Alex Pereira resonates with Jon Jones' statement about preferring their matchup over Tom Aspinall fight

Alex Pereira defended his light heavyweight title for the third time in 2024 by defeating Khalil Rountree Jr. via fourth-round TKO at UFC 307 last month. While Magomed Ankalaev is potentially next in line for a title shot in the 205-pound weight class, 'Poatan' recently hinted that he would be interested in facing Jon Jones instead.

Following his heavyweight title defense, 'Bones' also reiterated that he is more interested in facing Pereira than Tom Aspinall. Speaking at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference, Jones said:

"I'm not really worried about the Tom fight. I'm really worried about the Pereira fight. That's what I want to do. That's what I want to do and I think if the UFC wants to have me back, then I think that's the fight they will make."

Championship Rounds shared Pereira's poatanpereira/3503412879812450074/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Instagram story - where he shared the clip - captioning the post:

"Alex Pereira shares the video of Jon Jones saying he wants to fight him instead of Tom Aspinall 👀 #UFC309 #UFC #MMA"

Check out the post from Championship Rounds below:

Ankalaev in a recent X said UFC head honcho Dana White claimed he would be next in line for Pereira. Meanwhile, Jones has shared that he only wants super fights and is comfortable retiring following his third-round TKO victory against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

Dana White is seemingly uninterested in Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira

While Jon Jones and Alex Pereira have publicly expressed mutual interest in a super-fight against one another, Dana White has a different stance on the matchup. He shared that the fight was unlikely following 'Bones' performance in his first heavyweight title defense.

Speaking at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference, the promotional frontman stated:

"You know what tonight told me? There's no f**king way I make the Pereira fight. Jon's too big, great wrestler. You see how he took Stipe down in that first round? I like Alex Pereira. I like him personally. It just doesn't make sense to make that fight. If they both want it bad enough and they're both f**king hounding me or something, maybe I would do it."

Check out Dana White's comments on Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira below:

White added that Pereira is doing great at light heavyweight. He questioned his reasoning behind moving up a weight class to face a dominant wrestler. The UFC CEO expects Jones to take time off before they begin negotiations for his next fight.