This is why Alex Pereira is loved the way he is. His move to heavyweight might be the big picture, but it’s not the full picture. No, the full picture is him moving to heavyweight and fighting Jon Jones. The White House card was the perfect stage for that historic clash, until the UFC fumbled the negotiations and opted to go the old Ciryl Gane route for an interim title. But Pereira has not lost hope.

Pereira’s heavyweight debut on June 14 is part of a new eight-fight contract he recently signed with the promotion. With such a long deal, he feels that the Jones fight is bound to happen sooner or later.

During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the Brazilian, speaking through longtime coach and interpreter Plinio Cruz, explained that the door remains open, but only under the right conditions.

“I believe so, as long as I win this fight, right?” Alex Pereira said through Cruz. “Because otherwise it doesn’t make too much sense, because now, Alex is a dangerous guy, why are you going to put himself on the line? But I believe he can win in this fight. It’s a big chance. Well, I believe it happens because he (Jones) has to be released from the UFC. I don’t think the UFC is going to release him anytime soon. If he wants to fight, who’s going to be against? It’s going to be against him (Pereira).”

Fans have been speculating about a possible superfight between Pereira and former champion Jon Jones for a while now. That matchup looked even more intriguing when Jones publicly campaigned to appear on the White House card before ultimately being left off the event. Negotiations reportedly broke down after Jones claimed the UFC “lowballed” him, and he even asked the promotion to release him from his contract. But let’s focus on ‘Poatan’ for now.

At 38, was signing an eight-fight deal the best idea, given how restrictive UFC contracts supposedly are? Well, it has already placed him in a position to chase something unprecedented: a UFC title in a third weight class. So, it can’t be all bad, right? And the Brazilian says the UFC took good care of him because all he wanted to do was vacate his belt and move up. But for those of you who have been around the UFC long enough, this might ring a few bells.

When Jones returned to action in 2023, he was coming out of a three-year hiatus and making his heavyweight debut. He, too, had just signed an eight-fight deal that granted him a shot at the undisputed title on his first fight in the division, with paychecks that matched the likes of Brock Lesnar. Three years later, he’s publicly at loggerheads with the UFC over the size of his paychecks. Who is to say Pereira won’t one day have the same fate? But he’s not worried about all of that just yet.

As he further shared, his attention is currently locked on Gane. The French heavyweight represents a very different challenge from the opponents Pereira faced at middleweight and light heavyweight. At 6-foot-4 and known for his footwork and technical striking, Gane already has a lot of experience in title fights, as he has already held the interim title once.

For Alex Pereira, the matchup carries more than just divisional stakes. No one has captured titles in three divisions in the UFC. That’s the immediate goal. The Jon Jones fight, if it happens, comes later. Yet, according to Michael Bisping, that matchup isn’t really that exciting.

Michael Bisping backs Pereira vs Gane as “better” than the Jon Jones fight

The former middleweight champion recently weighed in on the situation after the UFC confirmed Pereira would face Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at the June 14 White House event. While many fans had hoped for a blockbuster clash between Pereira and Jon Jones, Michael Bisping believes the promotion actually landed on the better fight.

Speaking on YouTube during the discussion surrounding Dana White’s fight announcements, ‘The Count’ explained that stylistically, Pereira vs. Gane simply makes more sense from an entertainment perspective.

“Truly, I think it’s a better fight than Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones,” Bisping said. “I know a lot of people wanted that, but you’ve got to think Jon Jones probably would have just tried to wrestle him.”

Bisping also pointed to the recent criticism surrounding the BMF title fight between Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira. Many fans expected a striking war, but the bout turned into a grappling-heavy affair that left some viewers disappointed.

In contrast, he believes Pereira vs. Gane has the ingredients for the kind of fight fans were hoping for last time, a high-level striking battle. According to him, putting two elite stand-up fighters together could result in what he described as a “world-class kickboxing match in four-ounce gloves,” predicting the clash has all the makings of a thrilling contest.

So while the Jon Jones super fight still lingers in the background, Alex Pereira’s focus hasn’t changed. June 14 is about one thing first: beating Ciryl Gane and taking the next step toward history. Everything else, including ‘Bones’, comes after that.