A White House fight card should’ve been Jon Jones‘ grand return. Instead, Dana White hit the brakes hard. Apparently, Jones’ retirement announcement in June not only broke fans’ hearts but also sabotaged his fight with Tom Aspinall. Needless to say, ‘Bones’ gained a bad image in White’s eyes. Now, with Jones willing to make a comeback at the White House, he’s not the best to count on.

“I just can’t risk putting him in big positions in a big spot and have something go wrong, especially the White House card,” UFC boss Dana White said. But UFC veteran Chael Sonnen has a different perspective.

Jon Jones shows real intent

“Dana White called into question. Hey, can I trust you? Hey, can I count on you to fight? If you say that you’ll do something, do I know for sure that that’s going to happen? It could rain. It could snow, the weather could be—I mean, so on and so forth. The opponent can change. You as a variable… can I keep you as a constant?” Chael Sonnen lifted the lid on White’s actual sore point.

And Sonnen believes Jones’ statement echoes that exact sentiment. “And I think that Jon saying, ‘Yeah, as a matter of fact, I don’t even have to main event. I don’t even have to fight for the belt,’ I think that it’s interesting. I think that it’s positive in Jon’s direction,” he continued.

“He’s now showing his sincerity to that apology by saying it doesn’t have to be a main event. It doesn’t have to be for a title. I just want on that card. Okay, that all sounds pretty good,” he added on Jones’ commitment and sincerity.

Former heavyweight champion ‘Bones’ is already showing that intent in the gym. Responding to White’s refusal to put him on the White House card, he added, “While I was a little disappointed, I’m still in the UFC’s drug-testing pool, staying sharp, and continuing to train like a professional. I’ll be ready for whatever comes next.” This is the exact mental grooving that White is aiming for.

Is a comeback possible? Well, this is not the first time White has shut the door on someone. Since Arman Tsarukyan unreliably pulled out of his title fight against Islam Makhachev, the Armenian fighter still hasn’t received another title shot. However, making a dominant comeback at UFC Qatar, it looks like Tsarukyan has forced a window open again.

Now, with that out of mind, the million-dollar question is who does Jones contend against? Sonnen has a name in mind. “If you wanted to make Jon show that he’s earnest, you allow him to fight Alex Pereira, and you even let it be for a title, and you even make it the main event. You just make him cut down to 205 pounds. Problem solved,” suggested Sonnen.

Bringing down the fight to the LHW division would not only be a contest for Jones to show his sincerity, but also put him against one of the deadliest strikers. Top that with a title fight, and it looks like the perfect no-excuses repice for Jones to make a comeback in a division he once reigned. But Pereira wants to head in a different direction.

Alex Pereira eyes his third title

Right after Alex Pereira returned to the conversation after knocking out Magomed Ankalaev in UFC 320, all heads turned to him. Carlos Ulberg became next in line for the light heavyweight title, while Khamzat Chimaev tried to jump into the story. But Pereira has made it clear he wants a superfight in the heavyweight division at the White House event.

“With all due respect, with all the respect I have for the situation … I was going to ask for Jon Jones at the White House, but with everything that happened, it’s not the right time to talk about it.” He continued, “I want a superfight. It would be at the White House against Jon Jones. That’s a superfight.”

Double UFC Champion in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, ‘Poatan’ is ready to challenge Jon Jones in his territory for his third career title. That would require the Brazilian striker to go up from 205 pounds to 265 pounds. While it won’t be an easy division to tackle, especially beginning with a super fight against the former champion, ‘Poatan’ looks ready to accept that challenge. What are your thoughts on Jones vs Pereira?