Phil De Fries claims Alex Pereira declined fight with Tom Aspinall

Phil De Fries, a teammate of Tom Aspinall, has stated that Alex Pereira previously turned down an opportunity to fight Aspinall. De Fries noted that while he believes Aspinall is better than Ciryl Gane, the stylistic matchups differ significantly. The claim raises questions about potential heavyweight matchups for Pereira, who has been linked to moving up from light heavyweight. A poll accompanying the statement asks fans which fighter would pose a more difficult stylistic challenge for Pereira. No timeline or context was provided for when Pereira allegedly declined the Aspinall fight.