Jon Jones is certain he’ll make a return to the UFC octagon eventually at heavyweight, but that it’s unclear as to when exactly that’ll be.
In a recent Twitter question-and-answer session, Jones was asked about when and who he’ll be fighting next in the UFC and gave a brief, but a brutally honest response to a fan.
“I’m really not sure when I’ll be fighting next, but some downtime after a decade of wins is a nice little change-up right now,” Jones said in a tweet.
Jones has certainly earned some time off after his legendary run up to this point in the UFC. Since becoming the youngest-ever UFC champion after beating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128. He defended his light heavyweight title eight times before vacating the belt following a razor-thin victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247.
Since leaving the light heavyweight division, Jones has long been preparing for a run at heavyweight and a title challenge against newly-crowned champion Francis Ngannou. Jones and the UFC brass have been at odds over contract negotiations for him to move up in weight, and he remains sidelined for the foreseeable future. UFC president Dana White recently said that Derrick Lewis will get the next heavyweight title shot instead of an originally-planned Jones vs. Ngannou title bout.
Jones has also reportedly turned down a fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic for his first scrap at a new division, and it seems as though the future hall-of-famer will sit back and watch the next heavyweight title fight.
It’s been an up-and-down run in the UFC for Jones. Inside of the octagon, he’s arguably the greatest to ever do it. Outside of it, he’s had his fair share of drama which includes USADA suspensions and legal troubles.
Despite the ongoing financial battles between the UFC and Jones, fans can remain hopeful for a return to the octagon. Whether or not it will happen this year remains to be seen, but we can expect fireworks for when Jones makes the jump to the most dangerous division in Mixed Martial Arts.
What do you think about Jon Jones’ ongoing tension with the UFC brass? Who should Jones fight next?