The year 2026 will usher in a new era in the UFC, and perhaps might even be the promotion’s biggest yet! The Paramount deal, and the UFC White House card, and on it? Possibly the greatest matchup in recent fight history. We’re, of course, talking about an Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones matchup. Following his dominant win over Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320, ‘Poatan’ respectfully called out ‘Bones’, in light of the latter’s older brother, Arthur Jones’ passing. Doubling down on the callout on About the Last Fight podcast, Pereira said, “It would be at the White House, against Jon Jones. That’s a super fight.” Not long after, ‘Bones’ accepted the two-time light heavyweight champ’s invitation.

 “Alex, I’d be down to bring the highest skill level to the White House. I appreciate the respect you showed, let’s dance,” Jones posted on X. And just like that, the still-unofficial White House card might already have a main event capable of breaking records. Honestly, who wouldn’t love a Pereira vs. Jones showdown? But, there are a few reasons why Dana White should think twice before booking this fight for the June 14 event. Let’s explore why. 

Jon Jones might prove to be unreliable for such an important event 

Before Dana White revealed at the UFC Baku press conference that ‘Bones’ had officially retired, he had made it sound like the fight with Tom Aspinall was inevitable. Yet despite the UFC boss’s confidence in that fight happening, Jones ended up saying goodbye to the sport. At first, the former two-division champ’s retirement seemed completely legitimate.

However, after Donald Trump announced that the UFC would host an event to honor America’s 250th anniversary, Jones broke his retirement barely a week later and re-entered the testing pool with intentions of appearing on the card. You’d think being a former two-weight champ, and the head honcho’s golden boy would land you a spot on the most coveted card in UFC history. But the road to UFC White House might just not be a cake walk for consensus GOAT of the sport. Why? Well, because Dana White isn’t a fan of the idea.

“He reached out, he wrote, like a text saying, ‘Listen, sorry how this all played out’ or whatever. ‘I want to fight at the White House – I’m serious about that. No, I appreciate it, I appreciate him reaching out and doing that, but I need people I can count on for this fight,” the UFC head honcho told White told Sirius XM’s Zach Gelb.

It wasn’t an outright dismissal, but White clearly seemed unhappy with the way Jones handled his retirement, and the whole saga with Tom Aspinall. In the aftermath of UFC 309, where Jon Jones defended his title against Stipe Miocic with a third-round TKO that began with a spinning back heel kick, the 56 year-old CEO was sure that Jones vs. Aspinall’s title unification bout would happen. He termed it “the greatest heavyweight fight of all time.” So, when that fight fell through, it hit White hard. During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, he even named Conor McGregor as the one fighter he could actually trust with events of that magnitude, not Jones.

Let’s explore Dana White’s unwillingness to bank on Jones. Over the years, the two-weight world champion has been involved in incidents that would derail any lesser fighter’s career, including failed PED tests. But if you wind the clock back to 2012, there was an instance where a whole card had to be canceled because Jon Jones refused a replacement opponent. We’re talking about UFC 151, where the then-light heavyweight champion refused to fight Chael Sonnen on eight days’ notice, after Dan Henderson pulled out.

“This is one of the most selfish, disgusting decisions that doesn’t just affect you. This is affecting 16 other lives, their families, kids are going back to school. The list goes on and on of all the things, the money that was spent for fighters to train and the list goes on and on,” a frustrated Dana White said, expressing that he and Lorenzo Fertitta felt “disgusted” with Jon Jones and his coach Greg Jackson. And then, once again, at UFC 200, Jones had to be pulled from the card after he tested positive for a banned substance, resulting in USADA suspending him for a year. Jones vs. Cormier 2 was supposed to headline the card, instead ‘DC’ was matched up with Anderson Silva in the featured bout, while Amanda Nunes took Meisha Tate’s belt in the main event. Imagine White’s frustration.

