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Former UFC referee 'Big' John McCarthy voiced his opinion on the future of Alex Pereira in the octagon during his recent appearance on the WEIGHING IN podcast.
According to McCarthy, the Brazilian's potential fights against current middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and reigning heavyweight champion Jon Jones have been compromised after his loss against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313:
"When Poatan lost to Ankalaev, you're gonna have to admit that there was a little bit of luster that came off Alex Pereira. It's just the way it is with a loss."
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McCarthy feels that losing the light-heavyweight strap to 'Big Ank' shattered the Brazilian's hopes of becoming a three-weight UFC champion as a fight with 'Bones' for the undisputed heavyweight championship is now highly unlikely. He further suggested that this also impacts the trajectory of du Plessis' career as a potential superfight with 'Poatan' either at 185 pounds or 205 pounds is also unlikely to happen now.
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That being said, McCarthy still did not completely rule out the possibility of du Plessis locking horns with Pereira at some point in the future, adding:
"They're gonna have to rebuild him and then if he gets rebuilt and he gets those wins then yeah it's possible that it could happen".
Check out John McCarthy's comments below (1:37:19):
The now-retired McCarthy is a veteran UFC referee who parted ways with the UFC back in 2018. During his time at the organization, he refereed several mega fights, including Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones 2, Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre, and many more.
Dana White on board with the idea of granting an immediate rematch to Alex Pereira
Magomed Ankalaev dethroned Alex Pereira with a decision victory at UFC 313. However, there is a likelihood that the Brazilian will get the opportunity to win back his belt immediately.
During the UFC 313 post-event press conference, Dana White stated that a rematch for 'Poatan' is "probably" next when asked about the Brazilian's immediate future. This is great news for the fan-favorite Pereira, who will be looking to get back to winning ways and reopen the doors for exciting match-ups against the likes of Jon Jones and Dricus du Plessis.
Check out Dana White's comments below (1:24):
