Enjoy Jon Jones while he’s still around.
UFC 285 hosted Jones’ first fight in a little over three full years. In the bout, “Bones” captured UFC Heavyweight gold, performing arguably better than ever by defeating Ciryl Gane with a first-round guillotine submission (watch highlights) just over two minutes into the action.
Jones made his desires clear before and after his big win, calling for a showdown with the former two-time divisional champion, Stipe Miocic. After that, fans may be saying goodbye to Jones permanently in mixed martial arts (MMA).
“I don’t know, I’ll leave that up to Jon,” Jones’ coach, Brandon Gibson, told The MMA Hour when asked about Jones’ future. “I think physically and mentally he can go a long ways. And we’ve seen so many great Heavyweights have incredible performances throughout their 40s — I mean, even Stipe [Miocic] is [almost] 41. But I think Jon’s going to be one of those athletes that walks away early. He’s going to walk away early, I think so. I think Jon will ride off into the sunset, and us, as MMA fans, will still be clamoring for one more or talking about potential match ups.
“But I don’t think Jon’s going to have too much more to prove,” he concluded.
Gibson has worked alongside Jones for the entirety of the legend’s career, helping hone his striking skills and build the fighter seen today. No matter the opponent and strategy required, Jones has come out on top in his 29 career bouts, excluding his controversial disqualification against Matt Hamill and no contest in the Daniel Cormier rematch.
Despite Miocic’s last fight taking place in March 2021 when he lost the title to Francis Ngannou, Gibson isn’t taking the Heavyweight all-timer lightly.
“I think that we still have the utmost respect for Stipe. He’s a dangerous man,” Gibson said. “He has amazing cardio for a Heavyweight, he has power in both hands, he can eat a punch off his heels, he has great pressure fighting, great clinch control, great wrestling. This is a man that took down Daniel Cormier. We’ve got to train for one of the greatest Heavyweights of all time, which brings a lot of unique challenges.
“But no, on the other hand, Stipe and his team have to train for Jon Jones, and I don’t think there’s any clear path to victory [against] Jon,” he added. “But we’re going to take this very seriously. I know that Jon’s going to be ultra-motivated. He thinks Stipe is the greatest Heavyweight of all time, and I think this is another stamp to solidify Jon’s status as the G.O.A.T.”