Alex Pereira has been itching to go to the heavyweight division, win his third UFC title, and create history. Now, heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, is already preoccupied with a potential legacy fight against Stipe Miocic, and Tom Aspinall, being the interim champ, is annoyed. Amidst all this, Pereira eyeing a direct title fight in the heavier division just doesn’t line up. But what if he fought Aspinall?

Well, Joe Rogan couldn’t help but imagine what would happen. In a conversation with Belal Muhammad on JRE, he stated, “He’s [Pereira] talking about going to heavyweight which is even crazier.” When Muhammad opined that Pereira versus Aspinall will be wild, Rogan affirmed and shared, “Wild. But I don’t think Aspinall can take him down… I think, Aspinall, the moment he realizes, if he can hit him on his feet, he’ll try.”

Now, Pereira prefers to stay on his feet because of his kickboxing background, but Aspinall has experience in jiu-jitsu, submission wrestling, Olympic wrestling, boxing, Thai boxing, and kickboxing, which could give him an edge.

“But if he can’t [hit Pereira standing], the takedown’s always there. And he’s so much bigger. I mean, Aspinall’s a solid 255,” Rogan opined on the JRE MMA Show #162.

The UFC color commentator isn’t wrong here. Alex Pereira was quite big in the middleweight and when he moved to the light heavyweight, it seemed like he belonged there, though some opined he should move to the heavyweight division. But there’s an issue with that.

Aspinall’s walk-around weight is about 277-280 lbs. Pereira might be at a disadvantage if he moves up as he weighs around 224-225 lbs when not competing.

Other heavyweight fighters’ walk-around weights:

• Sergei Pavlovich- 260 lbs
• Jairzinho Rozenstruik- 257  lbs
• Curtis Blaydes- 295 lbs
• Derrick Lewis- 290 lbs

Yes, Alex Pereira has a great striking game, but going toe-to-toe with a much larger opponent isn’t something we have seen him do. Also, let us not forget that the heavyweight division’s upper weight limit is 265 pounds. Pereira might look small for once, and that’s something Dana White is worried about.

Why is Dana White reluctant to let Alex Pereira fight at heavyweight?

Joe Rogan, of course, has been at the forefront of demanding that Pereira be allowed to move up to heavyweight, much to the annoyance of Dana White. At the UFC 303 post-fight press conference, Rogan had been pestering him repeatedly for ‘Poatan’ to fight at heavyweight. However, the UFC CEO has been firm in his decision.

He doesn’t want Pereira to move up before the Brazilian ‘clears out’ the 205-pound division where he is the reigning champ. Additionally, White has also previously shared concerns about Pereira being too small in that division.

Regardless, another twist in the tale came after Jon Jones, in a lengthy tweet, indicated that he would be willing to face Pereira at heavyweight after the Miocic fight. But Dana White, despite almost the entire UFC world and Jon Jones’ wanting to see Pereira at heavyweight, remains unmoved. But of course, this is the fight business and commercial considerations are among the most important factors that go into making a fight.

And since a Pereira-Jones or Pereira-Aspinall fight would be a runaway success and probably a historical commercial success, given the stakes of the fight, White may eventually give in. But at the moment, the fight does not seem to be on the table. What are your thoughts on Rogan’s analysis of a possible Aspinall-Pereira fight?