Jon Anik believes Alex Pereira could end up facing Dricus du Plessis at middleweight

UFC commentator Jon Anik has given his thoughts on what the future could hold for Alex Pereira following UFC 313 tonight.

On Saturday night, Alex Pereira will defend his UFC light heavyweight championship against Magomed Ankalaev. It’s set to be the toughest test of the Brazilian’s career, with many wondering whether or not he can handle the top contender.

RELATED: Jon Anik praises strength of UFC’s middleweight division

Alas, when you’ve got Pereira’s power and precision, anything is possible. Beyond tonight, though, there are plenty of question marks regarding what else could be on the cards for ‘Poatan’ in the UFC and beyond.

Jon Anik has a few ideas, which includes a return to middleweight, where he also held the belt.

Anik’s view on Pereira

“The one thing that I will say, Alex Pereira can still make middleweight, and he wants to fight Dricus du Plessis. He did not defend the UFC middleweight championship. Of all the accolades for the future UFC Hall of Famer Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira, he never defended the middleweight championship, and if you think for a second that he doesn’t have an appetite, no pun intended, to go back down to 185 [pound], you’re absolutely crazy.

“And if the calendar doesn’t align for him to challenge Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall in the heavyweight division, I don’t think he’s going stick around at 205 to fight Bogdan Guskov, even though you and I f*cking love the guy. He’s probably going try to go down to 185 and fight Dricus du Plessis.

“Now, Khamzat Chimaev is going to have a say in all of that, but I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that it’s middleweight, right? Because he is that disciplined, and even this week, when he was asked about it, the first name on the tip of his tongue is not Jon Jones, it’s Dricus du Plessis.”

Quotes via MMA Fighting