The next UFC heavyweight title fight would appear to be pitting arguably the greatest of all time against the best fighter we have seen in this weight class inside the Octagon.
Despite the pedigree that both Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic bring to the table, there are two other names that the majority of fans would rather see face off with “Bones”.
Interim champion Tom Aspinall is seen by many as the future of the division and with his speed and ability to finish fights, he’s a test that many want to see Jones face.
Though he may have never competed at this weight, the idea of seeing light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira move up is another incredibly enticing prospect following the run that he has been on, which has turned him into one of the biggest names in the sport.
Mario Bautista Gives His Take On How Alex Pereira, Tom Aspinall & Jon Jones Match Up
At UFC 307, Mario Bautista is set to share the card with “Poatan” who will be defending his light heavyweight title in the main event against Khalil Rountree.
Elsewhere on the main card, Bautista is set to take on his biggest challenge to date when he faces off with a legend of the game in Brazil’s José Aldo.
The bantamweight contender spoke in a recent interview with MMA News about whether he thinks Pereira would be able to mix it up with the heavyweight division’s two current champions.
He explained why, in his opinion, Aspinall would be the tougher match-up for the elite striker at 205-pounds.
“It’s hard to say, it’s very interesting you know. He has that power and I think Jon Jones did fight at 205 too so I’d give him a shot at Jon Jones. Tom Aspinall, he can move pretty fast for how big he is so that’s the iffy one for me.”
In a follow-up question, Bautista was asked whether this means that based on MMA math, he would also pick Aspinall to beat Jones, therefore seeing him come out on top in this little fantasy round-robin tournament.
“I think he could. Tom Aspinall, for how big he is and how fast he moves, I don’t think Jon Jones has kind of seen anything like that so I would go with Tom on that one.”
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