2024 has been an incredibly busy and successful year for the UFC's light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira.
"Poatan" produced three finishes by beating two former champions and one dangerous challenger to keep hold of the 205-pound title but there is still one man out there that many believe will be his toughest test to date.
Magomed Ankalaev is the #1-ranked contender in the division and though he did have a no contest and draw result along the way, he's unbeaten since his UFC debut in 2018.
Since then he has won eleven fights and following his decision victory against Aleksandar Rakic back at UFC 308 in October, Dana White himself said that this would be enough to get him the next shot at Pereira.
Many even expected that it would be Ankalaev's time at UFC 307 until it was announced that Khalil Rountree Jr. would be jumping the queue following his run of devastating knockout finishes.
Though it is unclear where he's being truthful or trying to provoke his potential opponent, Pereira recently took to social media to claim that his next challenger will not be the Russian.
The champ wrote, "It won't be Ankalaev!" alongside a crying emoji to which Ankalaev responded by labelling him a "chicken."
When looking at the light heavyweight rankings, there isn't even another contender that makes sense for Pereira right now which would suggest that he is having fun rather than making a shocking announcement.
Two pivotal clashes at 205-pounds are already on the schedule for 2025 with former champions Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka meeting at UFC 311 in January following their losses to Pereira in 2024.
UFC London on March 22 will also feature the return of another former champion in Poland's Jan Blachowicz who will look to halt the winning streak of Carlos Ulberg.
Given the fact that three of the four have already been defeated by "Poatan" since he moved up to the division, Ulberg might be the most exciting option if he's able to get his hand raised at the O2 Arena.
