"Legends need to fight legends"- Kevin Holland urges Jon Jones to fight Alex Pereira instead of Tom Aspinall despite title unification
Kevin Holland weighed in on the ongoing debate regarding Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall and explained why the UFC should actually pass over the interim champion in favor of Alex Pereira. The heavyweight division currently has some uncertainty as it's unclear whether 'Bones' or Stipe Miocic will retire after their title bout.
Aspinall successfully retained his interim heavyweight championship following an impressive first-round knockout over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 this past Saturday. Following the bout, the Englishman turned his attention to the heavyweight champion and continued to express interest in fighting him in a unification bout.
During his appearance on The Barnhill Brothers Show, 'Trailblazer' noted that he believes 'Bones' should only be against opponents with legendary resumes. He said:
"Tom's [Aspinall] doing a great job. Tom's gonna end up becoming heavyweight king. Great. Fantastic, that's wonderful. Props for Tom. And it's like not everybody needs to fight the legend and legends need to fight legends...Maybe Tom Aspinall is the person to beat Jon Jones. I don't fu**ing want to see it. If Jon Jones is going to lose to anybody, it needs to be Alex Pereira."
Check out Kevin Holland's comments below:
Kevin Holland claims Jon Jones should retire if he's offered Tom Aspinall instead of Alex Pereira
Kevin Holland made a bold claim regarding the heavyweight division as he stated that Jon Jones should retire if he defeats Stipe Miocic and is offered Tom Aspinall as his next opponent.
A bout between 'Bones' and Aspinall would unify the heavyweight championship. But a bout against Alex Pereira would be unique as it would see the Brazilian attempt to become the first-ever three-division UFC champion. During the aforementioned appearance, Holland said:
"If it's not Jon Jones vs. Alex [Pereira], there needs to be no more Jon Jones fights...[If it's not Pereira after Miocic, then retire?] It's done, yeah."
Check out the full interview with Holland below: