Just like how you had the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson bout keeping fans on edge, the Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall has also been bothering the fight community. Will that fight happen, won’t that fight happen? Are negotiations on? Will Dana White oblige Jon Jones’ demands for “f**k you money”? Will that fight happen this year? So many questions. No answers yet. Only speculation. And, so the saga of speculation continues. And totally not helping this situation is light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who wants to fight Jon Jones.

If you think about it, Alex Pereira being the picture works out quite perfectly for Jones, who can use this situation as a distraction to the Tom Aspinall bout. It’s quite perfect really. And amid all of this, a bizarre video started making the rounds that made Jones look completely unhinged. Fans were concerned to see his recent Instagram Live. “You go on a trip, and get p*ssed off, disappointed,” Jones said in the video. “And as a Dad, you just wanna kill ‘em”, he said menacingly before ending the livestream. Who was directed towards? Tom Aspinall? Bizarrely confusing. And now, former UFC lightweight and now-commentator Paul Felder gave his two cents on this mess of a situation.

Felder, on the Believe You Me podcast with Michael Bisping, said, “Even as of just recently, I thought, ‘Oh man, Jon’s playing this so well. He’s downplaying Tom so much that it’s just gonna create more buzz.’ Now I’m starting to really think that—I don’t think he wants that. I do think there’s a part of him that is worried about the chance that he could be—I’m not saying it’s gonna happen—but people are gonna come at me  for this.”

Picking Aspinall as a more dangerous opponent for Jones than Pereira, ‘The Irish Dragon’ said, “If there’s a guy that’s gonna be able to knock you out, it’s Tom over Pereira, and I only say that because Jon can—I think he can take Alex Pereira down. I think he can do that. I think he’s a big a– guy, but [with] Tom, that’s a lot harder to do and he’s a fast big-a– heavyweight. And I think he’s thinking, ‘If I am at the end of my career, I want a super fight that I know I can win’.”

Jon Jones is continuing his masterclass of strategically avoiding the conversation against Aspinall, while the interim heavyweight champion waits patiently. The Englishman is getting a lot of backing from some fans while ‘Bones’ has collected resentment from followers who are alleging that the consensus MMA GOAT is not prepared to face the the next generation of heavyweights. As the MMA world goes back and forth on this phantom matchup that no one knows will materialize or not, Alex Pereira picked his winner for this fight.

Alex Pereira gave his backing to his favorite in Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall

Despite the swirling uncertainty, UFC CEO Dana White seems unfazed. He’s confident that the two top contenders will eventually collide, suggesting that a blockbuster matchup between Jones and Aspinall is likely to take place in 2025. On one hand, Tom Aspinall is relentless in his pursuit of the fight and calling out Jones. On the other  ‘Bones’ dismissed his matchup to be immersed in the possibility of fighting Pereira.

What did Alex Pereira think of this? ‘Poatan’ had sat down for a chat with Mark Bouris on his podcast and selected his favorite between the two fighters. Pereira confidently said that Jones was the best and gave his reasons for it. He said, “In my opinion, what matters is the biggest number of title defenses in the UFC. That matters. That makes him the G.O.A.T.” Pereira is also confident that the champion will win his fight if he ever takes on Aspinall and said, “I think Jon Jones wins.” 

Aspinall is not an easy opponent and will be the toughest fighter that Jones will face if he agrees that is. The 30-year-old has KOed all his opponents to date and this might be one of the reasons why veterans like Felder and Bisping are vouching for Aspinall.

However, the uncertainty with this matchup is weighing heavy on everyone’s minds. What do you think will happen? Will we get to see this fight or it will remain a daydream?