Who would you rather see fight Pereira next, Ankalaev or Aspinall?

[Hdfi]

Aspinall.
He can fight Ankalaev later in the USA, certainly not in Abu Dhabi.

 

[Hdfi]

Aspinall is only the interim champion, so even if Poatan wins he wouldnt be triple C...

Ank is the logical answer, if Poatan wins he has cleared the division, but why does he need until october to be ready?

Aspinall's interim HW title is worth more than a normal LHW defense. Both are very risky for Poatan but a win over Aspinall would mean more.

 

[World eater]

ok lets look at these 2 matchups and its possible outcomes.....

poatan beats aspinall: this would make him the first ever triple champ, he would stomp out virtually any sane people that esteem khabib, izzy, hughes, dc, stipe as superior to him even with a thin resume. it would provide a semblance of an arguement for him being a goat even he doesn't do anything worthwhile afterwards or goes on a losing streak.

poatan beats anko: so this would weaken the thesis of him not being able to handle wrestlers and would give him a 2nd title defense. not much to gain here compared to the counterpart.

poatan loses to aspinall: people say it was a pipe dream and its whatever, a few fans will say he stinks but the general opinion of him will remain the same

potan loses to anko: this will slice up his hype train for sure and provide more evidence that he's been served "stylistically" biased fights and that he cannot mitigate wrestlers.

so yeah, i think aspinall would be the superfight to make if doable. he can always fall back and fight anko. whereas, aspinall has only blaydes on his radar right now, while the rest of the HW division is scraps. It just a matter of time until gane, pav, or some lower ranked guys make some waves that peak aspinall's interest more.

Look, a well thought, intelligent post. A rare thing.
But still Ankalaev.

 

[laleggenda27]

Obviously Ankalaev. Because anyone with a pulse realizes that Aspinall would steamroll Alex, and Ankalaev actually deserves the shot.

I'm sure the UFC would prefer to keep Ankalaev away from Alex at all costs. It's by far the worst style matchup for Alex at LHW. I wouldn't be suprised if the UFC uses Alex's toe "injuries" to keep him on the shelf until the Hill-Rountree fight, in which case they could give Rountree the title shot if he wins.

 

[Megatronlee]

I think Dana does everything he can to avoid this matchup lol
He already hates Ank for his performance against Jan and his subsequent ‘I don’t agree with the draw, I don’t think I can fight for this promotion again’ interview
Ank is primarily a striker as well. I wouldn’t be too surprised by any success he has on the feet,
though I think he’s gonna need to grapple for this one.
Aspinall definitely the sort of dude to try his luck though, he's a nervous starter and that could work in Pereira's favor but a prime well rounded and large HW like Aspinall is just too big a jump.

I don’t think Tom even cares about Alex. He’s chasing jon

 

[Dave Poodle]

Definitely Ankalaev. Both divisions have been a mess for a while. No need to clog them up further.

 

[Lawrence]

Ankalaev by a lot. I’m tired of champions jumping divisions, Pereira still has work in his own. And Aspinall has actual heavyweights he can fight. This kinda stuff is why most divisions are a mess and we have no long reigning champions.

This is all true and for the most part I agree.

The only caveat would be that Alex has fought 3x per year since he entered the UFC. So if that trend continues, he will not hold up divisions even if he continues winning.

When Anderson was prime and prolific he took fights up a division (not title fights) and every 185 challenger got his shot.

Still I would rather see Aspinall fight Jones/Blaydes and Poatan fight Ank... Then let them jump around if the door is open after that.

 

[richardjohnson]

Don’t really have any interest for Aspinall vs Pereira. Let them both fight people in their own divisions.

 

[OldBoy91]

Ankalaev.

Aspinall fight isn't at all competitive. Aspinall smokes him in under half a round.

Ankalaev is a bad style matchup for Poatan, but winnable. Ankalaev is known for his sometimes negative fight IQ and he has been shown to be susceptible to calf kicks. If Blachowicz can wreck both his legs, then imagine what Poatan's kicks could do to him.

 

[handle]

Ankalaev.

Aspinall fight isn't at all competitive. Aspinall smokes him in under half a round.

