What will it take for Dana White to give Alex Pereira his shot at Jon Jones? The Brazilian knockout artist has made it no secret that he wants a shot at the undisputed heavyweight champion. And ‘Bones’? He’s interested, too. But in a twist that has sparked debate, the UFC boss has reportedly put his foot down.

According to MMA insider Ariel Helwani, if Pereira wants to step into the cage against Jones, there’s a price. Something that Ilia Topuria recently paid to accomplish his goal of possibly challenging Islam Makhachev at lightweight!

Dana White is not a “fan” of Alex Pereira holding the light heavyweight crown after Ilia Topuria’s move

Speaking on ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’, the veteran MMA journalist revealed that there were “three things” working against Ilia Topuria that led him to vacate his featherweight throne. The first being, “Number one, my understanding is the UFC isn’t a fan of this right now. They’re not a huge fan of champion versus champion and one guy keeps the belt.”

Helwani also pointed out that Alexander Volkanovski, the former featherweight champion, kept his belt when he took on Islam Makhachev twice. But the UFC brass and Dana White aren’t too keen on letting that become the standard moving forward.

That’s where he dropped the bombshell, “That has often been their stance, but I’m told as of late, unless it’s, like, an incredible circumstance, they’re not a huge fan of it. Witness Pereira talk of moving up to fight Jon Jones, Dana White not so into that unless he vacates.”

So, what does this mean for ‘Poatan’? At the moment he is gearing up to defend his light heavyweight crown against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. In a recent interview with Mark Bouris, Alex Pereira revealed through his coach and translator, Plinio Cruz, “There is an interest, there is a potential, even Jon Jones expressed himself and we wanted to do this. We want, now it’s up to the UFC to make it happen.”

Unlike Topuria, who has already fought at lightweight before, Pereira’s leap to heavyweight would be a major career shift. But if he chooses to vacate, it means leaving behind a division he just established dominance over. And if he stays at light heavyweight, the Jon Jones fight could slip through his fingers.

Yet according to a UFC veteran, no matter what happens at UFC 313, Alex Pereira only has one path forward!

Chael Sonnen believes Pereira will ‘move up’ regardless of UFC 313 main event’s outcome  

Alex Pereira stands at a crossroads and Chael Sonnen sees no scenario where he’ll continue his reign at 205 lbs. after UFC 313. Why? The UFC veteran and analyst explained on his YouTube channel, “If Pereira wins, he’s going to be looking for something else to do, and if Pereira loses he’s gone.”

His reasoning? Pereira didn’t move up from middleweight because he conquered the division, he moved up because he lost his crown to Israel Adesanya. As such, Sonnen further shared, “I predict he’s moving up, and the ticking time bomb of Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall carrying this on and dragging this out, that time bomb reaches midnight as soon as Pereira is done with his piece of business with Ankalaev – win or lose.”

So, what’s next? If Sonnen is right, UFC 313 isn’t just a title defense for Pereira, it’s a farewell to the division. Ariel Helwani laid it out perfectly, Dana White isn’t a fan of champions holding onto their belts while chasing another division’s glory. If Alex Pereira truly wants his shot at ‘Bones’, he may have to follow the same path as Ilia Topuria and relinquish his title.

Do you think Alex Pereira will vacate his belt to move up whether he wins or loses at UFC 313? Or will Dana White let him pursue ‘champ-champ’ status? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!