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Brett Okamoto
UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira says he’s focusing on a potential fight at the UFC’s White House event in June, after suffering a fractured left foot in his title fight last weekend.
Pereira (13-3) reclaimed his 205-pound championship by knocking out Magomed Ankalaev (21-2-1) in just 80 seconds at UFC 320 last weekend in Las Vegas. The championship headliner was a rematch of a bout that took place in March, when Pereira surrendered his belt to Ankalaev in a five-round decision loss. Immediately after reclaiming the belt, Pereira was seen with a walking boot on his left foot.
In a public appearance this week in Rio de Janeiro, Pereira revealed he suffered a fractured left foot. The 38-year-old said he hopes to return in eight months, when the UFC visits the White House on June 14.
“I got an X-ray in Vegas and then I did an MRI [in Brazil],” Pereira said in Portuguese. “It showed a fracture in my foot, but I still don’t know what’s going to happen or how long the recovery will take. I think it’s good to focus on this fight [at the White House]. Now, that’s something that interests me.”
Pereira planned to call out former heavyweight champion and all-time great Jon Jones following his victory at UFC 320 but called for a moment of silence instead for the recent sudden passing of Jones’s older brother, former NFL defensive lineman Arthur Jones. Pereira and Jones have expressed a mutual interest to face one another in the past. Jones retired from MMA earlier this year but has since announced plans for a comeback to be a part of the event at the White House.
Speaking this week, Pereira did not reveal a timeline for his return or a targeted opponent. There are several options for his next challenge, including a title defense against contenders Jiřà Procházka and Carlos Ulberg, or a move to heavyweight to face the winner of this month’s title fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane. Pereira has suffered fractured bones in the past and returned within a similar timeframe that it would require to fight by June.