Ciryl Gane sheds light on who between Alex Pereira and Tom Aspinall has the better chance of beating Jon Jones
Jon Jones made his highly anticipated return to the octagon last month as he defeated Stipe Miocic via third-round TKO at UFC 309. It marked his first heavyweight title defense as he had been recovering from injury since defeating Ciryl Gane via first-round submission to capture the vacant belt at UFC 285 in March 2023.
It is unclear what will come next for 'Bones' as he has expressed interest in a superfight with Alex Pereira, while UFC CEO Dana White has shared that he believes Tom Aspinall will be his next opponent. 'Bon Gamin' recently weighed in on which fighter has a better chance of beating Jones. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the No.2-ranked heavyweight said:
"Every time we see for the fight against Stipe, everything was possible because Stipe is a really great fighter, really well-rounded, but [Jones] proved it another time. He's so dangerous, he's capable of changing, he can do everything you want so even if you have a guy [who is] really good on his striking or the wrestling, he can manage this."
Gane continued:
"So, maybe I'm going to say Tom because he's more well-rounded. When you have a guy like Alex Pereira, he's so dangerous on the striking so everything is possible. So, it's too hard to have a good answer."
Check out Ciryl Gane's comments on who has a better chance of beating Jon Jones below:
Gane welcomed Jones to the heavyweight division in March 2023 and had a first-hand experience of the talent of the long-time light heavyweight champion. Despite opening as a betting favorite, he lasted just over two minutes before being submitted.
Chael Sonnen shares how Jon Jones can make Alex Pereira fight happen
Jon Jones' future remains unclear as he has shared that he is content with retiring if the UFC does not meet his demands for his next bout. Chael Sonnen recently shared how he believes 'Bones' can ensure that he faces Alex Pereira. In a video shared to his Instagram, the former three-time UFC title challenger stated:
"Jon is at two options right now - fight Tom, don't fight. Those are the two options. Now, generally, there would be three - create another fight. That ability has been taken from Jones. Jones will not be in there opposite anybody except for Tom. It's not completely true. Jon could always just go back to 205 pounds. Jon did the one thing they said he'll never do which is took the belt off and walked away from it. Jon's already done that."
Check out Chael Sonnen's comments on Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira below:
Sonnen added that he believes Pereira prefers a super-fight against Jones to a clash with Magomed Ankalaev. It is unclear if 'Bones' has any interest in moving back down to light heavyweight after dominating the division for such a long period, or if he could even make 205 pounds.