Jon Jones has revealed what he considers to be the two most important differences between him and his UFC competitors.
The legendary UFC two-weight champion retired in the first half of this year. This ended a $30 million deal Dana White arranged for him to face Tom Aspinall. In the end, his request to be at the UFC White House was denied.
Jones is also more likely to prefer facing Alex Pereira, who is the current light-heavyweight champ, over heavyweight titleholder Aspinall. Jones is saying this despite his belief that they are both relatively similar fighters, with just one major difference.
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Jon Jones thinks that the fight time is all that separates Tom Aspinall and Alex Pereira
Jon Jones says that despite his $30 million decision to avoid Aspinall he can easily deal with him or Pereira. He believes that both men’s lack of grappling will be their downfall. This is especially true given the lack emphasis placed on wrestling by British training schools.
“I would just have to be really smart,” Jones said of a potential Pereira fight on Geoffrey Woo’s podcast. “I would have to use what’s in front of me. The footage I have is what makes me different from Pereira.
“Pereira posts everything, every sparring session. I can learn a lot from a kickboxing resume, and a decent MMA resume.
“So I feel like Pereira’s really stuck in a certain way of fighting where he could really show that he has tendencies in his combinations and defence. It would be my job to find the holes inside of those tendencies, which I could.”
Jon Jones teases the overlooked factor in Alex Pereira vs Tom Aspinall fights
Jones believes his grappling power will be enough to defeat Pereira and Aspinall in the actual fights. He believes that if he can avoid their concussive strike, he’ll be able get to the legs. This will make it hard for them both.
“I would imagine my reach is slightly longer [Jones’ recorded reach is a massive 5.5” more than Pereira’s despite being the same height]. Everyone underestimates my physical strength when it is about our fight. I don’t always look like the strongest guy around, I’m not overly muscular.
Photo by Jeff
2025-11-21 20:00:00
