Heading into UFC 320, some whispered that Alex Pereira had been figured out. Seven months prior to his Las Vegas rematch with Magomed Ankalaev, Poatan had been rendered almost unrecognizable—timid, gunshy, and ultimately dethroned by the Dagestani wrestling supremo. Detractors wondered: was the Brazilian’s meteoric rise over once and for all?
Not on Pereira’s watch. The newly minted two-time light heavyweight champion silenced the doubters definitively, dropping his nemesis with a vicious right hand before following up with 12 to 6 ground and pound elbows so definitive, so thunderous, that they echoed across continents. In just over three minutes, Poatan reclaimed his championship—but more compellingly, his mystique. The knockout was vengeance in purest form, snapping Ankalaev’s unbeaten streak at ten and reducing him to merely a victim of Pereira’s ruthless calculation.
Suddenly, the narratives have changed. The 38-year-old has recaptured his throne and laid waste to any pretense of vulnerability. So, where does he go from here, standing atop the 205-pound summit, the MMA world at his feet yet again? Here are the most likely options.
POATON IS BACK 🗿
ALEX PEREIRA (+220) GETS THE FINISH IN UNDER 2 MINUTES 😱#UFC220
— Bodog (@BodogCA) October 5, 2025
Jon Jones
If the fight game is a theater, Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira is one of its crown jewels—unwritten, but forever teased at the edge of our imaginations. No sooner had Pereira dropped Ankalaev than the newly minted 205-pound king was plotting his own destiny: A super fight with Jonny Bones on the White House lawn.
A clash with Poatan is what Jones has been looking for ever since his successful heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic last November. Unfortunately for the Greatest of All Time, a worthy challenger rose in the form of Tom Aspinall, someone who hadn’t made his way into the American’s plans. The former heavyweight champion wanted no part of the Brit, retiring rather than facing him in a unification fight, and his days in the Octagon were seemingly done.
Now, however, his dream fight with Pereira has been resurrected, and with Poatan calling him out post-fight, fuel has been thrown on the fire. Now, the ball is passed to UFC brass, and specifically, company president Dana White. The UFC’s head honcho recently stated that he can’t trust Jones after him backing out of a fight with Aspinall, and it remains to be seen whether he will be given another chance to step into the Octagon one last time.
One thing that is for certain, however, is that if Pereira had the power to choose his next opponent, it would be Jones.
Winner of Tom Aspinall vs Cyril Gane
If Jones remains the elusive white whale, there is no lack of titans in waiting. Chief among them, the winner of the looming Tom Aspinall vs. Cyril Gane showdown. The upcoming Abu Dhabi clash represents the Brit’s first undisputed heavyweight title defense after being upgraded from interim champion following Jones’ untimely retirement, and it’s a defense that online UFC betting sites expect him to win. The latest UFC betting odds currently price Aspinall as a mighty -400 favorite to continue his reign, and if he lives up to the billing, then a meeting with Pereira could be next in line.
Aspinall is a tornado of aggression, finishing opponents with clinical brutality, as demonstrated by three straight first-round knockouts. Frenchman Gane, by contrast, is movement incarnate, a striking savant who blends grace with danger in every exchange. For Pereira, either man represents a runway to the absurd: the possibility of becoming the first man in history to conquer three divisions.
Magomed Ankalaev Trilogy
Sometimes, a rivalry becomes so intertwined with the sport’s narrative fabric that it demands closure. After their second act at UFC 320, Pereira and Ankalaev are knotted at one apiece, each victory striking for its stark contrast in style and method.
What would a trilogy deliver? Well, it’s quite simple: proving once and for all who’s the better man, Pereira or Ankalaev. Before October 4th’s defeat, the Dagestani had been unbreakable since 2018, and despite surrendering the gold, he remains perhaps the light heavyweight division’s most credentialed threat—a Rubik’s cube for Pereira’s artillery to solve again. For UFC matchmakers, the history is irresistible. Think Lawler vs. MacDonald, Volkanovski vs. Holloway—trilogies that settled not just records, but arguments that set the sport on fire.
Abu Dhabi, with its surging Russian fanbase and appetite for high-octane drama, feels engineered for the occasion. Alternatively, a Brazilian homecoming for Pereira is without question deserved, and would almost certainly sell out huge stadiums such as Rio de Janeiro’s 78,000-capacity Maracanã. The only question here is, does Poatan have any interest in a trilogy, or does he consider this chapter definitively closed with his first-round knockout win?
Jiri Prochazka III
And then there’s “The Czech Samurai.” Two fights, two brutal finishes in Pereira’s ledger, but Jiri Prochazka is MMA’s answer to the question: “How much chaos can one man embody?” Fresh off back-to-back knockout wins over former title challengers and Pereira victims Khalil Rountree Jr.and Jamahal Hill, there can be no denying that the 32-year-old is deserving of a shot. But has there been anything in recent displays that suggests Prochazka can avoid a third knockout defeat to Poatan?
UFC’s matchmakers know entertainment value beats mathematical justice nine out of ten times. Imagine, for a moment, the tilting, fevered madness of another Pereira-Prochazka tornado—this time in front of a rabid Prague crowd. Prochazka refuses to be finished in spirit, and fans are never finished witnessing him try.
It isn’t strict meritocracy, but that’s the sport—sometimes, lightning demands its storm. White and company love the road less traveled if it unleashes chaos and clicks in equal measure.
