Top UFC light heavyweight claims fear is the reason Jon Jones is seemingly gunning for a fight against Alex Pereira over Tom Aspinall

Jan Blachowicz believes UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones may be looking to fight Alex Pereira to secure a favorable retirement matchup. Jones has declined a title unification bout against Tom Aspinall, citing the Brit's relatively short list of accomplishments in professional MMA.

Jones has also shown a strong interest in fighting veteran fighters like Pereira, who are at a similar stage in their careers.

In a recent interview with Damon Martin for MMA Fighting, Blachowicz, the former 205-pound title holder, suggested that Jones could be avoiding a fight with Aspinall out of fear of losing. When asked to share his thoughts on Jones calling out light heavyweight champion Pereira, Blachowicz commented:

"I think is [is doing this] because Alex Pereira is now a big star in the UFC. Everybody loves him, so [Jones] knows what he's doing. I think he should fight against Aspinall but I think he [is] a little bit afraid of him, because Aspinall is someone who can really stop him and beat him."

He added:

"I think Jones believes he can fight against Pereira, take him down, control him, maybe something like this. With Aspinall, it would be not so easy. [Jones might want] to fight against Pereira, not lose and maybe finish the career. I don't know. You need to ask him, not me!"

Check out Jan Blachowicz's comments below (11:28):

Blachowicz won the light heavyweight title after Jones vacated it to move up to heavyweight. The two engaged in a brief social media feud during Blachowicz's title reign.

The Polish fighter has not competed professionally since he had to withdraw from his UFC 297 fight against Aleksandar Rakic due to a shoulder injury. He is set to face Carlos Ulberg at UFC London on March 22.

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Joe Rogan stated that Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira fight negotiations are underway

Jon Jones has consistently expressed that he wants to be compensated generously for the risk of fighting a younger and highly skilled opponent like Tom Aspinall. During a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Joe Rogan mentioned the rumored amount that Jones is reportedly demanding to fight Aspinall and stated that negotiations are underway for the fight:

"I think that's going to be Aspinall. I think they're trying to come to some sort of agreement. The rumor is that he wants $30 million and the UFC's going to pay him. Hopefully!"

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below:

Rogan's comments have led to a lot of speculation about Jones vs. Aspinall in the MMA community. In a recent YouTube video, Michael Bisping stated that Jones' dismissal of a fight against Tom Aspinall heading into his UFC 309 fight against Stipe Miocic was a smart tactic if the rumors about a $30 million payout are accurate.