Former UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones is finally on the verge of his heavyweight debut, and plans to be around at least for a couple of fights.
Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) has teased a move to the heavyweight division for years, and will make it a reality when he faces Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 in March. The news was officially announced by UFC president Dana White after UFC Fight Night 217 after images of the fight matchup were prematurely displayed outside T-Mobile Arena.
The heavyweight title became vacant when the UFC and Francis Ngannou could not come to terms on a new deal, which resulted in the now-former champion seeing his immediate release from the promotion.
Jones says he is excited about competing after what will be over a three-year absence from the sport since his last fight against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020.
“I feel like I’m in a really good place,” Jones told The MMA Underground. “MMA feels fun to me again. Obviously, with being out for three years and in a new division, there’s a lot of questions that cause me to stay up long nights, but it keeps me sharp. It’s something that I feel like I didn’t have at light heavyweight towards the end. Towards the end it just felt like another day at the office. This doesn’t feel like another day at the office. This feels very different. The nerves, the anxiety – it’s all back. I do good when I’m under pressure.”
His first opponent in the heavyweight division will be Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), a former interim champion. Jones knows there are challenges there with a fighter like Gane, but also believes the bigger fight for his heavyweight debut would have been against Ngannou.
“It does (take something away),” Jones said. “I feel like Francis is the more intimidating of the two. I feel like just as far as Americans go he’s more known in America. Francis was this big, scary, intimidating man, where Ciryl is relatively unknown.
“Obviously, Francis had the belt. Taking it from him would’ve been nice. … I think the fight that meant the most to me was fighting Stipe Miocic. That’s the fight that actually means the most to me, because Stipe is the greatest heavyweight of all time. I’m not looking past Ciryl Gane at all.”
Jones admits it was a let down to not get a fight with Ngannou, but will have to deal with the reality of challenges that lie ahead.
Considering his UFC light heavyweight run that began in 2008 and his recent time away from the sport, there are questions about how long he will hang around at heavyweight. “Bones” provided some clarity about his career outlook in the form of a guarantee.
“My immediate goal is to beat Ciryl Gane and to beat Stipe Miocic,” Jones said. “After that, it’ll be conversations with the UFC to see what makes sense. But I am guaranteeing the fans at least two more fights out of me.”