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 have a fight in line by the end of the year.
The 35-year-old indicated that he would return for UFC 282, which has a set date for December 10.
By many fans, Jones is considered one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time.
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However, he has been involved in a fair share of controversy including 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.
In his UFC career, Jones holds a 26-1 record with one no contest.
Jone’s 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.
Currently, Czech-native Jiří Procházka is the light heavyweight champion – but Jones has his sites set higher.
“My goal, my dream is to have my first heavyweight title fight look like my first light heavyweight title fight,” Jones tweeted.
“Pure domination,” he added.
That could set up a fight between Jones and champion Francis Ngannou, who is recovering from a knee injury that required surgery.
However, the bigger issue with Ngannou, who has been critical of UFC fighter pay, remains without a contract.
In fact, he recently tweeted: “Fighters are ripped off with Sponsorship. It’s a huge source of revenue for us but the company keeps exploiting that for their own benefit.”
And he was also critical of the UFC’s collaboration with a major cryptocurrency trading site.
UFC president Dana White previously said it’s “all business and we’ll see how it plays out.”
In the meantime, he added that a fight between Jones and Stipe Miocic “makes sense.”
But that has not been confirmed.
Another possibility is Ciryl Gane (10-1), who lost the heavyweight belt to Ngannou by decision in January.
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