Conor McGregor says '2024 has been Alex Pereira's year,' lobbies for Jon Jones showdown

Conor McGregor believes Alex Pereira is currently the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) notched his third light heavyweight title defense in the span of seven months when he stopped Khalil Rountree by fourth-round TKO in Saturday’s UFC 307 main event in Salt Lake City.

McGregor had high praise for Pereira and the banner year he’s had in 2024.

“2024 has been Alex Pereira’s year, no one can deny that,” McGregor told The Schmo.”If we go by that, forget belts, forget anything of that, it’s in competition. He’s (three) fights this year, (three) KOs, and his most impressive one was most recently. I’d put Alex Pereira as No. 1.”

McGregor was hoping Pereira would announce a move up to heavyweight after finishing Rountree, but “Poatan” said he plans on staying put at 205 pounds for the time being. McGregor thinks Pereira would be an interesting stylistic matchup for heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who defends his belt against Stipe Miocic in the UFC 309 headliner Nov. 16 in New York.

“I think he poses a lot of problems for Jon also,” McGregor continued. “That’s a dangerous style for Jon. But it’s a decent one for him because he’s not so big. Jon is new to the heavyweight division. Jon, he had a nice one against Ciryl Gane, but he’s still untested at heavyweight.

“And I’m sure in the back of his mind, he has that thought that some of these guys are really big. Alex is a nice one and still a dangerous one, though. At the core of it, it’s probably even more dangerous. I’d be excited to see that bout take place for sure.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.