With UFC heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones’ first successful title defense against former champion Stipe Miocic last week at Madison Square Garden, fans are now asking the biggest question in the fight world: Who’s next for Jon Jones? Is it Alex Pereira or Tom Aspinall? The MMA community is divided into two camps. Some favor the Alex Pereira matchup, seeing it as a big opportunity with Pereira emerging as the new face of the UFC in recent years, especially with the absence of major figures like Conor McGregor.

On the other hand, many are leaning toward the more traditional route—a title unification bout between Jones and Tom Aspinall. Dana White, who had previously supported an Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones fight, now seems eager for a unification bout. White dismissed the idea of a Pereira-Jones matchup last week, stating, “Jon’s too big, a great wrestler—did you see how he took Stipe down in that first round?”

Henry Cejudo recently echoed this sentiment on his podcast, along with Kamaru Usman on Pound for Pound on YouTube. However, Usman disagreed with Cejudo’s take, countering, “Well, first of all, I disagree with you in saying that Alex Pereira is just a much easier fight. 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.”

Kamaru Usman further opened up about the potential of Alex Pereira, explaining, “From our perspective, because we were 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 to…” However, as of now, whether Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira will happen remains uncertain, as Dana White is still far from making a decision. Meanwhile, Jon Jones has issued an ultimatum to the UFC boss, making it clear that he won’t back down.

Jon Jones issued an ultimatum to Dana White

Jon Jones is at a point in his career where win or lose, it doesn’t matter to him as long as he takes home loads of cash. In the language of Conor McGregor’s “red panty night” from the fight game, Jones hasn’t yet fully committed to vacating his title to encounter the new face of the UFC, Alex Pereira, for a super fight. However, UFC president Dana White is the only hurdle right now.

Jon Jones has already made up his mind: he will return to the octagon under the UFC banner if White makes the fight against Alex Pereira happen. If not, Jones has threatened to retire. “I am to be an American champion,” Jones stated at the post-fight press conference, “and fighting in front of my president—man, if that was my last fight ever, then I’m cool with that. I think one of the really good things about negotiating is being willing to walk away from a deal. And that’s the deal that I want. And if that’s not what the fans want, then I guess I’ll say sayonara.”

What’s your take on Kamaru Usman’s statement? Can Alex Pereira withstand Jon Jones’ skill in the octagon? While Pereira is undoubtedly a skilled fighter, his wrestling in MMA remains untested. Share your thoughts below.