Jones doubts UFC will book Pereira fight

Jon Jones doesn't have much faith that the UFC will schedule a superfight between him and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

Jones, a former two-division champion, retired from MMA last June but almost immediately said he planned to fight again. Although he and Pereira have both expressed interest in squaring off at the UFC's highly anticipated event at the White House later this year, Jones doubts the bout will come to fruition.

"Pereira wants to fight me, but I don't think (UFC CEO) Dana White's gonna allow that to happen," Jones told Red Corner MMA. "It will be interesting to see what Dana wants."

White has repeatedly said he doesn't "trust" Jones to headline an event at the White House. Despite being one of the greatest and most popular fighters in UFC history, Jones' career has been marred by issues outside the cage, including failed drug tests and legal troubles.

In his final fight before retiring, Jones defended the heavyweight title with a TKO win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November 2024 at New York's Madison Square Garden.

The UFC tried to book a long-awaited unification bout between Jones and then-interim champion Tom Aspinall last year, but Jones turned it down and opted to retire instead. Aspinall was then promoted to undisputed heavyweight champion.