Two weeks after the biggest loss of his MMA career at UFC Freedom 250, Alex Pereira is already planning his next move. The 38-year-old drew a clear line between his two most discussed potential opponents, Jon Jones and Khamzat Chimaev, separating them by purpose and paycheck.
The distinction he made tells you everything about where his head is at following a punishing, second-round TKO loss to Ciryl Gane on June 14.
Alex Pereira’s Heavyweight Bid Ends at UFC Freedom 250
The UFC’s White House card delivered shock after shock. In the main event, Justin Gaethje stunned everyone by pulling off a huge upset against Ilia Topuria. Then, in the co-main event, Gane stopped Pereira in the second round, completely derailing his heavyweight hype train.
Gane stopped Pereira at 1:27, dropping the former two-division champion with a jab in the center of the Octagon, following up with tons of unanswered elbows and punches. Pereira’s dream of becoming the UFC’s first three-division champion crashed down brutally, dropping his professional record to 13-4.
Pereira is only the ninth fighter in UFC history to win titles in two different weight classes. The best part? He has built that resume in less than four years. However, moving to heavyweight was always a massive gamble, and Gane exposed the size gap. Now, with no opponent booked, the debate over Pereira’s next move is louder than ever.
Alex Pereira on Jon Jones Money Fight vs. Khamzat Chimaev Super Fight
In his ALF Global interview, Pereira mapped out his options clearly.
As Pereira said, “A fight with Chimaev won’t make the same money as Jon Jones. So, looking at the financial side, Jon Jones, and for the legacy too. The Chimaev fight is for the sake of proving something. I really like when people say that nobody can beat this guy. I really love to hear that, and I like challenges.”
🏆👀 Alex Pereira says Jon Jones is the legacy fight, but Khamzat Chimaev is the one to prove a point.
“A fight with Chimaev won’t make the same money as Jon Jones. So, looking at the financial side, Jon Jones, and for the legacy too. The Chimaev fight is for the sake of proving… pic.twitter.com/E7KrrzCW6k
— FREAK.MMA (@FREAKMMA1) June 29, 2026
However, the Jones matchup has been stuck in promotional limbo for months. The 38-year-old admitted as much earlier this year, saying, “Pereira wants to fight me, but I don’t think Dana White’s gonna allow that to happen.”
🚨 Jon Jones says Dana White isn’t interested in making the fight between him and Alex Pereira 😬
“Pereira wants to fight me but I don’t think Dana White’s gonna allow that to happen. It’ll be interesting to see what Dana wants.”
(via @RedCorner_MMA) pic.twitter.com/ehVExNvLmd
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 8, 2026
From a legacy standpoint, Jones vs. Pereira is the biggest unbooked superfight in MMA. Pereira holds the UFC record for the fastest multi-division rise, winning titles in two divisions in just 736 days across seven bouts. Jones, meanwhile, is widely considered the greatest light heavyweight in the sport’s history. The matchup sells itself globally.
However, a wrestler of Chimaev’s caliber would test Pereira’s grappling weaknesses like few others. Pereira demanded this matchup for UFC Freedom 250, but it fell apart since Chimaev just lost his title to Sean Strickland before White House event. If the UFC books this fight for a future Saturday night, it will be an incredible spectacle.
