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UFC president Dana White has no interest in granting Jon Jones’ wish for a fight with Alex Pereira after successfully defending the heavyweight title against…
UFC president Dana White has no interest in granting Jon Jones’ wish for a fight with Alex Pereira after successfully defending the heavyweight title against…
Alex Pereira’s next fight is all lined up, and no, it’s not against Jon Jones. Poatan’ successfully defended his…
Alex Pereira’s next fight is all lined up, and no, it’s not against Jon Jones.
Poatan’ successfully defended his light heavyweight title three times in 2024, scoring a trio of highlight-reel knockouts against Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree. Recent rumors suggested that the UFC was courting Pereira to save another event after its welterweight headliner at UFC 310 on December 7 fell through.
Unfortunately, it sounds like the ‘Brazilian Boogeyman’ won’t be closing out the promotion’s pay-per-view scheduled next month, but we do know who he’ll face when 2025 rolls around.
According to top-ranked contender Magomedov Ankalaev, UFC CEO Dana White has confirmed that he will be next in line for a shot at Pereira’s 205-pound title.
“@danawhite told my team I’m next for Alex,” Ankalaev wrote on X. “Thank you for clearing this today.”
Pereira vs. Ankalaev has been rumored for some time and, by all accounts, is the fight to make at the top of the light heavyweight division. Especially after Ankalaev’s 11th straight win against Aleksandar Raki? in Abu Dhabi. However, there was some doubt about their pairing, particularly after undisputed heavyweight king Jon ‘Bones’ Jones began lobbying hard for a BMF bout with Pereira.
“Alex Pereira is the only fight, right now, that makes sense to my legacy,” Jones said during Wednesday’s UFC 309 media day. “At the end of the day, Pereira is worth risking it for me. He [Aspinall] just doesn’t have the titles. He can have the high finishing rate, but he doesn’t have titles. It only makes sense to fight someone on your level.”
Unfortunately for Jones, Dana White isn’t interested in making that fight happen. During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, the UFC CEO shot down any possibility of a bout between ‘Bones’ and Pereira, adding that if Jones wants to fight beyond Saturday’s card in NYC, there’s only one open road to take.
“Jon will do what he does on Saturday,” White said. “If he wins, he’ll disappear for a while and the competitive spirit will start bubbling up again, and then money will talk. If he doesn’t decide to retire, he absolutely, positively fights Aspinall. He’s not fighting Pereira.
“[Pereira] was a middleweight who moved up to light heavyweight. He’s also a kickboxer who has done very, very well in MMA. His wrestling isn’t even near the level of Jon Jones, and Jon Jones is way bigger than him. If Jon Jones wants to fight again after Saturday night, he will fight Tom Aspinall.”
If Jon Jones successfully defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and wants to continue fighting in UFC, then his next matchup will be…
If Jon Jones successfully defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and wants to continue fighting in UFC, then his next matchup will be…
Jon Jones has no qualms about vacating the undisputed heavyweight title — especially if it gets him closer to…
Jon Jones has no qualms about vacating the undisputed heavyweight title — especially if it gets him closer to a BMF fight with reigning 205-pound king Alex Pereira.
UFC 309 will see ‘Bones’ put his heavyweight title on the line for the first time since scoring a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it submission victory over Ciryl Gane 20 months ago. This time around, Jones will attempt to both keep his belt and add to his already undeniable legacy when he meets the only two-time titleholder in heavyweight history, Stipe Miocic.
As it stands, Jones’ victory over Miocic almost feels like a foregone conclusion with sportsbooks like DraftKings having ‘Bones’ favored by a greater-than 6-to-1 margin. And it seems like everyone — ‘Bones’ included — is far more interested in what comes after his fight with Miocic instead of what will happen during it.
Recently, Jones frustrated some fight fans by suggested that win or lose, he never intends on doing the right thing and unifying his title with that of interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall.
Jones seemingly doubled down on that statement by suggesting that he’d gladly vacate the heavyweight title for a fight with ‘Poatan’ before ever considering a scrap with Aspinall.
“It’d be cool to fight [Pereira] over the heavyweight championship, but I would also willingly give up the heavyweight championship,” Jones told SportsNet on Monday. “I walked away from the light heavyweight championship, and I’d love to walk away from this one as well on top, on [my] own terms, good head on your shoulders, making lots of money. I love the position that I’m in right now.
“Fighting Pereira for the ‘BMF’ [baddest motherf*cker] belt, that would be cool. We both have two belts in two weight classes, and the night we fought, we’d both be fighting for our third belt – which would be the ‘BMF.’ How cool would that be?” (h/t The Independant).
There’s no doubt that Jones vs. Pereira is an exciting idea and perhaps the biggest possible fight the UFC could make with Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon looking less likely with each passing day. But is it the right thing to do?
More importantly, where does that leave Tom Aspinall?
Ahead of his scheduled title defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has doubled down…
Ahead of his scheduled title defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has doubled down…
At UFC 308, Magomed Ankalaev seemingly cemented his status as the next man to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title. Aside from one draw and a no contest, the Russian contender has won eleven fights in a row inside the Octagon and has waited a long time for his opportunity. In his latest […]
Continue Reading The Only UFC Fighter To Beat Magomed Ankalaev Says What Could Cost Him In A Fight With Alex Pereira at MMA News.
At UFC 308, Magomed Ankalaev seemingly cemented his status as the next man to challenge Alex Pereira for the light heavyweight title. Aside from one draw and a no contest, the Russian contender has won eleven fights in a row inside the Octagon and has waited a long time for his opportunity.
In his latest win in Abu Dhabi last month, he stuck to his word by standing and striking with Aleksandar Raki? for three rounds in order to prove a point about his well-rounded skill set. Ankalaev’s striking has certainly improved during his time in the UFC but there’s no denying that his grappling is still his strongest attribute, even if he doesn’t use it much.
Ankalaev’s one and only loss in the UFC came on his debut with the promotion where he faced Scotland’s Paul Craig in London. “Bearjew” was coming off of consecutive knockout losses at the time so needed a win in order to keep his UFC dream alive.
Despite being moments away from losing the fight, he incredibly pulled off a buzzer beater submission with just one second left on the clock, catching Ankalaev in a triangle choke. Ahead of his return at UFC 309 this weekend where he faces Bo Nickal at middleweight, Craig gave his thoughts on Ankalaev’s chances of becoming the champion in a recent interview with talkSPORT MMA.
Craig believes that his former foe is in a good position to dethrone “Poatan” but he cannot afford to go into this fight with the same stubbornness that will see him strike with the champion rather than utilizing his grappling.
“When you bring in someone like the Dagestanis who have incredible wrestling pressure and work ethic, it’s tough. Do I think Ankalaev can beat Pereira? I do believe he can. I believe he’s got all the credentials as long as he doesn’t go into this thing where he believes he’s a striker. You stand in front of someone with a kickboxing pedigree that Pereira has and I believe it can be a 50:50 lottery sometimes. Ankalaev, if he plays his skill set well and uses his wrestling and uses his striking to get in deep and out wrestle, I believe that’s how he can get that victory.”
Continue Reading The Only UFC Fighter To Beat Magomed Ankalaev Says What Could Cost Him In A Fight With Alex Pereira at MMA News.