Ben Askren reacts to Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira chatter: “You can’t leave Tom Aspinall sitting here with the interim belt”

Ben Askren isn’t a fan of the talk of Jon Jones fighting Alex Pereira before he mixes it up with Tom Aspinall.

Jones is the UFC Heavyweight Champion, but he hasn’t made a title defense yet despite winning the gold back in March 2023. “Bones” was scheduled to put the championship on the line against Stipe Miocic back in November 2023, but an injury derailed that plan. Tom Aspinall ended up winning the interim heavyweight gold by knocking out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295.

While many have been calling for a showdown between Jones and Aspinall, “Bones” recently mentioned UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira as a potential name to face. This has drawn the ire of some, including “Funky.”

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Ben Askren Criticizes Idea of Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira Before Tom Aspinall Fight

During a recent edition of “Funky & the Champ,” Ben Askren shared his concern over Alex Pereira’s ability to defend takedowns in a potential matchup against Jon Jones (via MMAFighting).

“We saw Pereira get taken down by [Israel] Adesanya and he was kept down for, actually, a significant portion of time. And it is kind of wild that we have this guy Pereira, and there’s no doubt he’s making his mark as, possibly, one of the best ever if he keeps winning, yet [there] are questions about his wrestling. Like, how would he do against good wrestling? And we don’t know because somehow Jamahal Hill didn’t try a takedown, [Jiri] Prochazka didn’t try a takedown, [Jan] Blachowicz actually did take him down and keep him down for a round, Strickland didn’t try a takedown. … Like, these guys, they don’t try takedowns.”

Ultimately, Askren believes that Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is the fight to make and he feels it’s wrong to keep the interim titleholder waiting.

“We want to see Jon Jones fight Tom Aspinall,” Askren said. “Aspinall’s got the interim belt, Jon’s got the [other] belt. It just doesn’t make any sense. Just freaking make them fight, and then if Jon beats him, then Pereira vs. Jon.

“You can’t leave Tom Aspinall sitting here with the interim belt.”