As any regular reader of MMA Fix has probably noted by now, Jon “Bones” Jones continues to rise up our ‘Who’s the Man’ index, and certainly Sunday’s win over Brandon Vera, only furthered this (and yes, we’re aware this admiration is now bordering dangerously close to ‘nauseating’). At any rate, by taking out another notable vet like Vera, we speculated yesterday that Jones might be one win away from a title shot…
Well, it would seem like once again, we’ve jumped the gun (see what happens when you start adding Red Bull to your coffee). In a report from MMA Junkie this AM, UFC honcho Dana White was quoted saying that although he’s impressed with Jones (and really, who wouldn’t be, unless being difficult is your favorite past time), the light-heavyweight is still a ways away from getting a shot at the title.
“He’s not ready for that,” White said. “I’d like to see him get another year under his belt, and in that year, before he got a shot at the title, he’d have to take out Rashad (Evans), ‘Rampage’ (Jackson), possibly ‘Shogun’ (Rua) or (Lyoto) Machida, then get the title shot.”
Fair enough. There are certainly several top ranked fighters out there within striking distance of Machida, but at the same time, if Jones were to fight one of those aforementioned dudes and beat them, wouldn’t a title shot be in order?
Scheduling also plays a factor here, as after the smoke clears from Rua vs. Machida II and Jackson vs. Evans, none of those guys will be fighting again until probably the fall.