Ankalaev is a bad style matchup for Poatan, but winnable. Ankalaev is known for his sometimes negative fight IQ and he has been shown to be susceptible to calf kicks. If Blachowicz can wreck both his legs, then imagine what Poatan's kicks could do to him.

ank. maybe aspinal afterwards if both wins.

poatan is a very big dude, and fitter than most hw except maybe pav or gane. i wouldn't dismiss his chance against aspinal.

 

[TheMadHatter]

I would rather aspinall and then Ank later this year. Only because Poatan is almost 37 and logically doesnt have much time left even though he has shown no signs of that. Aspinall gives him a shot at three belts in three weight classes which would be awesome. A loss to Ank and he would never get the chance to move up to heavyweight. A loss to aspinall is no big deal, he moves back to LHW and defends.

 

[Kudo]

Aspinall should fight Jones. If Jon isn't going to fight, strip him.

 

[svmr_db]

Pereira fans order of preference for his next opponents:

- Tom Aspinall (minimal risk for maximum reward)
- Khalil Rountree
- Jiri Prochazka rematch
- Anthony Smith (because he talked some shit, they got that bad blood)
- Alexander Gustafsson
- Tito Ortiz

Ankalaev currently set at #17 in the queue.

 

[CobraCobretti]

Ankalev next but not on his terms.

 

[MEAN357]

I think Dana does everything he can to avoid this matchup lol
He already hates Ank for his performance against Jan and his subsequent ‘I don’t agree with the draw, I don’t think I can fight for this promotion again’ interview
Ank is primarily a striker as well. I wouldn’t be too surprised by any success he has on the feet,
though I think he’s gonna need to grapple for this one.
Aspinall definitely the sort of dude to try his luck though, he's a nervous starter and that could work in Pereira's favor but a prime well rounded and large HW like Aspinall is just too big a jump.

Why do these bowl cut fucks always feel they deserve to fight in abu dhabi despite being the challenger lmao

 

[svmr_db]

Ankalev next but not on his terms.

Why do these bowl cut fucks always feel they deserve to fight in abu dhabi despite being the challenger lmao

"His terms" Lol you guys really need to take a look at the PPV schedule, where do you think they are going to fight? England, Australia? Abu Dhabi is one of the only possible locations they are likely to have this fight right now. This fight isn't going to be a co-main in some random place.

301 - Pantoja vs Erceg
302 - Makhachev vs Poirier
303 - McGregor vs Chandler
304 - Likely Aspinall vs Blaydes 2 in the UK
305 - Likely DDP vs Adesanya in Australia
306 - UFC Noche card in Las Vegas
307 - Not announced where yet
308 - Abu Dhabi

 

[MEAN357]

"His terms" Lol you guys really need tot take a look at the PPV schedule, where do you think they are going to fight? England, Australia? Abu Dhabi is one of the only possible locations they are likely to have this fight right now. This fight isn't going to be a co-main in some random place.

301 - Pantoja vs Erceg
302 - Makhachev vs Poirier
303 - McGregor vs Chandler
304 - Likely Aspinall vs Gane in the UK
305 - Likely DDP vs Adesanya in Australia
306 - UFC Noche card in Las Vegas
307 - Not announced where yet
308 - Abu Dhabi

Thats fair but you can't act like we haven't seen that shit before lol

also the primary reason this fight won't be a "random co-main" is because Poatan has become a fan favorite, Ankalaev has done fuckall to promote himself and has left a bad taste in the mouth of every casual who's seen him shit the bed in multiple high profile fights Which is why he's been struggling to get a marquee matchup. I dont see why a guy in that position gets to call his shot, not sure we see Perrerira out for 6 months after the instant KO win we just got over Hill either.

 

[HHJ]

Ankalaev.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

I think Ankalaev deserves it most. The idea of him going to HW is exciting, but I'd like to see him clear out the division at 205 before moving up.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

Ank talking a big game but he's hitting wrestling practice hard as we speak

He better be lol I know everyone wants to prove they can stand and trade, but Ankalaev's ground game is too good to just wing punches with Pereira.