Former UFC heavyweight makes the case for 'Poatan' to face Jones next.
UFC 303 was an unmitigated disaster for the promotion from a matchmaking point of view. The postponement of the long-awaited ‘Return of the Mac’ was no doubt a spanner in the works for the MMA leader as they were anticipating the highest gate in UFC history, and the bizarre sequence of events that led to Dan Ige stepping up on a few hours’ notice to fight in the co-main event is certainly something we’ve never seen before.
From an entertainment perspective, the majority of the undercard failed to deliver. Outside of Payton Talbott’s quickfire knockout win over Yanis Ghemmouri, there really wasn’t a whole lot to get fans out of their seats during the prelims, and although the welterweight main card opener between Ian Machado Garry and Michael "Venom" Page proved an interesting tactical battle, it wasn’t a fight that impressed the fanbase.
As has been the case time and time again, however, Alex Pereira stepped up to the plate to save the day. His knockout win over Jiri Prochazka in the main event stole all the headlines, just two months after his previous showstopping exploits against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.
The main talking point coming out of last Saturday seems to be concerning who "Poatan" will fight next. Rumours continue to circulate about a potential move up to test the waters in the heavyweight division against either interim champion Tom Aspinall or two-weight world champion Jon Jones. There is also the possibility he will defend the 205lb belt against the consensus challenger Magomed Anakalaev.
Brendan Schaub Advocates For 'Poatan' vs. 'Bones' Next
Speaking on his Extra Thiccc podcast this week, former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub made the case for Pereira to fight Jones next.
If you’re the UFC, if you’re gonna risk Alex Pereira, wouldn’t you rather him...wouldn’t you rather him lose to the greatest of all time Jon Jones at heavyweight, and then go, ‘Yeah it’s Jon Jones, he’s going back to light heavyweight’, or you know let’s say it’s competitive, you go, ‘Yeah, he’s gonna fight Tom Aspinall’.”
“At least you still have options” Schaub continued “because if you give him to Ankalaev and he loses? There’s no heavyweight…we don’t wanna see you at heavyweight. He’s gonna be stuck at light heavyweight. If you give him Aspinall and he loses that…well the mega-fight with Jon’s gone.
Schaub then urged the UFC matchmakers to make the right decision, keep 'Poatan' away from the grappling-heavy Ankalaev - and book him against Jon Jones for the undisputed heavyweight strap after "Bones" is done defending his title against Stipe Miocic [if he beats him, of course].
If you’re in the boardroom and you’re Mick Maynard this morning and you’re waking up like, ‘Alright he’s an underdog in all three scenarios…what’s gonna be the biggest fight possible, which is not gonna shoot his balloon down of stardom the most?
“You do Jon Jones – Alex Pereira in 2025 for the undisputed heavyweight title”.
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