Jon Jones Open to Dropping UFC Heavyweight Title, Pitches Alex Pereira 'BMF' Fight

Ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 309 on Saturday, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones revealed that he'd be willing to relinquish his title if it gives him the chance to face light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira with the UFC "BMF" title on the line.

"It'd be cool to fight over the heavyweight championship but I would also willingly give up the heavyweight championship," Jones told SportsNet on Monday, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. "I walked away from the light heavyweight championship. I'd love to walk away from this one as well on top, on [my] own terms, good head on your shoulders, making lots of money. I love the position that I'm in right now. Fighting Pereira for the 'BMF' belt, that would be cool. We both have two belts in two weight classes and the night we fought we'd both be fighting for our third belt, which would be the 'BMF.' How cool would that be?"

Of course, Jones' suggestion for a super fight against Pereira is a continuation of his effort to avoid a heavyweight title unification fight against interim champion Tom Aspinall. If Jones is successful in defending his title against Stipe Miocic in Saturday's main event, he believes a future fight against Aspinall doesn't do much to add to his legacy, which is why a fight against the UFC's biggest rising star Pereira is more attractive to him.

Jones has frequently been called out on social media for his refusal to face Aspinall, but the 37-year-old doesn't have many fights remaining in his storied MMA career, so he believes he's earned the right to go out on his own terms.

Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title after Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle that sidelined him for over a year. However, Jones believes the UFC made a premature decision to create an interim title, and that's the reason there's so much controversy surrounding his decision on who he would face after Miocic.

"The interim championship shouldn't have been there in the first place," Jones said. "The only reason why there was an interim championship fight was because I got hurt and they needed to keep the importance of that Madison Square Garden event. But Sergei [Pavlovich] and Aspinall shouldn't have been fighting for an interim title in the first place. They should have just been a replacement fight. A main event fight. I think making it an interim [title] fight was premature. Now you have a bunch of confused people."