Pereira indicated after the fight that he\u2019d sustained an injury to his foot<\/a>, and during a Q&A session ahead of UFC Rio the 38-year-old confirmed that the foot is broken and will keep him sidelined for the immediate future. <\/p>\n While fans will be disappointed to hear of Pereira\u2019s injury, the Brazilian did also go on to say that he\u2019d like to return at the planned UFC White House<\/a> event next summer and square off with currently-retired UFC legend Jon Jones (h\/t Guilherme Cruz<\/a>). <\/p>\n READ MORE: Debuting MMA fighter flatlines undefeated opponent with unbelievable upkick KO<\/a><\/p>\n Jon Jones (red gloves) reacts after defeating Stipe Miocic (not pictured) in the heavyweight bout during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. \/ Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Talk of a heavyweight move<\/a> for Pereira dates back to his first reign with the light heavyweight belt, which saw \u201cPoatan\u201d claim the vacant title by stopping Ji\u0159\u00ed Proch\u00e1zka and defend it three times (all by finish) before he dropped a unanimous decision to Anakalaev at UFC 313. <\/p>\n A jump up to heavyweight could see Pereira try and become the first three-division champion in UFC history, however he wouldn\u2019t be able to accomplish that in a matchup with Jones given that \u201cBones\u201d is currently retired and doesn\u2019t hold a UFC belt<\/a>. <\/p>\n READ MORE: UFC Rio fighter loses half his fight purse after missing weight by nearly 10 pounds<\/a><\/p>\n Considered by many to be the greatest fighter in the history of the UFC<\/a> and MMA as a whole, former light heavyweight king Jones made his long-awaited move up to heavyweight in 2023 and submitted Ciryl Gane to claim the division\u2019s vacant title. The 38-year-old stopped former titleholder Stipe Miocic in a rebooked matchup at UFC 309 to defend his belt, and over the summer UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that Jones had retired and vacated his heavyweight title<\/a>. <\/p>\n Tom Aspinall (blue gloves) reacts to beating Sergei Pavlovich (red gloves) during UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. \/ Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Interim titleholder Tom Aspinall was subsequently promoted to undisputed heavyweight champion following Jones\u2019 retirement, and he and Gane are set to headline UFC 321<\/a> in a main event title fight that both \u201cBones\u201d and Pereira will probably be watching quite closely. <\/p>\n \u2022 UFC star breaks silence after suffering heartbreaking loss in epic UFC 320 fight<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Undefeated MMA fighter delivers 15-second KO in front of UFC’s Dana White<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 UFC’s Dana White makes bold claim about Merab Dvalishvili’s bantamweight GOAT status<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 UFC champion praises “living legend” Merab Dvalishvili after UFC 320 title defense<\/a><\/p>\n Stick with MMAKnockout<\/a> for more FREE coverage of the UFC and MMA.<\/p>\n Follow MMAKnockout on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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