Alex Pereira offers lukewarm reaction to potential Tom Aspinall fight, weighs in on 'Is Jon Jones the real champ?' debate

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira recently weighed in on a potential Tom Aspinall fight and shared his two cents on the debate surrounding Jon Jones' status as the "real" UFC heavyweight champion.

Last week, 'Poatan' uploaded a cryptic message on social media, which sent fans into a frenzy. The Brazilian simply posted "30 + 300 = 3" on his Instagram Stories, which led many to speculate that he was hinting at potentially gaining 30 pounds to fight at UFC 300 for a third UFC title at heavyweight.

Given that Jones is expected to fight Stipe Miocic next, fans thought Pereira had a fight against Aspinall, the interim heavyweight champion, in mind. Even the Englishman appeared keen on the idea. However, Pereira recently tempered expectations.

In a recent interview with TheMacLife, the Brazilian stated via his coach and translator, Plinio Cruz, that he's focused on his light heavyweight reign:

"He fought at middleweight and had to reset his body to go up to fight at light heavyweight. He's a fighter. He'll fight anybody, anywhere... He can definitely fight at heavyweight, maybe someday in the future. But it’s got to be something that’s well planned. So right now, he's focused on his light heavyweight reign."

Catch Alex Pereira's comments below (7:25):

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Alex Pereira on the debate surrounding Jon Jones being the "real" UFC heavyweight champion

In the same interview, Alex Pereira discussed the state of the UFC's heavyweight division and shared his thoughts on the debate surrounding Jon Jones' status as the "real" champion.

Tom Aspinall secured the UFC interim heavyweight championship after defeating Sergei Pavlovich in the co-main event of UFC 295 last month. While Jones was booked against Stipe Miocic for the main event, the undisputed heavyweight champion was forced to pull out due to a pectoral injury.

The Jones-Miocic bout is expected to take place next year, with 'Bones' out of action for the next couple of months at least. With Jones sidelined for an extended period, many believe he should be stripped of the title in favor of Aspinall, who could potentially be left without an opportunity to unify his interim title next year.

With fans now calling Aspinall the "real" champion, Pereira weighed in on the discourse and said:

"Jon Jones is the champ. He's the lineal champion on the books, right? He got injured... Tom Aspinall is the interim champ, all credit to him, he's doing a great job. But we cannot put Jon Jones' credit to the side. If Jones says, 'Okay, the belt's vacant now,' Tom Aspinall may become the real champ." [10:54 mark ]