The results were spectacular. Say what you will about ducking Tom Aspinall, but Jones utterly dominated both Ciryl Gane and Stipe Miocic in his pair of Heavyweight bouts. Conversely, Alex Pereira was fighting at 205-pounds less than a year prior to his UFC White House battle versus “Bon Gamin.” Though he was able to pack on size (ask O’Malley), Jones questions if “Poatan” put on too much weight while analyzing the “perfect storm” that was the Ciryl Gane knockout loss.
“I felt like Pereira, he came in too big,“ Jones told Red Corner MMA. ”I think he would have been better off fighting around 230-235, keeping that speed. I feel like his power would have possibly translated over. In the fight you just saw him, he was waiting. He was second-guessing things, questioning things, and that’s one of the worst things you can do in a fight. It feels like a nightmare when you’re out there in front of your opponent, and you know the moves, know you should throw the punch or kick or go for that takedown — then you just don’t. You find yourself out there watching instead of doing.
“I’ve had it happen to me many times in practice, and I felt like that’s what happened with Alex. He never really got his ball rolling. Ciryl Gane came at him in a Southpaw stance, which also challenges Pereira. He was fast, powerful, unorthodox. It was the perfect storm for Pereira, and he didn’t survive it.“
Having fought Gane himself and considered fighting Pereira, Jones has a strong understanding of the matchup. Though it doesn’t look likely right now, there’s still a fair shot Jones vs. Pereira happens somewhere down the line. If that marquee matchup ends up booked, expect a lot of leftie fighting from “Bones” … and perhaps a slightly slimmer “Poatan?”
