Who Wins: Alex Pereira or Jon Jones?
Extra Mustard is a weekly column looking at the highs and lows–and everything in between–in combat sports and beyond.
Jon Jones is on track to fight Stipe Miocic this November at Madison Square Garden.
But that bout pales in comparison to a matchup pitting Jones against Alex Pereira.
Unlike anyone else in recent memory, Pereira has captured the fight world’s attention. Following a decorated kickboxing career, Pereira (11-2) has won eight of his nine bouts in the UFC–including the middleweight championship and the light heavyweight championship, which he defended on Saturday night by obliterating Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303.
Jones (27-1, 1 NC) is on record stating that, at this point, he is only willing to accept big bouts. The fight against Miocic would have meant a lot more five years ago. Now, however, it feels like time has passed it by–Miocic has not competed in the cage since March of 2021. The longer the wait extends, the less interest there is in this once ballyhooed matchup. In comparison, while Miocic has been away from the cage, Pereira helped headline two of the top four highest gates in UFC history at UFC 300 and UFC 303.
Yet it is an altogether different story with Pereira. Already a two-division champion, Pereira would be seeking a title from a third different weight class if he moves to heavyweight. If he defends the light heavyweight belt, a worthy next opponent would be Magomed Ankalaev. That fight does not hold anywhere near the interest of Pereira chasing the heavyweight belt.
Dana White on if Magomed Ankalaev is next for Alex Pereira
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 30, 2024
“I don’t know, we’ll see.”
He also says he likes that Alex wants to test his wrestling against Ankalaev 👀
🎥 @ufc #UFC303 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/HCYRCFVEYV
Will UFC CEO Dana White approve of a fight pitting Pereira against the winner of the upcoming Tom Aspinall-Curtis Blaydes bout? That takes place later this month at UFC 304. It would be a short turnaround, but that could potentially be on the same MSG card as Jones-Miocic.
But a fight between Jones and Pereira would be extremely fascinating, especially at MSG. And while it would be unwise to bet against Jones, how can anyone discount Pereira?
JUSTIN BARRASSO
Justin Barrasso has been writing for Sports Illustrated since 2014. While his primary focus is pro wrestling and MMA, he has also covered MLB, NBA, and the NFL. He can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.