Most people write off 205lbs kingpin Alex Pereira‘s chances in a possible heavyweight fight with Jon Jones. After all, the Brazilian is a pure striker and would just be taken down and mauled by ‘Bones’ on the ground. Or so people think. But Jones’ coach, Brandon Gibson’s recent comments about the fight have opened the door to a Pereira victory.

The coach, in a recent interview with YouTube channel ‘From The Stands’ first praised Pereira profusely and his well-known strengths. He then speculated that Jones may well go into this potential fight with a chip on his shoulder and wanting to prove that he is the better striker.

“I think Pereira brings a lot of problems. He brings a lot of strength, great defense, a great chin, and a very unique style. Jon won’t just use his wrestling and take him down and Jon’s grappling is on another level. But man Jon could be at times stubborn to want to show that he’s better than an opponent in their most skilled area. So, you know, I don’t necessarily think we would see Jon just shooting a takedown right away. I think Jon could stand with Pereira and it could be an incredible kickboxing match” Gibson reflected on Jones’ probable strategy against ‘Poatan’.

If Jones indeed tries to stand and bang with Pereira, he would needlessly make his own life harder. ‘Poatan’ is perhaps the best striker in the heavier divisions and has faced countless world-class kickboxers in his ‘Glory’ days. While Jones is undoubtedly pretty damn smart, ‘Poatan’ has one thing that he lacks- raw and unadulterated power.

Could Jones beat Pereira in a kickboxing contest? Sure. But it certainly will be much much harder than if he shoots a takedown first chance he gets. Especially since ‘Bones’ at heavyweight is not quite as quick as he was at 205lbs. But for now, both Jones and Pereira have to take care of business in their divisions before they think about fighting each other.

As we speak, Jones is in negotiations with the UFC to fight interim champ Tom Aspinall. However, there has been nothing but confusion about how far the negotiations have gone and the exact details of it.

Joe Rogan backsteps on Jon Jones’ $30 million payout claim against Tom Aspinall

Joe Rogan created quite a furor recently after he revealed he had heard Jones wanted $30 million to fight Tom Aspinall. This, of course, would have been the biggest paycheck in the history of the UFC. But then again Dana White has predicted that Jones-Aspinall would be the biggest fight in the history of the sport, so a $30 million payout including the PPV cut was not completely out of the realm of possibility.

But actually, it turns out that $30 million is indeed out of bounds. The head honcho himself called Rogan and clarified that Jones was not asking for that eye-watering sum to fight Aspinall. This, of course, raises the question- how much does Jones want to fight the Englishman? All we know for sure is that ‘Bones’ wants “f**k you money”.But how much that is remains unknown. The most Jones has ever made in the UFC is between $5-7 million for the UFC 309 Stipe Miocic fight.

It is safe to say that this potential amount would be at least twice, maybe even three times that check. And this is a lot more doable for the UFC. Especially if the UFC CEO believes Jones-Aspinall will be as big as he has publicly predicted. What do you think about Brandon Gibson’s take on a possible Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones fight?