Ahead of his UFC 309 return next month, heavyweight titleholder, Jon Jones has once more played down the chances of a title unification fight with Tom Aspinall next, instead claiming he would welcome the chance to take on light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira should he prevail at Madison Square Garden.
Jones, a former undisputed light heavyweight champion twice under the banner of the UFC, will put his heavyweight crown on the line next weekend in New York, with the Rochester native welcoming former two-time divisional gold holder, Stipe Miocic back to the Octagon for the first time since 2021.
Sidelined through injury since March of last year, former pound-for-pound number one, Jon Jones has yet to enter the Octagon since landing the vacant title with a stunning first round win over former interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane, submitting the Frenchman with a dominant guillotine choke submission.
And in the time during Jon Jones‘ layoff, British heavyweight, Aspinall has since landed an interim title with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich, and defended it successfully earlier this summer with another strikes win over Curtis Blaydes in their title rematch.
Jon Jones prefers Alex Pereira matchup after UFC 309 return
And accused of purposely avoiding a title unification meeting with Aspinall, Jones doesn’t appear to be interested in a future clash next, instead identifying a pairing with current light heavyweight best, Pereira as a likelier opponent should he continue fighting after UFC 309.
“More than likely not,” Jones told Kevin Iole when asked if he would fight Aspinall after UFC 309. “I feel like Tom Aspinall is, I don’t want to say nobody, but he just hasn’t proven anything. He hasn’t done anything. I understand he won his belt against Sergei, and Sergei just got slaughtered by someone else, so it’s like, I’m not here to gamble someone else making a name off of me.”
“If there were to be a fight of a guy that’s still on our UFC roster that would be not only financially worth it, but legacy worth it, it would be Alex Pereira,” Jones said. “We’re both 37 years old. Right now, I weigh about 235. I’m an incredibly light heavyweight. I think Pereira walks around at 240. I think that fight would go much farther on my legacy than a young man who’s cool today, and may be gone tomorrow.