UFC CEO Dana White said the fight card for the UFC White House event in June is in place, but no bout announcements have been made. Who’ll be featured on the historic fight card has been speculated since President Donald Trump made the announcement that the White House South Lawn would host a UFC event for the American 250 celebration.
Former UFC title challenger and industry insider Chael Sonnen believes one fighter is a lock to compete on the event.
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“I am very confident in telling you Alex Pereira is going to be on the White House card,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Question comes against who? Alex Pereira is the (light heavyweight) champion of the world, but there is no conversation about Alex and [Carlos] Ulberg. There’s nobody else at 205 pounds that would make sense. So, I believe Alex is going to come out and he’s going to be a heavyweight on the White House card. I also believe he’s going to take on Ciryl Gane.”
Not only does Sonnen think Pereira will face the former interim heavyweight titleholder, he also thinks the fight will be for a championship. And if it is, he believes Pereira should relinquish his light heavyweight crown.
“I also believe if you take a sitting world champion and you move him weight classes and he fights, it’s not just because. It’s for a belt, so this is where the idea of the interim title comes from,” he said.
“If Pereira is going to go to heavyweight, then he needs to be a heavyweight. I don’t think Pereira would disagree with me. I don’t think that Pereira would have a problem giving the 205-pound belt back,” Sonnen continued.
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“I do think if Alex and Ciryl fight, there’s got to be a belt. It needs to be scheduled for a potential five rounds. Pereira is the champion of the world. If the champion of the world fights, a championship of the world’s got to be on the line. That can be the interim.”
