A few days ago, Daniel Cormier made the bold claim that Jon Jones intentionally leaked his arthritis claim. According to ‘DC,’ Jones probably knew he was being recorded and wanted to put the information out there the best way he saw fit. Cormier had no complaints. He concluded that he and Jones would never wrestle, and that Jones had nothing left to give. But Alex Pereira could not care less!

In the midst of the early fantasy matchups for the White House UFC event, one fight kept coming up: Jones versus Pereira. But when Jon Jones revealed on tape that he has severe arthritis in his left hip and is qualified for a hip replacement, he practically killed any chance he had of getting that spot on June 14. This is something that may seem reasonable to many, except Pereira, who has hinted that just like with Tom Aspinall, ‘Bones’ is simply trying to duck another difficult fight.

Alex Pereira questions Jon Jones’ arthritis explanation

“Come on, every athlete I know has chronic injuries, serious injuries,” Alex Pereira said on Valter Walker‘s YouTube channel. “If any high-level athlete, given their history, were to say something like that, it wouldn’t be news to me.

Man, I want them to put themselves in front of me. I am going to fight. I love fighting, so it doesn’t matter weight classes. Of course, if you say middleweight, I can’t make that anymore. At the other two divisions, light heavyweight and heavyweight, [the opponent] is indifferent to me.”

It wasn’t aggressive or loud. But the light heavyweight champion’s words surely carried weight. Pereira’s reputation is built on fighting through damage. To him, injuries are part of the job description.

He fought Magomed Ankalaev the first time around with a shin injury. It compromised his movements and took away his patented leg kicks. ‘Poatan’ later revealed he was only at 40% in that fight, where he was only marginally outclassed. He came back a few months later and KO’d the Russian in the opening minutes of the fight.

And that is the real message. If Jones is unable to cut or gain weight, Alex Pereira will move up or down accordingly. If the White House card needs a star, he’s prepared. If heavyweight needs saving while Tom Aspinall recovers, he’ll take that risk too.

At 38, ‘Poatan’ isn’t talking about legacy management, something that fans often bring up, as Jon Jones also gave out a hundred reasons not to fight Tom Aspinall. He’s referring to movement—”1-2-3 and go,” as he teased on social media. Moreover, they are the same age. In fact, Pereira is just twelve days older than Jones!

Whether Jones’ hip heals or not, Pereira’s stance is clear: excuses don’t interest him. Fights do. And if not Jones, Pereira has other lucrative options out there.

Weeks after Khamzat Chimaev‘s call-out to Pereira for a clash at the White House, Team Borz’s coach has sent out a warning for ‘Poatan.’

Coach Alan Nascimento gives Pereira a heads-up

Pereira’s willingness to fight anyone, anywhere, is impressive. But from Khamzat Chimaev’s side, that approach could be exactly what they’re looking for. While ‘Poatan’ discusses moving up and chasing a third belt, Team Chimaev sees opportunity—and risk.

“If I look at the situation from Khamzat’s side, Khamzat vs. Pereira would be the fight that would sell the most, and Khamzat would be fighting for another belt; it’s great for him,” coach Alan Nascimento told MMA Today.

“If I were Pereira, I would not accept that fight… let’s be honest, Khamzat would be the biggest challenge.

Pereira would have to defend. Pereira already has two belts; now he has the opportunity to accomplish something no one has ever done before in the history of the UFC. If I were Pereira, I would say, ‘Khamzat, I have a bigger goal—I have to go for the third belt.’”

According to him, this strategy makes sense because otherwise ‘Poatan’ would have to defend against a crushing grappling style that has troubled strikers before. But what if the Brazilian refuses to budge? Then, Team Chimaev is sure that the fight will happen. However, the advice is simple: if Pereira wants to leave a legacy, there may be smarter risks to take than welcoming ‘Borz’ to 205.