The world continues to await the return of Jon Jones. Jones won the UFC heavyweight title with a dominant submission victory over Cyril Gane at UFC 285 last March 4, 2023.
Bones was supposed to defend the belt against former champion Stipe Miocic last November in New York but a torn pectoral muscle forced him to pull out from his first title defense.
Jones was offered the Miocic fight again at the just completed UFC 300 in Las Vegas. But Jones turned it down because he did not feel that he was 100% recovered from his injury. After UFC 300, UFC President Dana White announced two big fights coming soon but neither involved Jones.
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Although Jones is officially unbooked right now, he is still expected to fight Miocic next. The current champion has plenty of respect for the former two-time champ and w
“Stipe and I have both been in the sport for a long time,” Jones said. “I don’t think Stipe is getting the respect that he deserves. Me and Stipe have unfinished business, and I think it’s the only fair thing to do.”
Aside from Miocic, Jones is also linked to interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. After the Jones vs Miocic bout was removed from UFC 295, the promotion booked an interim title fight between Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich in the same event to prevent the heavyweight division from becoming dormant. Aspinall knocked out Pavlovich to win the interim belt.
Since then, Aspinall has been trying to lure Jones to a fight. But Bones is focused on fighting Miocic and giving him his due. The problem for Aspinall is that Jon is non-committal about his future after Miocic. Some believe that if Jones beats the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, he will cement his status as the MMA GOAT and ride into the sunset.
“A lot of people don’t acknowledge that, that there will always will be another awesome contender,” Jones said. “It’s the UFC’s job to build the next big thing. And it’s my job to realize when you are enough and you have done enough, you’ve provided for your family, you’ve created the life for your people. So I don’t know. I really don’t know what’s going to be next. I’m just taking it one thing at a time. That’s my respect to Stipe, is just to take it one thing at a time, and to respect him as a challenge that he will be.”
Meanwhile, the heavyweight division may have another player. After defeating Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira says he wants a heavyweight fight at UFC 301 in Brazil. If Poatan gets his wish and ends up with another sensational KO win, we might see him fight Aspinall next. Or perhaps even Jon Jones himself facing Pereira.