With him failing to secure a title unification clash against Jon Jones anytime soon, interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall is in the market for another prospective opponent.
UFC 300 is quickly filling up with a plethora of fantastic matchups with many more still to come. In recent weeks, Alex Pereira has teased an impending announcement leading fans to believe that he will be part of the promotion’s massive milestone event. While in all likelihood, ‘Poatan’ will defend his light heavyweight title against one of the division’s deserving contenders, rumors are flying that Pereira could go for a third UFC title on April 13.
In a quick clip shared by Bloody Elbow on X, Aspinall welcomed a title fight with Pereira, noting that he’s not usually one for bullying smaller fighters, but if ‘Poatan’ wants it, he can get it.
“If he wants to, I will, but I’m going on record saying, I’m not a bully,” Aspinall said. “I don’t bully smaller guys, but if the smaller guy wants to scrap, I’m in.”
After snatching the middleweight title from Israel Adesanya in late 2022, Pereira moved onto the 205-pound division and scored his second bit of UFC gold, knocking out former champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 in November.
Russian powerhouse Magomed Ankalaev made a strong case for himself as Pereira’s first challenger after delivering a nose-shattering shot against Johnny Walker at last weekend’s event inside The APEX. Ankalaev moved to 10-1 under the UFC banner and 19-1-1 overall and is currently holding things down as the No. 3 ranked light heavyweight in the world.