Alex Pereira is calling for a UFC White House clash with Jon Jones, and a top contender thinks the dream fight would be a close call.
After starching Magomed Ankalaev in the first round of their rematch to reclaim the light heavyweight gold, Pereira started a moment of silence for Jones’ late brother Arthur. When speaking to reporters later on, Pereira admitted that his initial plan was to call out “Bones” for a clash at the White House.
Jailton Almeida, who will fight Alexander Volkov on the UFC 321 card on Saturday, told MMAFighting that he’s having a difficult time predicting the outcome Jones vs. Pereira if it happens.
“It’s a tough fight,” Almeida told MMA Fighting of a potential Jones vs. Pereira bout. “I’m Brazilian. I’m a big fan of Jon Jones, everybody knows that. It’s going to be 50-50. … ‘Poatan’ is very tough, right? You saw his last fight. He said he wasn’t well-prepared the first time [against Magomed Ankalaev], and came different the second time. Devastating, right? He deserves the recognition in Brazil.”
The main event of UFC 321 will be a heavyweight title clash between champion Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane. While some believe that the winner of Almeida vs. Volkov could determine a No. 1 contender, “Malhadinho” believes that if Pereira wants the title fight, he’d get dibs ahead of him.
“I’m being realistic. He’s way ahead of me. We’ll see what the UFC can offer. Maybe they do Jon Jones and him, and me against Tom Aspinall on the White House [card] as well. And [the winners] face off next. In theory, I would be [next]. But if the UFC opts to him in front of me, he deserves to jump the line in front of me.”
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