Following his potential victory for the interim heavyweight championship on June 14th, former two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira has expressed his intention to compete at least twice more this year, with his heavyweight ambitions clearly defined. If Pereira overcomes Ciryl Gane this weekend at UFC Fight Night 250, he will achieve the remarkable feat of holding UFC belts in three separate weight classes.
Pereira, known for his active fighting schedule, has consistently fought three times a year from 2022 to 2024. Last year, he competed twice before relinquishing his light heavyweight title to pursue a move up in weight.
A victory against Gane would position Pereira for a title unification bout against the undisputed heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall. However, Aspinall is currently recovering from double eye surgery and has not provided a timeline for his return, nor is he actively training. Pereira has indicated his unwillingness to wait for Aspinall’s potential return.
Alex Pereira Discusses UFC Future, Issues a Challenge to All Heavyweights, Including Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, the 38-year-old Brazilian emphasized his desire to avoid delays. He stated that if he wins his upcoming fight on June 14th without significant injury, he plans to return to the octagon as soon as possible. Pereira also issued a direct message to Jon Jones, Tom Aspinall, and the rest of the heavyweight contenders.
“I want to fight as soon as possible after this fight. Jon Jones, I don’t know if he’s training. Aspinall, maybe he’s not going to be ready. Those guys should be training right now because, as soon as this fight is finished, I want to fight as soon as possible… I donโt think any of them will be ready. Right now, we know thereโs no longer the whole process of building a fight because there are no more PPVs involved.”
“To all the heavyweights, Iโm being nice. Iโm just letting you guys know: be prepared. Start training because, as soon as this fight is finished, if I win and Iโm healthy, Iโm going to push the UFC to give me another fight right away.”
Watch Alex Pereira’s comments here:
Alex Pereira says he’d rather have a very quick turnaround at heavyweight rather than wait for a particular matchup:
‘I want to fight as soon as possible after this fight. Jon Jones, I don’t know if he’s training. Aspinall, maybe he’s not going to be ready. Those guys should beโฆ pic.twitter.com/HKNtEJt48b
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 9, 2026
