementioned two competitors.
