- UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is preparing to face former champ Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Saturday in New York City.
- Interim champion Tom Aspinall is calling to face the winner, as has UFC president Dana White.
- Jones claims that isn’t likely to happen, and instead he’d like to face current light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
The UFC is getting ready for its annual November card at Madison Square Garden in New York City this week. UFC 309 features a massive fight, literally and figuratively, as heavyweight champion and potential GOAT, Jon Jones, defends the belt against former two-time champion Stipe Miocic. The belt is almost an afterthought, as these two greats are putting legacies on the line.
However, many are wondering what happens in the heavyweight division next. Tom Aspinall is the interim champion and wants to face the winner. However, Jones isn’t keen on that, and it is reported that he has another fighter in mind: Alex Pereira.
Jones Wants to Fight Pereira for “BMF” Belt
In an interview with Kevin Iole for his website, Jones claimed that a fight with Aspinall wasn’t likely, and instead he was looking at Alex Pereira, the former middleweight champion and current light-heavyweight king.
In further reporting from MMAFighting.com, Jones said that he would be willing to give up the heavyweight belt to fight Aspinall, and instead, it would be for the “BMF” belt. That title is currently held by Max Holloway, who took it from Justin Gaethje, but the belt doesn’t hold any significance in the rankings.
“It’d be cool to fight over the heavyweight championship, but I would also willingly give up the heavyweight championship. I walked away from the light heavyweight championship. I’d love to walk away from this one as well on top, on [my] own terms, good head on your shoulders, making lots of money. I love the position that I’m in right now.
Fighting Pereira for the ‘BMF’ belt, that would be cool. We both have two belts in two weight classes, and the night we fought we’d both be fighting for our third belt, which would be the ‘BMF.’ How cool would that be?”
UFC president Dana White has made Aspinall the backup fighter for Jones-Miocic, so he will be at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. White has claimed in the past that he wants Aspinall to face the winner, and Aspinall agrees. However, Jones doesn’t feel the same way, and this could be the last fight for both Jones and Miocic. Jones’ UFC 309 odds have him as an incredible -700 favorite over Miocic as of Monday of fight week.
Is Jones Scared of Aspinall?
Jones isn’t scared of Aspinall. He is arguably the GOAT MMA fighter of all time with a record of 27-1, with one no-contest. That one loss was a disqualification to Matt Hamill in December 2009, and Jones was handily winning before using elbows that were illegal at the time, but aren’t now. He has also had a slew of legal issues, but inside the octagon, no one disputes Jones’ resume.
However, it is probably more strategic to fight Pereira, who Jones says walks around at 240 pounds, and Jones is currently 235 pounds. Pereira does walk around at that weight, and says he would be open to fighting Jones. But has he ever fought at that weight? That would be another advantage for Jones, who would lean on his all-world wrestling instead of standing with Pereira, a feared knockout artist.
Meanwhile, Aspinall is 15-3 and has torn through the UFC, going 8-1, and the only loss came from a knee injury in his first fight against Curtis Blaydes. All of his fights, except one, has been first-round finishes. Jones claims that Aspinall isn’t worth his legacy, and he may be correct. However, fighting Pereira is definitely more strategic than fighting Aspinall.
