Alex Pereira won’t train with Jon Jones anytime soon – just in case.
UFC light heavyweight champion Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) previously expressed interest in sharing the mats with heavyweight champ Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC), but has now changed his tune.
That’s because after Jones finished Stipe Miocic to retain his title at UFC 309 this past November, he said he’d rather face Pereira next over interim champ Tom Aspinall. While the wheels are currently in motion for Jones to face Aspinall next, Pereira won’t take his chances in case the pair do end up crossing paths.
“To be honest, I don’t think that makes as much sense any more,” Pereira told Bloody Elbow through an interpreter. “Back when I said that I would like to fight at heavyweight, people already put the dots together and basically mentioned Jon Jones. That’s something that is speculated, even if it’s just by the fans.
“So I wouldn’t want to go and train with him now, and then if we end up fighting, people will start saying a bunch of stuff about whatever in the fight. I think it wouldn’t make sense now, but if we were to fight one day and then go train, I think it would make total sense.”
Pereira defends his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) in the UFC 313 main event March 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+).
If Jones and Aspinall do end up fighting in a title-unification bout, “Poatan” will be tuning in regardless.
“I won’t necessarily be studying the fight, but I’d watch it closely,” Pereira said. “Obviously, any heavyweight fight is already exciting, and then you put in Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. I think that’s a very exciting fight, so I’ll be watching closely – but as a fan.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
