2 days Ago By BoxingNews.com
UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones praised Alex Pereira after they ran into each other at UFC 306. The pair were in attendance as they watched Sean O’Malley defend his UFC Bantamweight Title against Merab Dvalishvili . O’Malley was the favorite having beaten Malon Vera in his last fight at UFC 299 as he had the second defense of his title.
Coming into the fight, there was the narrative that O’Malley’s striking could overpower Merab, who was going to use his ground game. As things turned out, Merab dominated O’Malley, beating him in a one-sided unanimous decision as his grappling game negated Suga’s striking. During the event, Jones and Pereira crossed paths.
Jones will defend his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on November 16. Tom Aspinall , the interim champion, is in line to face the winner. Miocic will retire after this fight, and Jones has hinted he could do the same, stating that it is likely his last bout.
Jones Reacts However, Jones has indicated previously that he would like to face Pereira if he moves up from light heavyweight. He justified it by saying that a Pereira fight is much bigger than facing Aspinall globally. Dana White dismissed that idea, but the pair did meet as they paid their respects, with Jones having nothing but good words to say about the two-weight UFC Champion.
“[Alex] Pereira was amazing. He was so humble and just big and strong. He’s just an awesome guy, awesome champion,” Jones said In the same way, Pereira had much respect for Jones.
He would be open to training alongside the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Pereira is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, as shown by his last few performances. He knocked out Jamahal Hill in the first round at UFC 300 on a historic card.
He broke his toe around two weeks before the fight. Rather than pulling out of the fight, he pushed ahead and secured an emphatic stoppage. Pereira On Jones He then defended his UFC Light Heavyweight title with a fight against Jiri Prochazka in a rematch at UFC 303.
He took the fight on short notice after Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler was called off. The Notorious broke his toe, meaning that Pereira took the fight.
Once again, Alex stepped up to the plate and knocked out Jiri in the first round to retain his title. He is now scheduled to fight Khalil Rountree Jr . at UFC 307.
Another win will increase the calls on him to face tougher opposition, namely the Russian fighter Magomed Ankalaev . But in the meantime, he wanted to secure as much knowledge as possible, as he earmarked a chance to train alongside Jones. “I think there’s some good time [between our fights], his fight is only in November.
There’s always something coming off a fight, a small injury, so we can get some rest and then train together. A lot of people talk about this superfight but I think I have to make the most of this guy’s experience,” Pereira said. “He has a ton of experience, but people are talking about him maybe doing only one or two fights more, and I’m not even at heavyweight yet.
I don’t know if that’s possible, but I want to at least be training with him,” Pereira stated This article first appeared on BoxingNews.com and was syndicated with permission..
