Alex Pereira wants Jon Jones. We'll see if the UFC and his foot let him.
Alex Pereira's demolition of Magomed Ankalaev might not have been as painless as it appeared.
The UFC light heavyweight champion reclaimed his belt at UFC 320 on Saturday, wobbling the Russian with a hard right a minute into the fight and finishing the job on the ground in one of the most impressive performances of his career.
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Five days later at a UFC Q&A in Rio de Janeiro, Pereira revealed he sustained a foot fracture during the fight and isn't sure when he'll be able to step into the Octagon again, but said he was targeting the White House card on June 14 as a return date. His comment, translated by MMA Fighting:
“I did an X-ray in Las Vegas and an MRI here and we have a fracture on my foot, but I still don’t know what will happen or how long it will take for me to recover. I think it’s good to focus on this White House [date]. It’s something that interests me. I think I’ll focus on this. I don't know if the timing will work.
It's unclear when Pereira would have sustained the fracture, though he did land a few kicks to Ankalaev's lower leg in the early moments of the fight. He also wasn't the only fighter to leave the Octagon with an injury, as Ankalaev's camp has since said he suffered a broken rib before the fight.
Pereira has already stated whom he would like to face on the White House south lawn: former champion Jon Jones, who retired this year but has already made it very clear he wishes to return for the high-profile event in Washington D.C. Pereira said Sunday he wants a superfight with Jones at heavyweight there.
Such a fight is a tantalizing prospect for an event where the UFC will want an elevated card, though the UFC has already signaled it's not interested in hinging its hopes on the famously volatile ex-champion. Speaking this weekend, UFC CEO Dana White also threw cold water on a jump to heavyweight for Pereira this weekend:
“He was a middleweight [before this]. … It’s not that I have any reservations about it — the guy is in a division that there's still interesting fights. I don’t know. I like the guy so much, we’ll see. We’ll have to talk about it. I just don't see why [he moves up in weight] unless he wants to retire. Why throw him at heavyweight? [It doesn't] make any sense other than he just wants to do it so bad, I'll just say yes.”
So there are a few obstacles for a Pereira-Jones fight, even beyond the health of the guy trying to make it happen. Still, you can't discount a possibility when it's being discussed this much.
Category: General Sports
