UFC light heavyweight champion and all around pound-for-pound great Jon Jones has been toying with the idea of a move to heavyweight for quite some time.
But, according to Jones himself, the days of just thinking about the switch are nearing an end, and we could be seeing him pack on the pounds sooner than we thought. Speaking with Dan Hardy on his BT Sports Open Mat show, Jones was asked about his future at light heavyweight, and whether or not he’s still eyeing a move to the big man weight-class — something he made abundantly clear was still on the cards.
“I’m thinking at least 3 more [at 205-pounds],” Jones said. “The UFC’s been kinda whispering [that] after Thiago Santos, [it’ll be] Luke Rockhold, possibly. Then I imagine Johnnie Walker is going to be in that mix as well. So I think I got three really tough fights ahead of me before moving up [to heavyweight]. I walk around at 240, 235 now. So I feel good. I feel like a full light heavyweight. It’s an exciting time.”
At the moment, it feels as if Jones — who only returned in December after his most recent controversy — is getting back into the rhythm of his previous reigns. Namely, defeating number one contenders with little difficulty. While some might find that dynamic easy to lose motivation with, Jones points to the eventual move up as a way to avoid boredom and complacency.
“There’s not a danger of me clearing out the division, because there’s always going to be the option to go up to the heavyweight division,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of big fights that I know people are going to want to see there. I’m excited for it. I’m maturing, getting older, figuring out my body, how to train. A lot of the heavyweights are just older anyway. I feel like when I do go up to the heavyweight division, I’ll be a breath of fresh air with my versatility, and I think I’m gonna throw some fits to those guys.”
Interestingly, however, the fight that seems tailor made for Jones’ move is the one fight he seems uninterested in. At the moment, Jones’ old rival Daniel Cormier is the heavyweight champion — an accolade Cormier has pointed to as validation for his career away from Jones. Should Jones move up and challenge Cormier for the heavyweight title, it could mark a huge moment for both men.
As of today, Jones isn’t having it.
“A lot of people consider him the greatest ever,” Jones said. “So to fight the greatest and give him a size advantage over you is just like.. I’ll fight heavyweights, just not someone as smart as DC at heavyweight. I believe I get him at heavyweight, but I think his best chance is me fighting him at heavyweight, so I’ll keep the odds in my favour.”
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