Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
After rumors that Anderson was in the running to face Jones, White made it clear that wouldn’t happen and why.
After spending a good chunk of the last five years dealing with screw ups that have kept him out of the cage, Jon Jones has put his career on hyperdrive since returning from his last USADA suspension.
He’s fought three times in under a year and plans on fighting again before 2019 is over. Unfortunately the light heavyweight division is having a hard time keeping up with his pace. Now that he’s taken out Alexander Gustafsson, Anthony Smith, and Thiago Santos, there aren’t that many worthy contenders in the wings for his next 205 pound title defense.
That led to some depressing news last week where ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported the UFC was considering Corey Anderson as Jones’ next opponent. Anderson is currently on a three fight win streak, but they’ve all been pretty dull decision affairs. Perhaps in the hopes of making people overlook this, Anderson has been taking shots at “Bones” on social media and even showed up to a Jones media appearance in New Jersey last week.
Did any of that help his chances in the eyes of UFC president Dana White? Apparently not.
When asked at the UFC 240 post-fight press conference if he’d seen the footage of Anderson crashing Jones’ event, White said no. And then asked if Anderson and Jones might meet? Again, no.
”Corey Anderson has turned down about 50 fights in the last month,” White said simply. “No.”
Guess Corey should have considered taking one of those ‘dumb fights.’
And while that’s probably good news to fans hoping for a more exciting matchup for Jones in November or December or whenever he ends up fighting, it doesn’t give us much more clarity on who he’ll actually face. Perhaps the UFC will finally crack open their wallets and convince him to take on a heavyweight? It’d have to be a pretty good offer as Jones has made it clear he’s more interested in racking up title defenses and solidifying his legacy as GOAT.