Jon Jones Confirms UFC Talks for White House Fight Card Amid Alex Pereira Rumors
It sounds like former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is getting closer to his wish of returning to the Octagon. Jones has confirmed that he's in negotiations with the UFC for a fight on the White House card on June 14, and Ariel Helwani of Uncrowned reported that the opponent he's targeting would be Alex Pereira, who vacated his UFC light heavyweight championship on Friday.
"I'm a very, very proud American, and I cannot wait to represent one more time. So, we'll see what happens," Jones said. Jones had abruptly retired from the UFC and vacated his heavyweight title in June after months of refusing a title unification fight against former interim champion Tom Aspinall, who was subsequently elevated to undisputed champion. However, when UFC president Dana White announced the plans for an event at the White House, Jones re-entered the testing pool less than a month after his retirement announcement.
Despite Jones' pursuit of a spot on the White House card, White initially was resistant to the idea of booking him for the event. "It's not even about him winning the belt," White said about Jones at the UFC 318 post-fight press conference in July, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. "You know how I felt about him. I just can't risk putting him in big positions in a big spot and have something go wrong, especially the White House card."
Now, it seems like White has had a change of heart. The UFC is facing more pressure to deliver a legendary event for the White House card following the announcement that former women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is returning for a fight against MMA pioneer Gina Carano on Netflix under Most Valuable Promotions on May 16. ESPN's Brett Okamoto noted that Pereira "has shown interest in moving up to heavyweight," and it seems like he now has a clear path toward that goal after relinquishing his 205-pound title. The Brazilian knockout artist is also a former UFC middleweight champion, so moving up to heavyweight could allow him to chase history by becoming a UFC champion in three divisions.
A fight between Jones and Pereira would certainly excite UFC fans, so many will be anxiously waiting to see if it comes to fruition this summer.
