UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones calls out Alex Pereira for heavyweight title fight.
Jon Jones during his inactivity after a pec tear has called out Alex Pereira on X. Jones suggested that after the Stipe fight that a fight against Alex is the “biggest move I could make”. This would suggest that Jones isn’t set on retiring after the Stipe fight something he is set on. Jones went on to call Alex a “killer” and “legend” showing he clearly respects Poatans skill.
However a more cynical eye could say that Jones views Alex as easy pickings and a way to get another title defence before retirement. Jones clearly has a massive grappling advantage over Alex seen by his wrestling credentials and his fights. And Alex as great as his striking is will always be somewhat lacking in the grappling. He can improve it but his grappling will never be as developed as Jones or any other lifelong grappler.
The size would not be a problem for Alex at heavyweight he is huge and walks around at roughly 230lbs and could put on more size. Jones has historically struggled with fighters who can match his height and reach such as Gustafsson. And Alex does have the striking advantage against Jones particularly with his boxing and also makes good use of his kicks particularly the calf kick. And if Alex can stop the takedown he could pose Jones a serious threat. But, if not he’s a sitting duck.
Jon Jones Calls Out Alex Pereira for Heavyweight Title Fight
The main issue that many have with this call out is it just doesn’t make sense. Alex has just recently become light heavyweight champ with only one defence with his KO over Jamahal Hill. There are plenty of other contenders at light heavyweight such as Ankalaev and others potentially just around the corner.
This also leads to the main problem with this call out deserving heavyweight contenders namely Tom Aspinall. Aspinall is easily more deserving of getting a shot at Jones than Alex . First off Tom is actually a career heavyweight and his made his name tearing through the UFC’s heavyweight division. He has beaten everyone he has faced bar Curtis Blaydes where he injured his knee and earned his way up the rankings defeating big names with ease.
Most recently Aspinall smoked Pavlovich on 2 weeks notice for the interim heavyweight title. After this impressive victory Aspinall has been calling out Jones non-stop. And Jones has essentially been ignoring him and down-playing his achievements despite him clearly being the number 1 contender. This combined with Jon’s fixation on fighting an old inactive Stipe and Pereira the light heavyweight champion suggests Jones is avoiding Aspinall.
This fact is not lost on the fans who in the replies to Jones Tweet have dismissed the idea and want the Aspinall fight after Jones is healed up. Aspinall is the interim champion and number 1 contender so as such should be Jones’ priority. For now Jon Jones is still inactive recovering from his pec tear and content holding the division up by avoiding Aspinall.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
