Jon Jones sees himself exploiting Alex Pereira and Tom Aspinall‘s game in the same way.
Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) was on a collision course with Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) when he held the UFC heavyweight title, but opted to relinquish his belt and retire. As a result, Aspinall was promoted to undisputed champion.
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But now that Jones is back in the drug-testing pool with intentions of returning, he sees UFC light heavyweight champion Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) as the more lucrative fight. But make no mistake about it, Jones is confident in how he matches up against both champions.
“With Pereira, I would just have to be smart. I would have to be really smart,” Jones said on Geoffrey Woo’s podcast. “I would have to use what’s in front of me. The biggest difference between Pereira and Aspinall is the level of footage that I have. Pereira posts everything – every sparring session. I have a whole kickboxing career to study from. I have a pretty decent resume in MMA to watch now, to take things from. I feel like Pereira is really stuck in a certain way of fighting.
“He has tendencies in his combinations, tendencies in his counters and his defense, and it would be my job to find the holes inside of those tendencies, which I feel like I could. I would imagine my reach is slightly longer. I think one of the things everyone is underestimating when it comes to our fight is my physical strength. I don’t always look like the strongest guy around, I’m not overly muscular, but everyone who wrestles me, they all say the same thing, ‘He’s so much more powerful than I would have imagined him being.’ Where he punches and kicks really hard, I think my grappling, power, and wisdom would be a lot for him to handle.”
Aspinall has proven to be the more well-rounded fighter than Pereira, but Jones sees the Brit as no match for him on the ground either.
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“I also feel like that would be the same scenario with Tom Aspinall,” Jones said. “I don’t think the U.K. wrestling system is as good as people think it is, and I don’t think their jiu-jitsu programs are as good as people say it is. Where Tom is a lot physically bigger, it would probably take me a little more effort. I think it would be the same story if I got Tom to the ground as it would be if I got Pereira to the ground.
“To me, it’s the same fight. They’re both strong on their feet, hit very hard on their feet, and I think they both have holes in the grappling department. So when you simplify it like that, now it’s more a matter of legacy: What would make more sense? Do you fight the guy who is impressive right now, who no one, I don’t think, is going to care about a few years from now? Or do you fight the guy who’s going to be remembered around the world for a very long time? In Brazil, Pereira is an absolute idol right now.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jon Jones reveals same approach for Alex Pereira, Tom Aspinall fights
