Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev could have huge ramifications on Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall and the future of heavyweight division, per MMA analyst

An MMA analyst has shared his opinion on how the result of Alex Pereira's upcoming light heavyweight title defense against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 could potentially affect the future of the UFC heavyweight division.

Ahead of his title defense, 'Poatan' and his off-camp distractions including meeting Drake, touring in Australia, and cornering Sean Strickland at UFC 312 have bothered many including Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier who want the Brazilian to return to training.

Meanwhile, Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall has not yet been finalized by the UFC and most recently Pereira expressed interest in clashing with Jones.

Speaking about how the result of 'Poatan's' upcoming fight could potentially affect the future of the UFC heavyweight division, MMA analyst Luke Thomas shared his views in a recent video on YouTube.

Thomas thinks that if the Brazilian loses his next fight because of recent distractions, Jones' clashing with Aspinall becomes more likely. However, if he loses and Jones does not agree to fight Aspinall, then the best opponent the UFC could offer to its current interim heavyweight champion would be Ciryl Gane.

"If 'Poatan' loses it’s not necessarily the end of the world but that becomes a problem because you wanted him to go up and fight Tom Aspinall. Who is Aspinall gonna fight if Jones isn’t there? Also on top of if 'Poatan' loses Jones fighting Tom Aspinall becomes more likely... And if he [Jon Jones] is gone and 'Poatan' loses dude Tom Aspinall is in a bad way."

He added:

"That would mean that the best fight you could make at heavyweight is Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane... I don't hate that fight… But if that’s the very best the heavyweight has to offer and that’s the best opponent the UFC could offer a guy like Tom Aspinall, man I don’t even know what the point would be to keep the division around at that point."

Check out Luke Thomas' comments below (27:09):

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UFC insider claims that Alex Pereira might have to vacate light heavyweight strap to fight Jon Jones

According to UFC insider Ariel Helwani, if Alex Pereira has intentions to lock horns with Jon Jones, he has to pay the same price as Ilia Topuria.

In his self-titled show, Helwani talked about how the UFC brass is not in favor of champions holding a belt and moving to another weight class.

"Number one, my understanding is the UFC isn’t a fan of this right now. They’re not a huge fan of champion versus champion and one guy keeps the belt."

He added:

"That has often been their stance, but I’m told as of late unless it’s like an incredible circumstance, they’re not a huge fan of it. Witness Pereira talk of moving up to fight Jon Jones, Dana White not so into that unless he vacates.”

Check out Ariel Helwani's comments below about Alex Pereira (0:24):