Poatan's defeat jeopardizes future fights with Dricus du Plessis and Jon Jones, says former UFC referee

Big John McCarthy said the Brazilian needs to 'rebuild his shine' with more wins to reignite interest in high-level clashes

Alex Poatan and Jon Jones meet at UFC 306 at Esfera. Photo: Reproduction/ Instagram/alexpoatanpereiraufc

Alex Poatán e Jon Jones are found in the UFC 306 in the Sphere. Photo: Reproduction/ Instagram/alexpoatanpereiraufc

John McCarthy stated that the defeat of Alex Poatán to Magomed Ankalayev No. UFC 313 compromised the viability of superfights against champions Dricus du Plessis e Jon Jones. In an interview with the 'Weighing In' podcast, the former UFC referee highlighted that the Brazilian's 'shine' diminished with the loss of the light heavyweight belt (up to 93kg).

“When Poatan lost to Ankalaev, you have to admit that some of the shine went off. That’s how it is with a loss. They’re going to have to rebuild him. If he can get wins, then yes, the fights can happen,” the former UFC referee said.

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Alex Poatan is defeated by Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFC News
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Losing his title to Ankalaev halted Alex's meteoric rise as he sought to become the first three-time champion in three UFC divisions. Before the setback, the Brazilian had accumulated three successful defenses at light heavyweight, with victories over Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal hill e Khalil rountree.

The UFC has already signaled the possibility of an immediate rematch, as stated by president Dana White after the event. The fight is verbally agreed to take place in August of this year.

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Poatan considered moving down and up a category

Before the defeat, Alex had ambitions of returning to middleweight (83,9kg) to face Du Plessis or moving up to heavyweight (120,2kg) to challenge 'Bones'. The Brazilian said that the South African would be an 'easier' opponent than the North American, but highlighted the difficulty of cutting weight.

The current middleweight champion reacted to Poatan's provocations with irony on social media, but regretted the loss of the opportunity after the UFC 313: “Thank you, Ankalaev, for taking the biggest payday of my life. The aura is gone,” he said.

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