Jon Jones put on such a dominant performance at UFC 309 that he may have fought his way out of the bout he wanted so badly afterward.

In his first defense as heavyweight champion, Jones dismantled Stipe Miocic over three rounds before ending the fight with a vicious spinning back kick to the body. Jones defeated Miocic at every level, from wrestling to striking, and it was another complete performance from a fighter considered by many to be the greatest of all time.

Seeing Jones walk through Miocic in such a lopsided manner also convinced UFC CEO Dana White that he shouldn’t even begin entertaining a potential matchup that would pit Jones against current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. It’s the fight Jones wants most, but White clearly disagrees.

“Do you know what I was told tonight? There is no way I can make the Pereira fight,” White said at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference. “Jon is too big.

“(Jon is a) great wrestler. Did you see how he knocked down Stipe in that first round? I love Alex Pereira. I like him personally. There’s just no point in fighting that battle.”

White was adamant ahead of UFC 309 that he has no real desire to book Jones against Pereira, despite both athletes’ interest in making the superfight happen in the future.

At one point, White went so far as to say he would grant Jones’ request to fight Pereira only if “Bones” went on to meet and defeat interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. This time, White didn’t bring up Aspinall when discussing the potential matchup between Jones and Pereira, but his feelings seemingly remained the same.

That said, White believes the only way he could be convinced to change his mind would be if Jones and Pereira absolutely insist on fighting each other and then he might be forced to pull the trigger.

He just wouldn’t feel good about it.

“If they both want it bad enough and they both chase me or something, I might do it,” White said. “But it’s just Alex Pereira who kills him. Look at his age and what he is doing now. What’s the reason to fight a man so much bigger than you and such a good wrestler? Money? That’s certainly a reason, but to be clear, I don’t want to make that kind of money. I want Pereira to stay where he is and do what he does: run into the street.

“But then again, if they go crazy over me and they want to do what am I going to do? They’re grown men and I’m sure the fans want to see it, I’m sure you want to see it, I think we’ll talk about it.