Jones willing to vacate UFC heavyweight title for Pereira fight

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones said Monday he'd relinquish his title if it was the only way he could set up a superfight with light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira.

"It'd be cool to fight over the heavyweight championship, but I would also willingly give up the heavyweight championship," Jones told Sportsnet's Aaron Bronsteter. "I walked away from the light heavyweight championship, and I'd love to walk away from this one, as well, on top, on his own terms, good head on his shoulders, making lots of money."

Jones is scheduled to return from a 20-month layoff to defend his belt for the first time against former champ Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

The 37-year-old has said he may retire after facing Miocic. However, he revealed last week that if he decides to continue his career, he'd be more likely to agree to a fight with Pereira than a fight against interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

The fact Jones isn't interested in unifying the titles with Aspinall - and went as far to undermine the Englishman's accomplishments in the Octagon - didn't sit well with some MMA fans, as Aspinall's held the interim belt since knocking out Sergei Pavlovich a year ago at UFC 295. By all accounts, Aspinall has done enough to warrant a crack at the undisputed title.

But the way Jones looks at it, an interim belt was unnecessary from the start - and it's made the heavyweight title picture murkier than it needed to be.

"The only reason why there was an interim championship fight was because I got hurt and they needed to keep the importance of that Madison Square Garden event," Jones said. "But Sergei and Aspinall shouldn't have been fighting for an interim title in the first place.

"They should've just been a replacement fight, just a main-event fight. I think making it an interim fight was premature. And now you have a bunch of confused people."

Jones, who withdrew from a scheduled UFC 295 bout against Miocic in November 2023 due to a torn pectoral muscle, argued the promotion should've given him some leeway because of his status as a longtime champion.

"When you have a dominant champion that's been around as long as I have, there is no reason to put an interim championship belt out there," Jones said.

Jones added he hopes there will be a different kind of championship on the line against Pereira if it can't be the heavyweight title.

"Fighting Pereira for the BMF belt, that'd be cool," Jones said. "We both have two belts in two weight classes, and the night we fought we'd be both fighting for our third belt."