Jon Jones Says He’ll Make His UFC Return “When I’m Good and Ready.”
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones provided some new insight into his thinking of when he’ll make a return to the octagon; but as in the past, it doesn’t hold a lot of clarity for his fans and the MMA community as a whole.
The 33-year-old Jones hasn’t competed in the UFC since his final light heavyweight title defense against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in early 2020 and it doesn’t appear that he’ll be making his heavyweight debut any time soon. Jones and the UFC brass have been at odds over a contract dispute to make more money to move up a division and challenge for the title.
Jones hasn’t done an interview in a while, so he’s relied on Twitter to get his message out and update fans on when they can expect him back in action. He recently posted a few tweets to define his present line of thinking.
“Becoming a heavyweight is a serious process,” Jones tweeted. “Not many people understand what it takes to do it the right way. I’ll be back when I’m good and ready.”
“It would definitely hurt my speed and cardio if I was to try and rush the process. Achieving greatness isn’t something that’s done overnight, it takes patience and consistency sometimes. Right now my biggest fight is in the gym day by day. Getting more gold will come later.”
Jones was expected to be newly-crowned heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou‘s first title defense in the UFC this year; but the UFC opted to go with top contender Derrick Lewis instead of Jones after contract negotiations between the two sides hit a stall.
The tweets come just about a month since Jones hired a new advisor, former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, to help him negotiate with the UFC and facilitate his return to competition. He had previously worked with First Round Management for a good chunk of his career to that point.
The latest chapter in the Jones-UFC saga continues to provide more questions than answers. Whether or not we’ll see Jones in 2021 remains to be seen, but he seems to be in no rush to return to the octagon.
Who should Jon Jones fight in his eventual return to the UFC?
