Alex Pereira Signs New UFC Contract, Still Has Jon Jones In His Sights
Alex Pereira revealed that he has a new eight-fight deal signed with the UFC, and that he still hopes to face Jon Jones following his heavyweight debut.
Earlier this year, Pereira vacated his light heavyweight title to pursue ventures in a third division at heavyweight, and ultimately a fight against Jon Jones. Last June, Jones retired from MMA and dropped the heavyweight belt to interim titleholder Tom Aspinall, but with the announcement of the White House card (now known as UFC Freedom 250), Jones wanted to jump back into things.
With UFC Freedom 250 set for June 14th, many saw the fight between Pereira and Jones as a real possibility, especially with current heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall out with an eye injury. But earlier this month at UFC 326, the White House card was revealed, and while it was announced that Alex Pereira is making his heavyweight debut, he will be doing so against Ciryl Gane for the interim belt.
Many saw Pereira’s choice to move up to heavyweight as a sign he is nearing the end of his career and wants to achieve as much as possible in the time that’s left, but with ‘Poatan’ signing a new eight fight deal, it feels like there is potential for his star power to continue. Pereira touched on his new contract, his plans at heavyweight, and he made sure to mention that Jones is on his mind following the bout with Gane.
Alex Pereira says that after signing a new eight-fight deal with the UFC, he didn’t care about vacating the light heavyweight title:
“Honestly, I just wanted to let go of my belt and fight heavyweights, maybe even fight for a belt. But even if it was a regular fight, I just… pic.twitter.com/oNZdRTjVl3
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 16, 2026
“Honestly, I just wanted to let go of the [light heavyweight] belt and fight heavyweights, maybe even fight for [another] belt,” Pereira said.
“But even if it was a regular [heavyweight] fight, I just expressed that I wanted to do a heavyweight fight. And they really took care of me. The way they gave me this last contract was so good, that I left it open for them to do whatever they wanted. It didn’t matter.”
“Not disappointed, but I expressed that it was a fight that I wanted. It’s a fight that [Jon] wants,” Pereira said of fighting Jones despite his calls for release.
“I don’t want to get too involved because that’s between him and the organization. I believe it will happen when I win this fight. There’s a big chance that it happens. The UFC isn’t going to release him anytime soon – so if he’s going to fight, who else is it going to be? It’s going to be against me.
“I’m focused on [Ciryl Gane] right now, and Jon Jones is [next].”
(h/t BJPenn.com)