Following Alex Pereira’s knockout win over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, speculation quickly shifted to who the Brazilian’s next opponent would be, especially after the champion once again hinted at a move to heavyweight.
Oddsmakers recently released three contenders — current heavyweight champion Jon Jones, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and top light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev — and “Poitan” was initially listed as the underdog in all three potential bouts.
UFC Fight Pass Brazil commentator Carlos Barreto recently gave his assessment on the Papo de Luta podcast.
“I agree that Poitan is underdog against Jones and Aspinall,” Barrett said, “not only is he a real threat to the Poitan fight, but they’re both already scheduled to fight in the same weight class. But I can’t agree with Ankalaev.”
“Ankalaev is certainly dangerous and could pose a variety of challenges to Poitan with his grappling, but it’s important to note that he is not a finisher. He has no submissions on his record. Also, Khabib [Nurmagomedov’s] A game of drowning your opponent [with his wrestling].
“According to Glover [Teixeira] Many other grapplers who train with him say that not only is Poitan difficult to take down, but it’s also difficult to keep him in place. Poitan is also faster than Ankalaev and a master of distance control, which will be very difficult for Ankalaev. I think speed will be a key factor in this fight. As I said before, I completely agree with the odds that Jones and Aspinall are favored against Poitan, but not against Ankalaev.”
