Alex Pereira is set to defend his light heavyweight championship at UFC 313 against top contender Magomed Ankalaev in what could be one of his toughest challenges yet. But UFC insider Chael Sonnen believes Pereira’s time in the division is coming to an end no matter how the fight turns out.
Chael Sonnen says Alex Pereira will move up in weight no matter what happens
Sonnen shared his thoughts on his YouTube channel and explained why he thinks Pereira will not stay at two hundred five pounds for much longer. According to Sonnen, Pereira’s move to this division did not happen because he dominated middleweight but because he lost his title to Israel Adesanya.
“If Pereira wins he is going to be looking for something else to do and if Pereira loses he is gone. I feel like many of you have forgotten how Pereira got to two hundred five pounds. He did not get to two hundred five by cleaning out one eighty five. He got to two hundred five by losing at one eighty five that is what opened the door. No belt no vacate just a move right up.”
With rumors swirling about a potential move to heavyweight Sonnen is confident that Pereira will not stay put in his current division. Given his size and striking ability a jump to the heavyweight division could make sense but it would also mean facing bigger and stronger opponents with high level grappling skills.
Sonnen emphasized that Pereira’s decision to move up is not a question of if but when.
“So no matter what happens after Ankalaev things are going to be very different for Pereira. I predict he is moving up and the ticking time bomb of Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall carrying this on and dragging this out reaches midnight as soon as Pereira is done with his piece of business with Ankalaev win or lose.”
The heavyweight division is already stacked with elite talent and a potential addition of Pereira would make things even more exciting. However before any move happens he has to face Ankalaev who presents a serious challenge with his wrestling and striking skills.
