UFC 285 will be headlined by the heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane
UFC champion Alex Pereira believes Ciryl Gane poses a bigger threat to Jon Jones than Francis Ngannou.
Jones, 35, takes on Gane, 31, next month in the main event of UFC 285, with the vacant heavyweight belt up for grabs.
Ex-UFC champ Ngannou is one of the most dangerous strikers in the world and boasts wins against Stipe Miocic and Cain Velasquez.
He also defeated Gane via unanimous decision when the former training partners-turned-rivals stepped foot inside the Octagon against each other in Las Vegas 12 months ago.
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Despite this, Pereira expects Gane to be more of a challenge for Jones.
What has Alex Pereira said about Jon Jones?
Discussing Jones’ return with MMA Fighting, the Brazilian, 35, said: “I think he’s really coming to dominate.
“It’s never easy, but I think this fight will be much harder than if he had fought Ngannou.
“Ngannou is stronger and would want to trade punches with Jon Jones, and Jon Jones is very experienced, has great defense, so I think Jon Jones would beat Ngannou [easier].
“This next fight [with Gane] is a bit harder for him, but I also think he wins.
“It’s a bit more difficult because [Gane] is smart, and a bit more scared in a good way, not to come trading with Jon Jones, which makes him a more difficult fight.”
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Ngannou, meanwhile, seems hellbent on securing a boxing match with Tyson Fury.
But Pereira has advised him against pursuing such a fight as he doesn’t think it will end well for ‘The Predator’.
He added: “It depends if he’s fighting the elite.
“Boxing against] Tyson is hard. It’s suicide. There are other guys for him to start.
“[He can go] one step at a time. If he really wants to fight those guys, then he’s just thinking about the money. I don’t know if that’s the case.
“But to say ‘I’m going there because I want to become champion,’ that’s hard.”
“[Boxing] someone who can defend from his punches, [Ngannou] would get tired.
“I”ll give you a dumb example: If you ask someone who’s never trained in his life to go against someone experienced and tell him to hit as hard as he can to knock him out, he’ll gas out in three minutes, and then one weak punch will knock him out since he has no defense anymore and can barely stand still.
“To me, knowing how to defend yourself is the most important thing.”
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