The await Jon Jones to return to motion could also be before later.
On Wednesday, UFC CEO Dana White revealed his anticipated timeline for Jones to return to motion and defend his heavyweight title after a lopsided win over Stipe Miocic this previous November. Whereas Jones hasn’t totally dedicated to any combat since then, White is assured that he’ll get a deal executed to place him within the octagon in opposition to interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in a title unification bout.
“The plan is to combat Jon this summer time,” White informed The Jim Rome Present. “Clearly, when, the place and all that stuff is being decided. My purpose this 12 months is to make that combat [with] Aspinall.”
A possible wrinkle to these plans might come this weekend when Alex Pereira defends his gentle heavyweight title in opposition to Magomed Ankalaev within the UFC 313 major occasion.
A win would function Pereira’s fourth straight title protection and there wouldn’t be a whole lot of new challenges left for him at 205 kilos.
In actual fact, Pereira has already teased a possible transfer to heavyweight, however White says he’s truly behind hitting the pause button the Brazilian altering divisions once more after conquering middleweight and light-weight heavyweight.
“The opposite factor about Pereira that everyone loves is, this man desires to go as much as heavyweight and combat at heavyweight, too,” White stated. “I’m the one which’s truly holding him again on that.”
Maybe the most important roadblock to Pereira transferring as much as heavyweight is White’s willpower to e book Jones in opposition to Aspinall earlier than the rest.
White vows that’s the combat he desires to make most proper now however assuming Jones battles Aspinall in 2025, he gained’t low cost the likelihood that Pereira might then place himself for a large showdown in his heavyweight debut.
“He desires to [fight Jon Jones],” White stated about Pereira. “Let’s see how this combat performs out, if he wins, how he wins, all that sort of stuff.
“I believe that the combat that everyone desires to see proper now could be Jones and Aspinall after which there’s little doubt that Pereira might combat the winner.”
