Jon Jones may have fought so well against Stipe Miocic on Saturday night that he made a superfight with Alex Pereira seem like a clear mismatch.
Dana White is doubling down on his unwillingness to book a Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira superfight.
Jones angered a lot of fans during UFC 309 fight week by once again shooting down the idea of unifying the heavyweight belts against Tom Aspinall. Instead, he wanted to fight light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. To White, that fight makes a lot of money, but not a lot of sense … especially after how Jones dismantled Stipe Miocic on Saturday night (watch the highlights here).
“You know what tonight told me? There’s no f—ing way I make the Pereira fight,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “Jon’s too big. A great wrestler. See how he took Stipe down in that first round?”
“I like Alex Pereira,” he continued. “I like him personally … it just doesn’t make sense to do that fight. If they both want it bad enough and they’re both f—ing hounding me or something, maybe I would do it. But Alex Pereira is killing it. Look at his age and what he’s doing right now. What’s the reason to go up and fight a guy that’s so much bigger than you and such a good wrestler?”
Dana White is asked about a potential Jones/Pereira fight. pic.twitter.com/lWQ5grYNNC
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) November 17, 2024
“Money? You’re right. That’s definitely a reason. But just so we’re clear, I don’t wanna make any of that kind of money.”
After seeing cynical money grabs like Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, it’s refreshing to see a fight promoter try to keep a little sanity and competitive cohesion at the top of the rankings. Making Jon Jones fight Tom Aspinall is a worthwhile endeavor. Stopping Jon Jones and Alex Pereira from fighting? Maybe that’s going a little too far in the other direction.
Thankfully, White doesn’t seem 100% dead set against the fight.
“I want Pereira to stay where he is and do what he does and run the street,” White concluded. “But again, if they go crazy on me and they both wanna do it, then what am I gonna do? They’re grown ass men and and and I’m sure the fans wanna see it. I’m sure you wanna see it. I guess we’ll talk about it.”
Getting Jones to fight again will require the right combination of money and opponent. Will the UFC, infamously unwilling to bend when it comes to either of those elements, be able to come to terms with their GOAT? It’s a real possibility that they don’t, especially the way “Bones” is talking about pay scale.