What if Alex Pereira won at UFC 313 (Hypothetical Post)


As a major fan of Alex Pereira, I was really hoping he would win at UFC 313 against Magomed Ankalaev. That did not end up happening, but I thought it would be fun to talk about what I think would have happened regarding the 205-pound weight class and Alex Pereira had he won that fight and retained his championship. Now, with a rematch against Magomed being all but officially confirmed, it is actually still possible that much of what I think would have happened could actually come true if Alex wins that fight, so I think this hypothetical post could turn out to be even more relevant than it will be initially.

Firstly, had Alex won he would have been done at 205 pounds. A win would have made 313 his fourth title defense, and with Magomed defeated he would have passed his toughest test in the division. The desire to see Alex move up and try to become the first ever three division champions at heavyweight has been growing amongst fans, and I think if Alex and his team was in favor of the move, he would move up. Considering his popularity and the fact that he would currently be a champion, he would likely get an immediate title shot at the heavyweight champion. This would likely be against Jon Jones, as he technically is the undisputed champion, and he has seemingly been holding off on retiring to see if Alex moves up, as that is a much easier matchup than facing the interim champion in Tom Aspinall. I will be making another post talking about that situation, but in short, Jon fighting Alex is a much easier and less risky fight than fighting Tom. 

Regardless of the champion Alex faces however, I think he loses. The size difference would be an issue, and even though he displayed really strong takedown defense against Ankalaev, Jon and Aspinall would be bigger and in Jon's case levels above him in experience. Even outside of the champions, I think someone like Alexander Volkov could also give Alex problems at heavyweight. I have never been a fan of Alex moving up if he still has time in his prime left, as I would rather see him continue to defend his belt at 205 pounds than move up and suffer a bad loss at heavyweight

As for the rest of the 205-pound division, there would either be an interim championship made, or potentially Alex would be stripped of his belt and a fight would be made to determine a new champion. Jiri Prochazka would likely be involved in that fight, as although he lost to Alex twice, he is still top three in the division and is coming off a win. Assuming Magomed lost to Alex, he would not fall right into another title fight, so I think the other participant in the title fight would be the winner of Jan Blachowicz versus Carlos Ulberg, which at the time of writing this takes place under 24 hours from now. The rest of the division would open up, as now most of the top five would have an easier time getting a shot at the title as the champion would not be Alex who already beat them. This is how I would see everything playing out had Alex won at UFC 313.


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