It’s been nearly two years since Jon Jones stepped into the UFC octagon but the former champ is carefully plotting his return, which he shared the details of this week.
Jones pitched two routes — one early in the year and one in the summer — with a January title bout between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane dictating some of his thought process.
“I’m looking to fight somewhere in April, possibly Madison Square Garden, or a total opposite date, possibly July at International Fight Week,” Jones told Albuqeuerque TV station KRQE. “Those are the two dates that I’m kind of eying. I think it’ll depend on who wins in January between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane, and we’ll just take it from there.”
Jones has had a series of issues outside of the octagon that has kept him from fighting, including a domestic violence incident in September in Las Vegas. The 34-year-old has tried to put that all aside as he transitions to heavyweight, working with Henry Cejudo in Arizona.
“It’s amazing. Henry Cejudo is amazing,” Jones said. “He’s very family-oriented. He loves martial arts with all of his heart, and he’s a man of God, as well. We have that in common. It’s just a really good thing. I really enjoy the way he’s taken me under his wing and just shown me a different way of looking at the game. Not just the martial arts game, but the game of life. We talk about happiness and being real with emotions. His coaching is more than just combat tactics. He really tries to make you the best man you can be.
“It really feels like he’s a guy that I need to be around. I’m excited to grow. I’m excited to be more honest with myself than ever before and just elevate to a new place – a new place not only as an athlete, but spiritually and mentally. I’m excited.”
Gane Interested in Fight With Jon Jones
As Jones mentioned, he wants to fight for a belt and at least one of the two guys fighting for it is interested in a scrap. Gane spoke about a possible matchup with Jones and has been very receptive to the idea.
“He wants to go to this division, he wants to prove he can do it and he did a lot for that,” Gane said. “Probably a fight against him would be really great for me because a lot of people compare the style, we’re well-rounded, good fight I.Q. Maybe it’s gonna be a great matchup, I think so, and probably it’s gonna be great for my pocket .”
Gane is 10-0 in his MMA career, with seven of those victories coming inside the distance. He most recently overwhelmed Derrick Lewis with a third-round knockout in August. He has respect for the reigning champ Ngannou, but didn’t sound too worried.
“I’m going to win after five rounds,” Gane told BT Sport. “Maybe before with a submission or something like that. Why not?”
Dana White Says Heavyweight Division Packed With ‘Fun’
UFC President Dana White previously acknowledged that Jones wouldn’t be fighting until 2022, which was even before his domestic violence incident. However, when Jones does return, it’ll add a very interesting wrinkle to an already crowded heavyweight division.
“There’s Francis versus Ciryl, you’ve got Jon Jones out there in 2022 and you got Stipe out there still, too,” White said in August. “That means there’s a lot of fun coming up over the next year, year and a half.”
With so many moving parts, we’ll see how things shake out to start the New Year in the heavyweight division at UFC 270 — the first PPV card of 2022.
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Jon Jones Breaks Silence on Return to UFC