Jon Jones is willing to give up his heavyweight title to fight Alex Pereira for the BMF Belt.
Jones defends his belt against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on November 16. Jones has not had a lot of activity since he has only fought once in around three years, when he beat Cyril Gane at UFC 285 to pick up the title. But there is a lot of pressure on this fight. Tom Aspinall will face the winner. But the future of Jones and Miocic is still up for debate.
Stipe said he would look at his future after the fight, while there is speculation that Jones will retire if he beats Miocic. Jones has also been talking down Aspinall, stating that he does not need to beat him for his legacy. He has also discussed a fight with Pereira, stating that it is bigger globally. That has led to suggestions that he is ducking Aspinall. It has also led to calls for Jones to be stripped, something he may not be too fazed about if he can make the Pereira fight.
Jones On Pereira
“It’d be cool to fight over the heavyweight championship but I would also willingly give up the heavyweight championship,” Jones told SportsNet on Monday. “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?,” Jones said
Meanwhile, Miocic says he has moved on from his knockout defeat against Francis Ngannou. Miocic was knocked out at UFC 260 in 2021, taking their record to 1-1. Miocic felt that a trilogy would inevitably decide who was the best heavyweight. However, sadly, things would not pan out that way. Ngannou would later leave the UFC after beating Cyril Gane in his last fight at UFC 270. He then signed a deal with the PFL, making his debut in October as he beat Renan Ferreira in the first round to become the PFL Heavyweight Champion. However, the 42-year-old has now said that he has let that go as the main focus is Jones.
Miocic’s Aim
“I was trying. I was trying to get the rematch. Then he left and it didn’t happen unfortunately. Listen, I’m a fighter. I don’t work for the UFC internally and [figuring] out matchmaking. It’s what they wanted to do and it’s what they did. Yeah of course [I was bummed] because I wanted the rubber match..“Listen, I’m OK with letting go. I get it. As much as I would love to fight him, I wish him nothing but the best and it is what it is. We’re 1-1. That’s the way it will be. He got the last one unfortunately,” Miocic said
Miocic knows that at the age of 42, he does not have a lot of fights left. A win over Jones would cap off a remarkable career and make him a heavyweight champion for the third time. He has previously won the belt on two occasions and defended it four times. He is an underdog against Jones, who is seen as arguably one of the best MMA fighters of all time.
Jones also has youth on his side since he is 37 compared to a much older Miocic. Stipe has also not had a UFC fight in around three years. At the same time, Jones is coming back from a pectoral muscle injury that prevented the Miocic fight from going ahead at UFC 295. Stipe will hope he can beat Jones, unlike how the Ngannou fight ended.
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