We may have seen Jon Jones’ last at light heavyweight.
The undisputed best 205-pound fighter in the world in the past decade, “Bones” is on his way to take a long-awaited leap into the heavyweight division in 2021, after bringing about the change for years. Jones successfully defended the light heavyweight title once last year, winning a tough decision against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February, and then vacated the title in August amid a public dispute with the UFC over compensation of the fighter. He later announced his intentions to pursue a second title.
Jones won 15 UFC championship fights (excluding a third round knockout in his second encounter with Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 in July 2017, which was reverted to a no contest when Jones tested positive for the prohibited substance turinabol and was later suspended for 15 months) and plans for the next heavyweight title win. In a recent interview with the Bleacher Report, Jones explained that one of the reasons he wanted to change divisions was to give other fighters an opportunity.
“The reason I decided to vacate the light heavyweight belt and not stick to it is that I knew my move to heavyweight would take a long time,” said Jones. “I didn’t want to be one of those athletes to delay the category. I feel like I’ve held the light heavyweight championship for so long – I’ve ruined so many people’s dreams of being the light heavyweight champion – and now it’s time for someone else to win.
“I thought it was the right thing to do for everyone else. I could have done the selfish thing and clung to it and made up a lot of excuses and lying to the fans and saying that I would go back to the light heavyweights and make all those guys wait. I didn’t want to do that. I have no intention of going back to light heavyweight. “
With Jones leaving the division, the path was opened for a super fight between newly crowned light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Blachowicz is expected to defend his title against Adesanya at UFC 259 in March.
This is probably disappointing news for fans who hoped that the months that Jones and Adesanya spent criticizing each other in interviews and on social media would result in a super fight of a different kind, but as it stands, the two do not seem to be at ease. facing a collision in the cage. Instead, Jones awaits what he assumes will be an immediate shot at the title, although he is unsure whether it will be against heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic or No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou.
There is currently no timetable for when Miocic plans to fight again after resolving his own rivalry with Cormier in 2020, and therefore no timetable for when Jones can stand a chance for the winner of a potential Miocic-Ngannou rematch. Both Miocic and Ngannou were publicly challenged to receive Jones as a heavyweight.
“I’ll be ready for any of them,” said Jones. “Both fights are extremely challenging. Stipe, he is the greatest heavyweight of all time. He has all the statistics and records to prove it. And Francis is simply a freak when it comes to his knockout power, and he’s constantly improving.
“Both fights are huge challenges, but that’s what I’m here for at this stage in my career: to go big and see what I have.”
Jones told the Bleacher Report that he feels “alive” in training as he prepares for a career change and reiterated the notion that a heavyweight title is essential to cement his legacy. He said his current plan is to win and defend the belt a few times before focusing on humanitarian work.
The hunter for the first time in years, Jones is already imagining what it will be like if he becomes a two-division champion.
“It will be incredible,” said Jones. “Somewhere along the line, having that light heavyweight championship wrapped around my waist, the emotion and other emotions that I should have evoked, they kind of left. It was just another day at the office. That’s what we always do. But I haven’t won that heavyweight championship yet. Doing this for my family and my team and for all the people who have invested in me over the years, will be something new for all of us. “