UFC heavyweight contender Alex Pereira is disappointed that Jon Jones took a cheap shot at him following UFC Freedom 250.
In the co-main event of the UFC White House card, Pereira was brutally knocked out by Ciryl Gane in the second round of the fight. The stoppage was mildly controversial, as Pereira believes several of the punches that Gane landed on him before the final finishing sequence were to the back of his head.
Nevertheless, he lost the fight, and Jones also clowned him on social media while wearing a GOAT necklace around his neck.
Alex Pereira Disappointed in Jon Jones
In a video posted to his YouTube channel discussing the fight with Gane, Pereira made sure to mention that he saw the video Jones posted after his knockout loss, where the consensus GOAT was seen shaking his head after seeing Pereira get knocked out by Gane.
In Pereira’s mind, this was a cheap shot by Jones, and he is extremely disappointed, since he thought the two had mutual respect for one another.
“I saw the video and to be honest, I was very surprised. If I was one of the guys that provoked him and then lost, and then he goes and says something? Then I’d understand. But I’ve never spoken bad about Jon Jones. I’ve always respected (him),” Pereira said (h/t MMAMania.com).
“Many people ask, ‘Alex do you consider yourself the best?’ Ask him to show me one time in an interview saying that I’m the best. I said that only brings arguments. I don’t know, if you consider me [the best], okay. If not, still okay. I make my money, I’m making history and if you think that, I’m not gonna argue with you. So I don’t understand. For real, I don’t understand why he did that.”
Could Jon Jones and Alex Pereira Still Fight?
Had Pereira beaten Gane and won the interim heavyweight belt, it would have set him up for a UFC heavyweight title unification bout against UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall for later this year.
But he lost, so now the question is, where does Pereira go from here?
He could stay at heavyweight, but he could also move back down to light heavyweight.
If he stays at heavyweight, rising star Josh Hokit wants a piece of him. But a fight against Jones is bigger and would be way more interesting for the fans.
This is a fight that fans have wanted to see for many years. While Jones is a retired fighter right now, and the chances of him coming back to fight Pereira, or anyone for that matter, are slim, it’s still fun to think about a potential matchup between two of the best to ever do it.
Will the fight happen? Not likely, since Jones is retired. But it’s fun to think about, and after Jones took this cheap shot at Pereira, it makes you wonder if he was trying to plant the seeds of a potential fight between two of the greatest to ever step into the Octagon.
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