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On Monday afternoon, UFC superstar Jon “Bones” Jones announced he was vacating the light heavyweight title. The fighter took to Twitter, writing: “Just got off the phone with [UFC], today I confirm that I’m vacating the light heavyweight championship. It’s officially up for grabs. It’s been an amazing journey, sincere thank you to all my competition, UFC and most importantly you fans.”
He wrote, “The last I spoke with [UFC] about my salary there was no negotiating. If that ever changes, I’d love to come back and compete again as a heavyweight. Until then, I’ll be enjoying UFC has a fan and doing my best to take care of my family and community.”
Jones confirmed that he would stay in the USADA testing pool for around six months to show his “good faith.” He wrote, “I’ll continue to lift weights and train all the different martial arts.”
However, since Bones made the announcement, it appears he and the promotion have made headway with heavyweight negotiations. Jones confirmed that he and the UFC had a “really positive conversation.” He wrote, “Sounds like there will be negotiations for my next fight at heavyweight. All good news, the weight gaining process begins.”
Dominick Reyes & Jan Blachowicz Are Linked for a September Bout
On Sunday, UFC light heavyweight star and No. 1 contender Dominick “The Devastator” Reyes shared an image of himself inside the Octagon with the caption, “Contract Signed.” The Devastator added the hashtags: “#weback #finishhim #victory #kingDom,” suggesting that the contract was a fight contract.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Reyes is in talks to fight No. 3 ranked Jan “Prince of Cieszyn” Blachowicz on September 26. Okamoto tweeted (before Jones officially vacated the title), “The fight is nearly agreed to, but the stakes are being worked out.”
The terms of the bout have not been revealed.
Reyes & Blachowicz Will Likely Fight for the Newly Vacated Light Heavyweight Belt
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GettyDominick Reyes and Jon Jones in their UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout during UFC 247 at Toyota Center on February 08, 2020 in Houston, Texas.
Bones and The Devastator fought in the main event of UFC 247 in February. The match was a back-and-forth battle, and in the end, Bones won the fight by unanimous decision. However, many viewers protested the decision, claiming that The Devastator was the uncrowned king.
A week after UFC 247, the Prince of Cieszyn knocked out Corey Anderson in the first round of their main event fight. After his victory, Blachowicz became the presumed next contender for the light heavyweight strap. But because of how the match went between Reyes and Jones, Blachowicz’s title claim seemingly diminished in the past months with fans clamoring for a rematch between Reyes and Jones.
Although it hasn’t been confirmed as a title fight, Reyes vs. Blachowicz would be a fantastic clash to determine the next light heavyweight champion. Both men had a strong claim to fight for the light heavyweight belt against Jones, and from a rankings standpoint, the fight makes sense.
On September 12, No. 2 ranked Thiago Santos and No. 4 ranked Glover Teixeira are fighting and the winner of their bout could become the first contender to fight the winner of Reyes and Blachowicz.
Dana White Previously Said Jones Had to Rematch Reyes in His Next Light Heavyweight Fight
During an interview with “The Schmo” last week, UFC president Dana White said that if Bones wanted to defend his light heavyweight strap, it would have to be against Reyes. White also spoke about Bones’ possibilities should he choose to move up to heavyweight.
“It depends on what he does,” the UFC president said. “Does he move up to heavyweight? If he stays at light heavyweight, he’s got to fight Reyes again. You have to see the Reyes fight again. And if he moves up to heavyweight, there’s a lot of interesting [opponents]. He could fight [Daniel] Cormier, he could fight Stipe [Miocic] depending on who wins on Saturday [during UFC 252]. He could fight Francis Ngannou. There are a lot of fun fights for him at heavyweight.”
On August 15, UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic defended his strap against Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision and White told the media that Francis Ngannou would be the next title contender.
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Jones Was Actively Tweeting During the UFC 252 Heavyweight Championship Fight & Then Expressed Interest in the Division
Jones’ tweet thread on Saturday night showed his intentions of possibly moving up a weight class. The fighter live-tweeted during Miocic and Cormier’s bout, and after Miocic was crowned the winner, Bones put out a strong message.
Bones tweeted, “Heavyweight world championships I will be seeing you real soon. Victorious.”
He followed up the tweet by stating what he believes his advantages are against Miocic and how he would become champ. Jones wrote, “Avoid Stipe’s right hand, I’m too fast, I’ll be too strong when the time is right and have way too much energy. Soon and very soon I’ll be considered the baddest man on this planet.”
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