Alex
Pereira hasn’t lost hope of fighting Jon Jones at
some point.
Pereira (13-3) first called out Jones (28-1) after reclaiming his
light heavyweight title against Magomed
Ankalaev at UFC 320
this past October. Jones, who was eyeing a return after his
retirement in June, expressed interest in fighting Pereira. The
booking was being anticipated for the
UFC White House card in June.
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However, the card was officially announced earlier this month, and
Jones is surprisingly not a part of it. Pereira is scheduled to
fight Ciryl Gane
for the interim heavyweight title at Freedom Fights 250 on June 14
at the White House. Pereira believes he can still fight Jones in
the future as long as he defeats Gane next.
“I believe so [there is a chance that the Jones fight happens]. As
long as I win this fight [against Gane]. Otherwise, it doesn’t make
much sense,” Pereira said on „The Ariel Helwani Show.”
Not Going Anywhere
Jones retired last year after stalling the heavyweight division for
over a year. While he started rallying for a spot on the White
House card since it was first mentioned, Dana White seemed
sceptical throughout. White later said that Jones was never
considered for a return at the White House card. Jones responded
with a rant, hinting that he was involved in lengthy negotiations
with the
UFC. “Bones” has since publicly called for his UFC release.
However, “Poatan” is still hopeful about fighting Jones as he
believes that the UFC won’t release the former double-champ anytime
soon.
“I believe it happens,” Pereira said. “Because he has to be
released from the UFC. I don’t think the UFC is gonna release him
anytime soon.”