Alex Pereira could alter Jon Jones’ retirement plans with current rise to fame 

Jon Jones is nearing the end of his two-decade UFC career, which has been marked by pure dominance. The 36-year-old may hang up his gloves soon. But according to Daniel Cormier, there’s a catch. With Alex Pereira in the picture, Jones may reconsider his retirement plans. 

Jon Jones is currently preparing for his heavyweight legacy fight against Stipe Miocic potentially at the Madison Square Garden. The fighter has also hinted about his retirement following that fight. However, former rival Daniel Cormier believes Alex Pereira‘s rise to fame, might turn into motivation for Jones to continue fighting. 

He hates when people start to bring other people into the conversation of who's the best or better than him. So, all the momentum Pererira is getting will maybe motivate him to do this for longer than he had intentions of. 

Daniel Cormier via his YouTube channel

 After his last title victory at UFC 303, Pereira shared his intentions to move up and fight Jones. With the win, the fighter even surpassed Jones in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound list. Pereira is currently one of the most consistent and popular superstars in the promotion, something Jones has always been. 

As DC clarified, Jones takes offense when fans cast doubt on his ability and legacy. The fighter recently went on a lengthy tirade on social media when fans said he avoided the Tom Aspinall fight. In the past also, when Khabib Nurmagomedov retired and his fans put him on the GOAT list, Jones flipped out and publicly showed his annoyance. Now, Pereira vs. Jones is the next super fight that everybody wants to see the result of the clash between both warriors.

UFC legend believes Alex Pereira should extend his call-out against Jon Jones

Alex Pereira has already fought twice this year and has taken very minimal damage in both fights. The fighter wants to move up to the heavyweight division, but there are still some hurdles in his way. While Jon Jones took a huge gap to make his heavyweight debut, ‘Poatan’ is ready to make it as soon as possible. 

UFC veteran Din Thomas recently did an interview with MMA Fighting and discussed the potential fight between Pereira and Jones. According to Thomas, Pereira should immediately call out Jones, irrespective of the response as either way it will benefit the Brazilian. 

If I’m Alex Pereira or his manager, I’m going up to heavyweight to fight Jon Jones right now. Jon will decline, but I would be like, ‘I challenged Jon Jones, he declined. Let the record show that that man declined.’ That’s what I would say.

Din Thomas via MMA Fighting

Jones will most probably fight in November and during that time Pereira is expected to make his third outing of the year. If things go well, Pereira might get an opportunity to fight Jones in 2025. While these are all speculations, only time will tell how things will turn out in the future.

In case you missed it!

• “Don’t make that mistake,” Chael Sonnen reacts to UFC’s Islam Makhachev offer to Michael Chandler to make up for Conor McGregor fight
• “You are full of sh*t!” Michael Bisping hilariously calls out Merab Dvalishvili for ‘striking’ game plan against Sean O’Malley

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW