Jon Jones wants to fight Alex Pereira. Alex Pereira wants to fight Jon Jones. But isn’t there someone you’re forgetting to ask?
One of the joys of MMA being a monopolized sport is having 95% of all decisions flow through UFC president Dana White, who decides whether or not he likes the sound of a certain fight or not. And when it comes to Jones vs. Pereira, the Baldfather does not like the sound of that.
In a new interview with Red Corner MMA from Thailand where he’s filming TUF clone Alf Reality, Jones discussed the possibility of fighting Pereira and said it was White who was against the match.
“Pereira wants to fight me but I don’t think Dana White’s gonna allow that to happen,” Jones said. “It’ll be interesting to see what Dana wants.”
Jones isn’t exactly White’s favorite fighter these days. The UFC CEO managed to put together a historic $30 million payday (with the help of Saudi Arabia) for then-heavyweight champ “Bones” to fight interim champ Tom Aspinall. But once the money was scraped together, Jones told White he was retiring and relinquished the title.
A week later Donald Trump announced the UFC White House card, and all of a sudden Jon Jones said he was unretiring and wanted to fight on that card. That left a bad taste in White’s mouth, and he’s repeatedly said Jones isn’t reliable enough to fight at the White House. That’s despite Alex Pereira stepping up to say he’d take on Jones at the event.
As for Jon Jones, he’ll have to wait and see what Dana wants. White has said in the past it’s Tom Aspinall or nothing, and we appreciate a dude who doesn’t let the best duck the best. On the other hand, is he really going to let the GOAT of MMA waste the end of his career on the sidelines? We know the answer is probably yes, and that just feels crazy.
