If Jon Jones wants a piece of Alex Pereira, he can get it.
‘Bones’ spent some time on social media Thursday, offering insight into his fighting future and testing interest in a potential clash between himself and the UFC’s reigning light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira. Jones suggested that a scrap between himself and ‘Poatan’ could be an “absolutely massive” fight for the promotion.
Pundits appeared to agree with Jones. So much so that while taking part in the UFC 301 festivities in his home country, Alex Pereira’s phone began to blow up with notifications stemming from Jones’ comments.
During a Q&A session in Rio, Alex Pereira was asked about Jones’ comments. ‘Poatan’ admitted that he was initially surprised by the callout and how quickly the whole thing appears to have taken on a life of its own.
“It caught me by surprise, especially after I saw the first message,” Pereira said. “I didn’t really expect to see that this morning. I know we’ve been doing a very good job. There’s all this hype around me right now. I spoke about going up to heavyweight to fight on this card. I knew it’d catch some eyes eventually. I didn’t expect it to be so fast. But I was very honored and it was a very respectful message, so it was fun” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Alex Pereira Believes he and Jon Jones would deliver an ‘entertaining matchup for the fans’
Having already claimed the middleweight and light heavyweight titles a mere seven fights into his UFC career, Alex Pereira has quickly established himself as one of the greatest athletes the sport has ever seen.
A win over Jon Jones would not only solidify his spot at the top of MMA’s pound-for-pound list, but it would also etch his name in the history books as the UFC’s first and only three-division world titleholder.
“I feel if you ask the fans, of course, they’ll be all over it and hyped up for that fight,” Pereira added. “There are other athletes in the division that need to move on and all that, so we need to see what’s going on. If the UFC gives us the green light and they show interest, we can make that happen. I’m sure everyone is going to enjoy it.”
“… It would be a war. It would be a very entertaining showcase for the fans. With all the experience and skill set that Jon has, but also with all the abilities I’ve been growing during my MMA career, all the preparation I’ve been doing, and the improvements I’m having. I think it would be a great championship (fight) and everyone would be entertained by that.”
Pereira also made it clear that he has nothing, but respect for Jon Jones and his accomplishments inside the Octagon.
“I have nothing against Jon,” Pereira said. “I respect him a lot. We’re both trying to build something. He has an amazing career and has built a lot. I’m building a lot on my career as well. I think we would make for a very entertaining matchup for the fans. If this ends up happening, I believe it’d be fantastic. I would be looking forward to it.”