Outside Source
Pereira (13-3) first called out Jones (28-1) after reclaiming his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320 this past October. Jones, who was eyeing a return after his retirement in June, expressed interest in fighting Pereira. The booking was being anticipated for the UFC White House card in June.
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However, the card was officially announced earlier this month, and Jones is surprisingly not a part of it. Pereira is scheduled to fight Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at Freedom Fights 250 on June 14 at the White House. Pereira believes he can still fight Jones in the future as long as he defeats Gane next.
“I believe so [there is a chance that the Jones fight happens]. As long as I win this fight [against Gane]. Otherwise, it doesn’t make much sense,” Pereira said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.”
Not Going Anywhere
Jones retired last year after stalling the heavyweight division for over a year. While he started rallying for a spot on the White House card since it was first mentioned, Dana White seemed sceptical throughout. White later said that Jones was never considered for a return at the White House card. Jones responded with a rant, hinting that he was involved in lengthy negotiations with the UFC. “Bones” has since publicly called for his UFC release. However, “Poatan” is still hopeful about fighting Jones as he believes that the UFC won’t release the former double-champ anytime soon.
“I believe it happens,” Pereira said. “Because he has to be released from the UFC. I don’t think the UFC is gonna release him anytime soon.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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