Last weekend, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones defended his title with a commanding victory over Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden. In the aftermath, UFC boss Dana White confirmed that Jones’ next opponent would be interim champion Tom Aspinall in a unification bout. However, Jones seems uninterested in fighting Aspinall. Instead, he has expressed a strong desire to face UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, emphasizing that Pereira’s star power could generate significant pay-per-view numbers.

Jon Jones has remained adamant about this idea, echoing what Conor McGregor famously called a ‘red panty night.’ While Jones has left the door open for a potential bout with Aspinall, he has made it clear that he expects significant compensation, stating, “If I give him the opportunity to fight me, I want to be well-compensated.”

This scenario has sparked debates among fans and analysts, but the narrative took a sharp turn when former UFC fighter Paul Felder dismissed Jones’ claims about Pereira being a big draw. Appearing on Michael Bisping’s YouTube podcast, Felder commented bluntly, “Anytime people start to doubt if Jon could beat this guy—that’s what draws numbers. Name-wise, maybe Alex Pereira has done a little bit more, but I think fans know how that fight’s going to go.”

Felder elaborated on why Pereira might not be the best matchup for Jones, highlighting Pereira’s lack of experience against elite grapplers. He noted that Pereira only transitioned to MMA four years ago after his kickboxing career and argued, “I just don’t think he can handle Jon Jones’ wrestling. Whereas Tom [Aspinall] is a true heavyweight.”

With Pereira seemingly out of the equation, attention has shifted toward the potential buildup of a Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall matchup. However, Kamaru Usman holds a different perspective on the situation.

Kamaru Usman challenges critics underestimating Alex Pereira

It’s been three years since Alex Pereira broke into the MMA scene at the age of 34, transitioning from his GLORY kickboxing days. In a short amount of time, Pereira has become a force to be reckoned with in the promotion, capturing the middleweight title before shifting to the light heavyweight division, where he currently sits on the throne, going toe-to-toe with opponents like Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill.

After defending his title for the third time against Prochazka at UFC 303, Pereira spoke about his ambition to move to the heavyweight division and become the third champion in his career, with a potential fight against Jon Jones on the horizon. However, Dana White recently ruled out the possibility of Pereira facing Jones, stating, “Jon’s too big.”

Yet, former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman disagrees with the current narrative surrounding an Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones matchup. Usman expressed his disagreement on his P4P podcast, stating, “I don’t agree with that. If anything, Alex Pereira has shown, yes, he’s making it look sort of easy, but Alex Pereira is not that much of an easier fight. From our perspective, because we are elite-level wrestlers, yes, we see a deficiency that we could potentially exploit, and so I’m sure Jon does as well. But everybody has something that you could potentially see as a way too.”

What’s your take on Paul Felder’s remark? In your opinion, would a Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones matchup generate the same level of hype, or does the potential fight between Jon and Alex Pereira have more drawing power, given that both are major stars in their respective promotions? Share your thoughts below.