According to a former UFC welterweight, Alex Pereira may not get any more free passes in the promotion! The Brazilian recently made a successful second defense of his light heavyweight title against Jiri Prochazka in a short-notice rematch at UFC 303 on June 29. Following the massive victory, UFC CEO Dana White indicated that there have been a lot of demands from the community about ‘Poatan’s aspirations for a heavyweight move!

During the UFC 303 post-fight press conference the UFC boss stated, “I’m standing up there with the belt and I had Joe Rogan in my ear the whole time we were up there: ‘Let him fight heavyweight! C’mon! Just do it!’ I know that’s what people wanna see.” However, in a stunning revelation, Ben Askren has come out to reveal the harsh path Pereira may have to take in order to continue his remarkable rise in the UFC.

Ben Askren claims Alex Pereira is out of “favorable fights” in his UFC run

In a discussion with Daniel Cormier on the ‘Funky and the Champ’ show on YouTube, Askren, and the former UFC ‘champ-champ’ talked about the dangers of Alex Pereira taking on a difficult stylistic matchup like Magomed Ankalaev for his next fight in the division. Despite his rapid ascent to stardom, Askren believes that the UFC and boss Dana White will eventually stop offering him favorable matchups.

The UFC welterweight veteran stated, “Okay, so let’s talk about this, the UFC does, does and has, try to move people up the rungs faster. You know, Sean O’Malley kind of a nice path, Alex Pereira had a nice path to Adesanya, they do do this. But the one thing the UFC, to my knowledge, does not do is protect you.”

The comments highlighted the fact that it took Pereira only 3 fights in the middleweight division before he challenged Israel Adesanya for the 185 lbs crown at UFC 281 in 2022. Sean O’Malley also faced numerous unranked opponents early in his career before finally winning the bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in 2023.

Askren further went on to claim that, “Listen, they (UFC) might give you a more favorable fight one time, right…They do not protect you…” but he expressed that it is not a long-term strategy by the promotion. He further went on to reference a famous quote from WWE’s Vince McMahon, who once said MMA could never generate billions because it couldn’t control outcomes to make stars.

Despite this, Askren acknowledged the UFC’s success in star-building, albeit with a significant caveat, “But they’ve done it, so I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t change and they said they might pick a couple opponents but they’re not going to protect him for a long time, he’s going to have to fight the best guys in the division or bump up…”

Askren also mentioned Tom Aspinall as an example of a substantial challenge for ‘Poatan’s heavyweight aspirations but his comments do illustrate a unique perspective on the UFC’s policy to hand its stars the toughest matchups available despite their push. And there is one man in the light-heavyweight division who is willing to test the hype surrounding ‘Poatan’!

Magomed Ankalaev believes he will end ‘Poatan’s reign atop the light-heavyweight division

Currently ranked no.2 in the light heavyweight division, Magomed Ankalaev has come out to make a case for why he might be the toughest matchup for Alex Pereira in the light heavyweight division. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Ankalaev stated, “There is strategy we have if he’s going to be doing striking. Also, if we add wrestling here, I think he doesn’t stand a chance and I have a few potential options how to finish him.”

Ankalaev had preceded this statement by critiquing Pereira’s performances against Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka claiming that ‘Poatan’s standup game is overrated. It remains to be seen if the fans will be able to witness this clash sometime soon but it does underscore the fact that even top stars in the UFC have to face the toughest competition!

Do you agree with Ben Askren’s claims that the UFC will not hand Alex Pereira any more favorable matchups? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!