Alex Pereira is still interested in a superfight against fellow UFC champion Jon Jones.
UFC heavyweight champion Jones reiterated that he’d rather fight Pereira next over unifying his belt with interim champ Tom Aspinall. Jones said he’d need “f*ck you” money to consider Aspinall, and it appears the UFC may oblige as Dana White guaranteed the fight happens in 2025.
UFC light heavyweight champion Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) reignited talks of a potential fight against Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) and maintains interest in fighting him.
“I’m the champ. I want to fight the champ,” Pereira said on “The Ariel Helwani Show” through an interpreter. “Let’s make the fight with Jon Jones. That’s the fight I want for heavyweight. Before Jon Jones’ last fight, we actually talked about possibly fighting – more random talk, not too much about fighting. (He’s) not a friend or someone I talk with on the regular, but somebody I respect. I know he respects me, and there’s mutual respect.”
Pereira, who defends his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 headliner on March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+), agrees with Jones that he’d be a bigger fight than Aspinall legacy wise.
“I think (Jones wants to fight me) because of the momentum and the risk,” Pereira said. “It’s a risk fighting Aspinall. What is he going to gain there? It’s another title fight, but fighting (me) is a much bigger achievement. I think it’s the weight of the fight. It’s a bigger fight – that’s why.”
Jones notched his first title defense this past November when he finished Stipe Miocic by Round 3 TKO in the UFC 309 headliner. Meanwhile, Pereira most recently competed at UFC 307 in August when he stopped Khalil Rountree in Round 4.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
