Former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones said that he would submit Alex Pereira if they ever met inside the Octagon.
MMA fans have long wanted to see a superfight between Jones and Pereira. But with Jones currently retired and inactive from the UFC, this isn’t a fight that will be happening anytime soon.
However, if Jones did fight Pereira, he is confident he would tap him out.
Jon Jays Says He Would Submit Alex Pereira
Speaking to ALF Global in a new interview, Jones was asked about how a fight between him and Pereira would go, and Jones bluntly stated it would not go the distance because he is confident he would finish Pereira on the ground.
“I watched Pereira train. I see his level of wrestling and it’s way behind. I feel as if Stipe Miocic is a true heavyweight. He’s a big, big boy. Ciryl Gane, when you see him in person, he’s a big, big boy. Alex Pereira is not a big, big boy. He’s a lean guy. I think right now he weighs maybe 250,” Jones said (via MMAFighting.com).
“I feel as if my physical strength would have been too much for him. I felt as if the moment I would have gotten him to the ground, my submissions would have come pretty quickly. I mean, everyone knows that. I think that’s the clearest path to victory for me against Alex Pereira. But we’re not fighting. I am a fan of him. I support him, and I want to see him do well.”
Most MMA fans would love to see Jones and Pereira fight in the UFC, because it would pit arguably the greatest fighter of all time in Jones against one of the best strikers of all time in Pereira.
But with Jones not being an active fighter and with Pereira recently being knocked out by Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250, it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Jon Jones Says He Would Outwrestle Daniel Cormier
In addition to saying that he would submit Pereira, Jones also said that he believes he would outwrestle his longtime UFC rival Daniel Cormier in a pure wrestling match.
“I think I would have beat DC in a wrestling match. It wouldn’t be easy, but I think I would beat him in wrestling. I hear that he has problems with his back, so my strategy would be to just try to wear on him. Not shoot, not go for the takedown, but just hand fight, hand fight, hand fight, and see if I could wear on that back,” Jones said.
We have already seen Jones and Cormier fight twice inside the Octagon, but both fights primarily saw Jones use his striking to pick apart Cormier from the outside. In their first meeting at UFC 182 in January 2015, Jones beat Cormier by unanimous decision. In their second fight at UFC 214 in July 2017, Cormier was knocked out with a head kick, but the fight was overturned to a No Contest after Jones tested positive for banned substances.
Jon Jones Says He Would Submit Alex Pereira in UFC Fight