Alex Pereira seeks Jon Jones super-fight at White House after paying tribute to icon’s late brother

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Alex Pereira has explained that he resisted calling out Jon Jones in the cage after UFC 320, due to the death of Jones’s brother this week. However, the Brazilian does want to face the light-heavyweight legend next.

In the main event of UFC 320 on Saturday (4 October), Pereira needed little over a minute to knock out Magomed Ankalaev, regaining the light-heavyweight title that he lost to the Russian in March.

In the cage afterwards, Pereira paid tribute to Arthur Jones – Jon’s brother, who won the 2012 Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens during his time in the NFL. Arthur died unexpectedly on Friday (3 October) at the age of 39.

Jon Jones immediately responded to Pereira’s words by tweeting, “Wow Alex,” and adding a praying emoji. However, Pereira might have interpreted the words as a compliment on his performance against Ankalaev.

The Brazilian, 38, said at a post-fight press conference: “Thanks for congratulating me, but all I want is a super-fight. I want to fight at heavyweight.”

Jones, 38, is a former two-time light-heavyweight champion in the UFC, and the American is widely deemed the division’s greatest-ever fighter – if not the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. However, his last two fights took place at heavyweight, as he won the vacant title in 2023 and retained it in November 2024.

Alex Pereira celebrates his quickfire stoppage of Magomed Ankalaev (Getty Images)

That said, Jones has since retired and vacated the heavyweight title, with interim champion Tom Aspinall elevated to regular champion. The only opportunity that could coax Jones out of retirement, it seems, is a fight on the planned White House card in June 2026.

And Pereira is also eyeing that event. “With all due respect, with all the respect I have for the situation [of Arthur Jones’s death], I was going to ask for Jon Jones at the White House,” he said.

“I want a super-fight. It would be at the White House against Jon Jones. That’s a super-fight. […] But with everything that happened, it’s not the right time to talk about it.”

Yet if that fight cannot materialise, Pereira simply wants to face “the best, whoever is the best”.

Former UFC light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion Jon Jones (Getty Images)

Also at UFC 320, Pereira’s old rival Jiri Prochazka fought from behind to knock out Khalil Rountree Jr, another former opponent of Pereira. The emphatic finish has led some fans to call for a trilogy fight between Prochazka and Pereira, who has twice knocked out the former champion.

However, Carlos Ulberg was also in attendance at UFC 320, a week on from his knockout of former title challenger Dominick Reyes. Ulberg is also seen as a potential challenger to Pereira.

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