With the White House card, the stakes are different. With prestige and glory, and a chance to shine as a patriot, Jones isn’t going to to let up, and is nothing if not persistent. In a recent interview with The Schmo at the DBX event, he pleaded, “Dana, bro. Please, bro. Please. I’m training, I’m feeling great,” insisting that he still wants to represent his country on MMA’s biggest stage. Still, given his history of being unreliable, can Dana White really trust him? If it’s Alex Pereira, Jones might actually show up. But if the promotion once again targets Tom Aspinall, as many expect, there’s a real chance those fight negotiations could collapse all over again.

Well, if reliability is the issue with Jones, then with Pereira, the UFC could be facing an entirely different problem, especially if he ends up fighting the former champ at the White House.  

Alex Pereira could freeze the light heavyweight division for the Jones fight  

Even before facing Magomed Ankalaev for the first time at UFC 313, Alex Pereira had already been toying with the idea of moving up to the heavyweight division. Most notably, ‘Poatan’ flirted with the move after defeating Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307. However, he also mentioned that 205 pounds would remain his home for a while, maybe because he realized that the UFC wouldn’t let him move up without fighting the Dagestani. 

Now that the chapter seems over, Pereira might be thinking his run in the light heavyweight division is complete, having already beaten most of the top contenders. That’s why he strongly believes a move to heavyweight would be the right step, with exciting fights against Jones and Aspinall. Plus, the fact that he walks around at over 240 pounds, well within the heavyweight limit, and is already 38 years old are key factors driving this decision.

To be honest, the light heavyweight champ moving up a division to take on bigger challenges might not be a bad idea. But facing Jon Jones at the White House would be a tricky one. If the UFC targets that fight, Pereira would likely double down on preparing solely for this matchup. This would mean him avoiding contenders at light heavyweight, thus keeping the division clogged until June. As it is, the light heavyweight division had a turbulent period after Jon Jones left the division in 2020. Jan Blachowicz, Glover Texeira, Jamahal Hill, and Jiri Prochazka held and lost the belt in the brief period between 2020 and 2023. Four champions in three years; it was chaotic before Pereira came along and stabilized the division.

All of that happened on the heels of Jones leaving light heavyweight to pursue Francis Ngannou at heavyweight. Do you see a pattern here? Plus, Dana White has already dismissed the idea.

At the UFC 320 post-fight press conference, Dana White said, “I don’t know. There are still fights here in this division, but we’ll see. This guy has been an absolute stud for us.” That statement from the CEO confirmed the UFC isn’t too eager to see Pereira move up a weight class just yet. The 205-pound champ still has contenders like Carlos Ulberg ready to face him, while Azamat Murzakanov continues climbing toward the top. So, there’s still plenty of competition left for Pereira at light heavyweight. 

Moreover, Pereira acknowledged Carlos Ulberg as a really exciting challenge during the UFC 320 media day, making it likely that the promotion could end up booking that fight next. Now, with Pereira vs. Jones looks like it may not happen for the White House card, so the question is: What should the UFC target for that event? A couple of options come to mind. 

Possible main events for UFC White House   

The UFC is all set to enter the Paramount next year, and the officially unannounced White House event is currently rumored for June 14. Assuming Dana White and his team successfully pull it off, they’ll need a banger of a main event to headline the card. There’s one problem, however: the promotion currently lacks American champions to lead the show.

To be honest, it’s unlikely that White will manage to crown new American champs before the event, unless Justin Gaethje knocks out Ilia Topuria or Sean Strickland defeats Khamzat Chimaev. So, they’ll probably have to build the card with the champions they already have. In that case, they could look toward Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria for a 170-pound matchup; another superfight fans have been dreaming about.

Furthermore, if Alex Pereira ends up fighting in February, he might be ready to make the big move to heavyweight and chase a third belt against Tom Aspinall (preferably) or Ciryl Gane; not a bad option at all. And, of course, there’s always the long-awaited return of ‘The Mac’ with Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, which would easily steal the spotlight.

That said, what do you think about Dana White’s plans for the White House event? What do you think the main event could be? Let us know in the comments below.