UFC 309 is just around the corner, with Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic set to finally face off. Should the winner decide not to retire, does a megafight with Alex Pereira or Tom Aspinall await?
Chael Sonnen thinks fans hoping to have that question answered need to pump their brakes.
On an episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy, Sonnen claimed that he has reason to believe neither Pereira nor Aspinall will get the winner of next Saturday’s main event; rather, they’ll have to fight each other first.
“I have always believed—and this is nothing more than rumor—and I back this with a little evidence, but I have always maintained that Pereira’s next fight will be against Aspinall and it will be for the interim [heavyweight] title,” Sonnen said. “I even believe I know when it’s going to be. I believe it’s going to be mid-January in California [at UFC 311].”
A Pereira-Aspinall matchup wouldn’t be completely out of the blue, as the suggestion has been brought up to the fighters in the past, though both have also expressed a desire to fight Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Most recently, Jones stated that should he defeat Miocic, he’d consider fighting Pereira next.
There’s also the consideration that Pereira, the reigning light heavyweight champion, has a No. 1 contender waiting for him in his division in Magomed Ankalaev. However, with the UFC not committing to that matchup yet, Pereira—also a former champion at 185 pounds—remains free to vie for a third title should he make the jump up to heavyweight.
Once the UFC 309 headliner has his hand raised, who does Sonnen see the cameras going to first with Pereira and Aspinall both expected to be in attendance at Madison Square Garden?
“I do believe there’s going to be a panning to both of those guys,” Sonnen said. “I believe there’s going to be a conversation, but not because they’re next for the winner of Jones-Stipe. I think they’re going to find a way to get those two together and the winner will take on Jones or Stipe. That is purely a rumor, but I’m just offering it.
“I’m also hearing that Pereira’s hand isn’t going to be quite ready by December but could be by January and, again, you remove Ankalaev but you insert Aspinall, I just think there’s some legs to that. Now, there has to be certain outcomes. Stipe comes in, he wins this, everything we just said is up in smoke, but I’ve never seen Dana White play checkers. I’ve always seen Dana White be two and three steps ahead and I’m telling you, I believe the direction they’re looking to go if everything works out: Aspinall-Pereira.”
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