Alex Pereira has laid it all out: He doesn’t want to challenge for Tom Aspinall’s interim heavyweight title, and will only fight for the undisputed title in whatever division he moves to.
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Releasing a statement on his YouTube channel on July 12, Pereira outlined his position on fighting Aspinall:
“It doesn’t interest me in this moment to fight him [Aspinall],” Pereira said. “To be honest, heavyweight isn’t my objective, it isn’t my main focus. … Not talking about fighter, I’m talking positions. I think I’m in another position right now, sincerely for me it doesn’t make sense to dispute the interim belt.”
Pereira made sure to say he wasn’t belittling Aspinall, it was just about logic.
“There is no possibility to fight him now, [if Aspinall were undisputed champ] we would be promoting that fight. … but now there is no point to dispute the interim belt.”
Many fans are interested in Pereira moving back down to middleweight, to challenge the winner of Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305. Pereira explained that he wouldn’t be doing it right now, but if he did move division, he’d only want to fight for an undisputed title.
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“But if I did go back to middleweight, I’d dispute the belt,” Pereira explained. “If I got to heavyweight, I would dispute the belt. [I’m 37 so I must fight for the belt]. … I’m feeling good [at light heavyweight], it’s where I want to stay. My focus is to defend the belt. Doesn’t matter who.
As for a timeline, Pereira stated “November or December” as a good return date.
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