Alex Poatan leaves his title and moves up to heavyweight in the UFC

The move up to heavyweight had been in the Brazilian’s plans for over a year, but Dana White had not yet given his approval. After regaining the light heavyweight title in his rematch against Magomed Ankalaev, Poatan was left with no major challenges in the division, which paved the way for change.

His next fight, however, has not yet been made official. There is great expectation that he will be the main attraction of the card scheduled for June 14th, at the White House, possibly against Jon Jones. However, the scenario also depends on the medical situation of Tom Aspinall, current heavyweight champion.

What are Poatan’s next steps?

As a former champion who gave up his belt to move up a division, Poatan is unlikely to accept a fight that isn’t directly for the heavyweight title. At 38 years old, the Brazilian only targets challenges that will immediately put him in contention for the top, although the division has relevant names such as Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov.

After confirmation that Poatan left the belt vacant, Jon Jones once again expressed interest in facing him at the White House event. The impasse is that “Bones” had announced his retirement, which resulted in the loss of the champion position to Tom Aspinall.

For Jones and Poatan to compete for a belt, one possibility would be to create an interim heavyweight title. Aspinall has been sidelined since October 2025, when he suffered an eye injury after being hit by Gane in his first title defense as lineal champion.

The Englishman has undergone two eye surgeries and still has no plans to return, which increases the pressure on Dana White to put an interim belt on the line, a move similar to the one adopted when Jon Jones was out for more than a year due to injury.

If the superfight actually happens and Poatan emerges victorious, he could become the first fighter in UFC history to win belts in three different categories. In addition to light heavyweight, the Brazilian was also middleweight champion.