Former two-time UFC light heavyweight titleholder, Jon Jones seemed on the cusp of a move to the heavyweight division before the end of this summer following Francis Ngannou’s title-winning performance against Stipe Miocic in March, however, Jones has claimed he’s now willing to sit out and delay his divisional bow until this time next year.
Jones relinquished his undisputed light heavyweight championship in August of last year, in a bid to begin a strength and conditioning regime which would see him pack on significant mass ahead of a long-awaited move to the heavyweight ranks.
The long-time Jackson-Wink MMA trainee had been picked by promotional president, Dana White as the next opponent for either Stipe Miocic or Ngannou following UFC 260, however, as soon as Ngannou clinched the championship, it appears a fight between the champion and Jones had already hit the rocks, and was in serious jeopardy.
UFC president, White questioned why Jones wouldn’t move to the middleweight division following Ngannou’s decimation, before claiming that Jones, who was representing himself at the time in regards to negotiations, had asked for a guaranteed $30 million to tackle the Batie bruiser.
Jones denied these claims from White, and questioned if someone was negotiating on his behalf. White then explained that the promotion could move forward with plans for Miocic to welcome Jones to the division, as they look toward a rematch of Ngannou and Derrick Lewis this August, however, Jones maintains he won’t be fighting the former two-time titleholder in his heavyweight division bow.
Stuck in somewhat of a limbo scenario it appears amid the ongoing negotiation fallout, Jones had claimed that he won’t dive into the heavyweight division too soon, as it would only serve to benefit his divisional compatriots.
“Honestly I feel like the only people that it benefits, me jumping in their early are the other heavyweights,” Jones posted on his official Twitter. “The way I’m training, I’m gonna be a real problem this time next year. I’m comfortable enough to wait and that’s exactly what I’ll do.“
When questioned by another user if that would result in another twelve months spent on the sidelines, Jones claimed that he has no qualms about sitting out and that the sport of mixed martial arts will be at the pinnacle of its status at that stage.
“Yes, I got a feeling you guys will still be around,” Jones tweeted. “The sport should be bigger than ever by then.. (sic) Always looking on the bright side.“
Jones last Octagon appearance came all the way back in February of last year, as he headlined UFC 247 in Houston, Texas from the Toyota Centre where he notched a successful defence of his light heavyweight title in the form of a razor-thin, highly-debated unanimous decision success against Dominick Reyes.