Summary
Poatan celebrates victory in UFC 320Photo: UFC News / Twitter
Last Saturday (4), in Las Vegas (USA), Alex Poatán knocked out Magomed Ankalayev quickly and thus regained the UFC light heavyweight belt (up to 93 kg). The Brazilian then revealed his desire to venture into the heavyweight division (up to 120,2 kg) to face Jon Jones at UFC Casa Branca, in June 2026, and has already made it clear to the company that his status as champion in the category will be maintained.
Currently, the UFC has been taking a strict stance on champions who want to compete in superfights in different weight classes. For these big fights to take place, the athletes must relinquish their belts to avoid locking their respective divisions. Therefore, for Poatan to face the American, he would have to relinquish the title he just regained without losing it in combat.
However, the Brazilian ruled out any chance of relinquishing the belt. Because he competes consistently, the veteran believes he can convince the UFC to let him face Jones at heavyweight and remain the light heavyweight champion. One thing that may favor Poatan is that, on several occasions, he has helped the company by saving events at the last minute, even while injured and lacking proper training time.
"I don't think it's necessary. Everyone knows how often I fight. So, that won't be a problem," said the Brazilian at the post-fight press conference.UFC 320.
Poatan's next step
Alex Poatán is eyeing the superfight against Jon Jones in the UFC heavyweight division. However, if he continues at light heavyweight, the Brazilian should have as an opponent Carlos Ulberg ou Jiri ProchazkaThe New Zealander is ranked third and has a nine-fight winning streak. The Czech, a former champion in the division, is ranked second. The problem for 'Denisa' is that he has lost twice to the renowned striker by knockout.
It is quite true that the rivalry between the São Paulo native and Magomed Ankalayev remains alive and tied. However, since the Russian doesn't enjoy prestige with the UFC, he should be discarded, overlooked by the athletes mentioned above.
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