The aftermath of UFC 313 has stirred up a familiar “what if” scenario: Alex Pereira versus Jon Jones. Despite Pereira’s recent loss to Magomed Ankalaev, Chael Sonnen remains optimistic about Pereira’s potential to challenge the heavyweight champion. While a victory for Pereira would have undoubtedly fast-tracked that super fight, Sonnen argues that even in defeat, Pereira demonstrated a key improvement that shouldn’t be overlooked.

“You don’t get very far when you start talking about Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones,” Sonnen explained on his YouTube channel. “You just don’t get there because we know that Jon can throw him down and beat him up. Like, that’s just something that Jon does so well. He can throw people down and then beat them up.”

However, Sonnen points to Pereira’s impressive takedown defense against Ankalaev as a game-changer. “Well, you go watch this fight, and you go, ‘Hey, you know what? It turns out that old Alex Pereira isn’t so easy to take down.’ Alex Pereira showed some stuff. That entire narrative that he can’t wrestle and he can’t defend is now gone. Ankalaev revealed his plan and that was to take him down – his plan failed.”   

 Sonnen believes that Pereira’s successful defense against all 12 of Ankalaev’s takedown attempts shattered the perception that he’s easily susceptible to grappling. This development makes Pereira a much more intriguing matchup for Jon Jones.   

However, not everyone shares Sonnen’s enthusiasm. Daniel Cormier offers a counter-argument, suggesting that Pereira’s loss exposed vulnerabilities that would be magnified against the strength of heavyweight fighters like Jon Jones. Cormier believes that the sheer power difference would present a significant obstacle for Pereira.

Sonnen emphasises Pereira’s improved takedown defense as a sign of his evolving skill set, while Cormier highlights the inherent challenges of moving up to heavyweight and facing a dominant force like Jones. This difference in perspective fuels the ongoing debate about Pereira’s potential to compete at the highest level of the heavyweight division.