With no main event yet and a lackluster card for 300 they might as well use it as a way to boost espn plus annual subs.
Is that fight on or not???
Heavyweight is supposed to be the marque fights. If the UFC promoted well they could throw their champ in there with anyone in the top 15 and have a good main event.
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This is not the Ali era.
HW is a very small part of what UFC focuses on these days.
Blaydes and Almeida are both top 10 UFC HWâs and they have them on the prelims of 299.
UFC is letting a HW who has not had a win in the past four years get a HW title shot next.
Just not a pretty situation at HW in the UFC outside of Aspinall being very skilled.
Hopefully UFC lets Pereira turn around and break the record for fastest back to back title defenses at UFC 301 like he said he wanted to do. If Pereira wins his next fight and Aspinall wins his⌠its a great superfight.
All Jones and Stipe do is hold up the division so that it canât actually function.
Nobody unwilling or unable to defend a belt 2-3x a year should hold a belt in the UFC and nobody unwilling or unable to win a fight in the year leading up to a title fight should get to be a title challenger.
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Jones avoided the best HWâs in the UFC for fifteen years. How many years did he take off to take a single HW fight after he almost lost to Reyes. Fifteen years. Winning one HW fight means little to me. Who cares what Jones does. Aspinall is the champ.
Tend to think that time off by Jones was an off the record suspension.
I think he has a broken toe. Had it a few weeks before the Hill bout.
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GuimarĂŁes said on MMA Fightingâs Trocação Franca podcast that Pereira was concerned about the injury going into UFC 300, but urged him not to inform the promotion, because âI want to fight no matter howâ at UFC 300. With his first successful title defense now in the books, Pereira needs to relax and heal before booking his next assignment.
âThat wonât happen, no way, especially now that he has another broken toe,â GuimarĂŁes said of Pereira fighting on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro. âHe has to go to the shipyard and let the dust settle and celebrate the victory. Maybe [go to Brazil] to watch the event, but no fights for him.â
âI donât think [fighting Pereira] is a good idea for Aspinall at this moment,â GuimarĂŁes said. âWe have to see whatâs going to happen. I think itâs still too premature. Aspinall is the interim champion, why would he risk fighting âPoatanâ? I donât think it makes much sense [for Aspinall], I donât think itâs a good idea [for Aspinall]. For us, it is [a good idea].â
GuimarĂŁes said the plan right now is for Pereira to defend his light heavyweight title next, but is open to the idea of moving up to heavyweight if the UFC makes the right offer.
âHe has the desire, and Iâll tell you this, heâs going to do an incredible job at heavyweight,â GuimarĂŁes said. âHeâs a super tough fight for anyone in the heavyweight division as well. Heâs hungry to fight. He says his time is running out, and he wants to achieve the most he can. Heâs extremely confident, and I think he would shine at heavyweight. Letâs see what the UFC has on the table for us, but he wonât be fighting in Rio de Janeiro.â
Jones sounds like he wants to do anything but fight Tom.
Jon Jones sees Alex Pereira as a legacy fight for his career.
UFC heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) expects to have his previously scrapped bout with Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) rebooked once he returns after injury, but then he sees multiple options.
Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is chomping at the bit to unify the belts with Jones, but it appears âBonesâ has pivoted to what he sees as an even bigger fight: Current light heavyweight champion Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who has teased a move to heavyweight before.
Jones is widely considered as the greatest fighter of all time, and thinks Pereira challenging him for the opportunity to win a third UFC title would threaten his GOAT status.
âIf Alex P became champion of the heavyweight division, would you guys consider him the GOAT? Being back in the gym has got me thinking differently. That fight after Stipe maybe the next biggest move I could possibly make. This killer has already defeated so many champions, and is already considered a legend to millions around the world. The most massive fight the UFC could make. Give Alex a chance to avenge all those great Brazilian champions Iâve defeated.â
Jones went as far as saying that a potential super fight between him and Pereira would be the biggest fight in the sportâs history.
âIt would be absolutely massive. A guy with a chance to be three-division champion and a goat versus the actual goat. Same age, different strengths. No one can argue that that would be the biggest fight in MMA history. Thereâs absolutely no fight that generates a payday like that. Marketing would be insane.â
As for Aspinall, Jones argues that Pereira would be a much bigger fight for him.
âYou actually think me fighting Tom would be more massive than Alex and I colliding? Tom only matters in the U.K., newsflash. Pereira is one of the most polarizing figures this sport has seen. Toms a contender who won a belt against another contender. We had to save Madison Square Gardens main event. Iâm thinking dollar signs, legacy, big picture here. Not what U.K. fans are dying to see. Literally just went through this with the French fans.â
I think Jones sees an easier fight in Alex Perreira who has shown weakness in areas that he is very strong. I honestly would be surprised if he fights beyond the Stipe fight.
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For sure.
Jones has avoided the HWâs for fifteen years and he took three years to take a single HW fight vs one kickboxer.
Now he talks about these Stipe and Pereira fights when Tom, Pavlovich, Blaydes have been the fights the whole time.
Jones avoiding Tom and Blaydes is just like Jones avoiding Werdum, Overeem, Brock, Carwin, JDS, Cain, Ngannou and prime under forty and fighting Stipe all these years.
Now here he is talking about fighting another MW⌠like we have not seen him do that already on several occasions.
Would Tom be the favorite against Jones? If so, by how much? If not, by how much?
Quick Bing search has it at -140 for Jones. That has been since Aspinall won the interim belt. Before that it was -200.
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Thanks Lurk.
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Jon had problems with Dominick and kinda lost that fight, Aspinall is they more dangerous, a single mistake, lucky punch and its all over
Except Jones won that fight. Swinging at air does not win a fight. Rewatch it.
if Jonny wants to fight Pereira over Aspinall then this should be the first fight. winner gets jones.
Pereira said he wants Jiri next at LHW and Ankalaev and HW can wait.
Aspinall is fighting in July and it will be Blaydes I would assume. There is no one else unless Blaydes is not healthy.
Jones Stipe, that retarded fight does not even have a date.
Title fights are for active competing fighters, Jones and Stipe have not been active in the past four years.
They are having a legends fight, not a title fight.
Aspinall and Pereira are the real champs of LHW and HW. What you did four years ago does not matter.
At this point, the BMF belt means more than Jones title belt
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