Jon Jones confident he would submit Alex Pereira ‘pretty quickly’ in MMA, beat Daniel Cormier in wrestling

Jon Jones believes he would not need much time to beat Alex Pereira in an MMA fight, and is confident in his skills to score a hard win over Daniel Cormier in wrestling.

Jones campaigned for a clash with Alex Pereira at heavyweight but couldn’t come to a deal with the UFC, Instead, “Poatan” fought Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC White House on June 14.

Jones told ALF Global in an interview released Tuesday — but recorded prior to that event — he sees the Brazilian striker as a favorable match-up style-wise.

“I watched Pereira train,” Jones said. “I see his level of wrestling and it’s way behind. I feel as if  Stipe Miocic is a true heavyweight. He’s a big, big boy. Ciryl Gane, when you see him in person, he’s a big, big boy. Alex Pereira is not a big, big boy. He’s a lean guy. I think right now he weighs maybe 250.”

Pereira weighed in at 251 pounds for his title bout with Gane in June, a fight he lost via second-round knockout.

“I feel as if my physical strength would have been too much for him,” Jones said. “I felt as if the moment I would have gotten him to the ground, my submissions would have come pretty quickly. I mean, everyone knows that. I think that’s the clearest path to victory for me against Alex Pereira. But we’re not fighting. I am a fan of him. I support him, and I want to see him do well.”

Jones was also asked about a potential wrestling match with longtime rival Daniel Cormier, a man he fought twice under the UFC banner. Cormier said earlier this year he could “kick his ass” in wrestling, but accused Jones of turning down “seven figures for a six-minute match.”

“I think I would have beat DC in a wrestling match,” Jones said. “It wouldn’t be easy, but I think I would beat him in wrestling. I hear that he has problems with his back, so my strategy would be to just try to wear on him. Not shoot, not go for the takedown, but just hand fight, hand fight, hand fight, and see if I could wear on that back.”