Oleksandr Usyk says that he is interested in testing himself against one of the best strikers in the UFC. 

The Ukrainian, who increased his professional record to a perfect 23-0 with his second victory against Tyson Fury late last year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is without a clear challenger to his heavyweight throne. Speculation suggests that the winner of the upcoming Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker contest could be next in line for the champ — but given that Usyk already holds a win over Dubois, it appears that his options are narrow ahead of his next move.

But one possible option, he says, is the UFC’s two-division champion Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira.

The Brazilian has emerged as one of the biggest threats in the UFC’s heavier weight classes, having first won the organisation’s middleweight title before claiming the light heavyweight championship in November 2023 — having only debuted for the UFC just two years prior.

“First is, who wins the next [Dubois or Parker] fight on February 22,” Usyk told TNT Sports. “Next maybe a ‘show fight’ with Alex Pereira. Maybe. Why not? Alex wants to.”

Any possible ‘show fight’ (or exhibition) with Pereira would, of course, require sign off from the UFC who have traditionally been opposed to cross-promotional bouts involving athletes under contract. Exceptions, though, have been made in the past, particularly when it came to Conor McGregor’s 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

Pereira is scheduled to defend his 205-pound crown against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in Las Vegas in about three weeks’ time where. And you can be sure that the unbeaten Ukrainian will be an interested observer.