Alex Pereira Pumps the Brakes on Training with Jon Jones

UFC light heavyweight king Alex Pereira is pumping the brakes on a potential training session with fellow UFC champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.

Last year rumors started to swirl of a potential superfight between the MMA mega-stars after Jones claimed that a fight between Pereira and himself is the biggest fight the UFC could make right now. ‘Poatan’ certainly appeared to be on board to make it happen, suggesting that a move to heavyweight could be in his future.

Pereira also expressed interest in training with Jones to help hone his own skills. However, that no longer appears to be the case. At least, not until ‘Bones’ and the Brazilian boogeyman throw hands inside the Octagon which sounds like a real possibility these days.

“To be honest, I don’t think that makes as much sense any more,” Pereira recently told Bloody Elbow via interpreter when asked about training with Jones. “Back when I said that I would like to fight at heavyweight, people already put the dots together and basically mentioned Jon Jones. That’s something that is speculated, even if it’s just by the fans.

“So I wouldn’t want to go and train with him now, and then if we end up fighting, people will start saying a bunch of stuff about whatever in the fight. I think it wouldn’t make sense now, but if we were to fight one day and then go train, I think it would make total sense.”

For now, Alex Pereira will stay focused on the task at hand. That being a long-awaited clash with the light heavyweight division’s top-ranked contender, Magomed Ankalaev. The two will headline UFC 313 when the promotion heads back to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Jon Jones will have to get through Tom Aspinall if he hopes to fight Alex Pereira

Jones also has his own business to deal with at heavyweight before a potential showdown with Pereira.

Bones’ is expected to square off with interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall later this year in a title unification clash. Aspinall won the interim belt in November 2023 via a 69-second knockout of Sergei Pavlovich. He’s since defended the belt, landing a one-minute KO against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, while waiting for Jones to take care of business against former two-time champion Stipe Miocic.

With Jones handily defeating Miocic inside Madison Square Garden late last year, Jones vs. Aspinall is the fight Dana White intends to make and according to some reports, it’s already a done deal.

“I won’t necessarily be studying the fight, but I’d watch it closely,” said Pereira of the impending Jones vs. Aspinall matchup. “Obviously, any heavyweight fight is already exciting, and then you put in Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. I think that’s a very exciting fight, so I’ll be watching closely – but as a fan.”