Jon Jones believes that fighting either Alex Pereira or Tom Aspinall would present similar challenges.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) announced his retirement earlier this year, just as it appeared that a title unification bout with then-interim champion Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) was about to be finalized.
He quickly reversed that decision once the UFC revealed plans to hold an event at the White House in 2026, declaring his interest in facing light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) at the gala, though UFC president Dana White has since poured cold water on that idea.
Despite White’s misgivings about placing the former champion in such a high-profile slot on a major event, “Bones” remains hopeful his wish will be granted. This week, he discussed the similarities he sees between Aspinall and “Poatan” as potential opponents.
“With Pereira, I would just have to be... I'd have to be smart,” Jones told Geoffrey Woo. “I'd have to be really smart. I would have to use what's in front of me. The biggest difference between Pereira and Aspinall is the level of footage that I have. Pereira posts everything, you know, every sparring session. I have a whole kickboxing career to study from. I have a pretty decent resume in MMA to watch now, just to take things from.
“I feel like Pereira is really stuck in a certain way of fighting, where he could really show he has tendencies in his combinations, tendencies in his counters and in his defense. And it would be my job to find the holes inside of those tendencies, which I feel like I could.
“So I think that's where he punches really hard and kicks really hard. I think my grappling power and wisdom would be a lot for him to handle. But I also feel like that would be the same scenario with Tom Aspinall. I don't think the UK wrestling system is as good as people think it is. Where Tom is a lot physically bigger, it would probably take me a little bit more effort. I think it would be the same story if I got Tom to the ground as it would be as if I got Pereira to the ground.
“It's really, to me, it's the same fight. They both are strong on their feet and hit very hard on their feet. And I think they both have holes in the grappling department. I feel as if my clearest path to victory in both of those fights would be to get them to the ground at some point. My goal would be to kick box until I find my moment and get the fight on the ground, go for submission or go for a TKO.”
