Morning Report: Tom Aspinall tells Jon Jones ‘only one thing to do’ after Alex Pereira loss at UFC 313

Tom Aspinall didn’t fight at UFC 313, but he might have been one of the event’s biggest winners.

Saturday’s main event saw Alex Pereira’s light heavyweight championship run come to an end at the hands of Magomed Ankalaev. UFC CEO Dana White thinks an immediate rematch could be next, which would remove Pereira from other matchmaking considerations for now.

There’s also the fact that Pereira’s loss takes some shine off of a potential superfight with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, an idea both men have publicly expressed interest in. Aspinall, the interim heavyweight champion, has long been seeking his own fight with Jones, and he believes the UFC 313 main event result could work in his favor as far as making a title unification bout finally happen.

“That’s off the table now, the Alex Pereira fight at heavyweight or any other weight,” Aspinall said in a YouTube reaction video to UFC 313. “I guess he could still fight him at light heavy, but it won’t be for a title.

“Jon, there’s only one thing to do. Sign the contract and let’s get a date going. I know we saw last night Dana White was talking, everything is now done on Jon’s side and the UFC now have to find a date and a venue, place, location, so we’re waiting for that. We’ve got some good news coming soon, hopefully.”

It’s no secret that Aspinall has been willing to fight Jones for ages, while Jones has repeatedly taken shots at Aspinall’s credentials, claiming the British star hasn’t done enough to earn a fight with him. Aspinall is 8-1 in the UFC’s heavyweight division with one title defense under his belt, which came against Curtis Blaydes when Jones chose to defend against veteran Stipe Miocic instead (Miocic immediately retried after losing to Jones at UFC 309).

In addition to claiming the heavyweight title, Jones is best known for his legendary run at the top of the 205-pound division, which saw him successfully defend that championship 11 times in total. It is not yet known if he will still pursue a bout with Pereira now that “Poatan” is coming off of a loss.

As for how Aspinall rated Ankalaev vs. Pereira, he praised the contest, questioning critics who didn’t appreciate the tactics involved.

“First of all, great fight, anyone who says it wasn’t, doesn’t know MMA,” Aspinall said. “So I thought it was an amazing fight. The key to winning for Ankalaev in my opinion, he wanted it more. Pressure, he looked the fresher man. Mixed in between the takedowns and the striking beautifully. I wasn’t sure if he would do that, to be honest.

“I said a lot in the pre-fight, Ankalaev needs to do that—and I’m not saying that he took my advice, because he didn’t, he’s got amazing coaches, he’s a smart guy himself—but he did it perfectly. I wasn’t sure if he would get a little bit ploddy and end up getting caught by the extremely powerful Alex Pereira, but Alex Pereira’s run is done as a champion for now.”

Unsurprisingly, Aspinall is in favor of seeing Ankalaev and Pereira run it back, not just because that bout being made increases the likelihood of Jones having to fight him, but because he believes Pereira deserves the rematch.

“In my opinion, immediate rematch should be there next,” Aspinall said. “Alex Pereira is a massive, massive, massive star in the sport of MMA. Massive. Lost it last night, lost his title, but the run that he has been on has warranted an immediate rematch. Magomed Ankalaev, to me, looks like he’s got his number. It looks like the same thing could happen again, in my opinion. I want to see it again. I absolutely want to see that fight again.

“That was a great fight. Grueling fight. Hopefully, people on the outside who are not physically involved in the sport physically like I am can see how grueling fights like that really are. That was an absolutely exhausting fight for both guys, and we’ve got a new champion. Magomed Ankalaev, light heavyweight champion, congratulations.”

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Defeat. Alex Pereira reacts to ‘boring style’ that led to Magomed Ankalaev loss, vows to ‘make some adjustments for the rematch.’

Cardio. Magomed Ankalaev blasts Alex Pereira for ‘running for 20 minutes’ in UFC 313 title fight loss.

Trilogy. Justin Gaethje reveals reason for not wanting Dustin Poirier trilogy.

Rematch. Dana White reacts to Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev decision, reveals rematch ‘probably’ next.

Ruthless. Robbie Lawler announced for UFC Hall of Fame modern wing induction.

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UFC 313 post-fight show.

UFC 313 post-fight media scrums.

Re-live the magic of UFC 314.

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On to the Next One.

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Goals.

Fight.

Respect.

Unity.

Hot tub heals all wounds.

Girl dad.

Money Moicano with a spot-on description of the UFC 313 prelim opener.

Champion.

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It won’t be making the UFC Hall of Fame Fight Wing, but Magomed Ankalaev did the damn thing on Saturday night. He walked Alex Pereira down, implemented his gameplan, and did enough to win the decision (even though few would have complained if it went the other way).

“It don’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning’s winning” as a great man once said.

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This article first appeared at MMA Fighting – All Posts

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