Who wins? Current Jones vs Alex Pereira.

[World eater]

I'm defending Jones ducking Aspinall.

Basically saying it directly.

Which is fine, but the champ should fight the interim champ. Legacy fights are great, but he should guve up the belt in that case. Or should Aspinall defend the interim for two years?

 

[VinceArch]

It's hard to say about prime and age. Towards the end of his LHW career, Jones seem to lose much of his wrestling ability. That can happen when you start wrestling in your youth and continue through your early 20s than another 10-15 years of MMA. Look at Askren. A lot of time fighters' knees and back just aren't the same by their mid-30s. Kickboxing (and other forms of striking) and grappling can both add wear, but in different ways.

The fact that Jones almost looked like his old self against Gane adds another twist. Maybe's Gane's wrestling and ground game was that bad. Or maybe the extra weight helped Jones. It's hard to say. Either way, I think a young prime Jones would easily take down Pereira and finish him with GnP (hellbows probably) or a sub. It's a harder call now.

I agree with all that.

 

[TerraRayzing]

It's hard to say about prime and age. Towards the end of his LHW career, Jones seem to lose much of his wrestling ability. That can happen when you start wrestling in your youth and continue through your early 20s than another 10-15 years of MMA. Look at Askren. A lot of time fighters' knees and back just aren't the same by their mid-30s. Kickboxing (and other forms of striking) and grappling can both add wear, but in different ways.

The fact that Jones almost looked like his old self against Gane adds another twist. Maybe's Gane's wrestling and ground game was that bad. Or maybe the extra weight helped Jones. It's hard to say. Either way, I think a young prime Jones would easily take down Pereira and finish him with GnP (hellbows probably) or a sub. It's a harder call now.

Fully agreed. Prime Jones wins quite easily because he could wrestle for all five rounds. Now? His wrestling has definitely regressed, especially against Santos and Reyes. He got a takedown against Gane and submitted him but can he keep wrestling Alex until he can get a sub?
If the Jones that showed up against Reyes fights Alex then I wouldn't like his chances.