Jon Jones has come out of the woodwork to ‘flex’ on his opposition, after Alex Pereira failed his fourth light heavyweight title defense against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313.
Jones was one of several names Pereira considered had he defeated Ankalaev, and now it looks like that fight is far from possible. ‘Poatan’ suffered a lackluster decision loss to ‘Big Ank,’ and with it, any momentum that would have secured him a UFC super fight.
‘Bones’ is primed to defend his heavyweight strap against rightful challenger Tom Aspinall. But before he does that, he wants to gloat about his accomplishments in the UFC.
‘Small flex’ … Jon Jones boasts about title defense record after Alex Pereira loses title
On Instagram on March 10, Jones shared an image reading, “More title defences than every other current male champion combined” with a picture of himself roaring inside the Octagon. In his caption, Jones inserted a shrugging emoji and followed up with a comment, saying, “Small flex.”
Jones picked a good time to share this statistic, as three of the eight men’s divisions have newly minted or vacated champions. He’s also picking his light heavyweight championship defences (11) to pad his heavyweight legacy.
| Division | Champion | Defences |
| Flyweight | Alexandre Pantoja | 3 |
| Bantamweight | Merab Dvalishvili | 1 |
| Featherweight | (Vacant) | N/A |
| Lightweight | Islam Makhachev | 4 |
| Welterweight | Belal Muhammad | 0 |
| Middleweight | Dricus Du Plessis | 2 |
| Light Heavyweight | Magomed Ankalaev | 0 |
| Heavyweight | Jon Jones | 1 |
| Interim Heavyweight | Tom Aspinall | 1 |
Additionally, Jones could have had 14 light heavyweight defences had he not failed drug tests or vacated the title due to criminal activity.
Is Jon Jones fighting Tom Aspinall now that Alex Pereira is defeated?
With Pereira out of the picture, Jones should be fighting Aspinall next by all rights. Aspinall has been the only viable heavyweight contender since winning the interim title in November 2023. As the interim title holder, Aspinall is entitled to his undisputed shot. UFC CEO Dana White targets Summer for a Jones-Aspinall showdown. Despite this, the fight may fall through with Jones retiring and vacating the belt.