LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 03: Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones waits in a timeout as he defends his title against Daniel Cormier during the UFC 182 event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on January 3, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jones retained his title by unanimous decision.
Jon Jones could make his return to the octagon by the end of the year and there are a couple of options for him.
Mixed martial art reporter Ariel Helwani said that the UFC has been in contact with the 35-year-old about a possible bout against Stipe Miocic.
While Jones is interested in the fight, Helwani said that the UFC is not yet close to locking up the fight between the two.
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Originally, the hope was Jones would fight champion Francis Ngannou.
However, Ngannou’s recovering from a knee injury that required surgery and has a contract dispute with the UFC.
So that remains a “long shot,” according to Helwani.
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But it could remain a possibility for March if the UFC fails to piece together a Jones and Miocic in December.
If Jones doesn’t get to fight by the end of the year, then the main event will stay between Jiří Procházka and Glover Teixeira for the Lightweight belt.
The first fight between the two took place in June when Procházka won via submission in the last minute.
As for Jones, he will look to make his heavyweight debut after dominating light heavyweight for years.
In his UFC career, Jones holds a 26-1 record with one no-contest.
Jones’ only loss came from a disqualification over illegal elbows against Matt Hamil back in 2009.
His last fight was a unanimous decision victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in 2020, where Jones once again defended his light heavyweight belt.
However, Jones hasn’t had many fights as of late as multiple legal issues have stood in his way.
This includes a battery domestic violence charge and injuring and tampering with a vehicle in 2021 that took place in Las Vegas.
Jones wound up accepting a plea deal so he could avoid jail time.
Also, he was arrested for using a firearm and an aggravated DWI in New Mexico in 2020, along with a number of other legal issues.
Additionally, Jones has been stripped of his title three times for his past controversies.
Before December, there will be two other UFC PPV matchups this year.
The next one will take place between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev on Saturday, October 22.
That will be followed by the main event between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira in November.
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