Jon
Jones doesn’t necessarily need to get a win at heavyweight
before he receives a title shot, but “Bones” will have to wait his
turn behind current No. 1 contender Francis
Ngannou.
During an appearance on SportsCenter, UFC president Dana White
briefly discussed Jones’ prospects at heavyweight after the light
heavyweight champion
vacated his belt earlier this week. Perhaps the most
interesting takeaway was that White believes Jones has the
credentials to step into a championship bout immediately.
“[Jones is] the longtime light heavyweight champion. In my opinion
he’s the greatest of all time, and if he wants to come back and
take a shot at the heavyweight championship, I wouldn’t have a
problem with that,” White said. “But he can’t just jump in front of
Ngannou right now.”
Ngannou is the next planned opponent for reigning heavyweight king
Stipe
Miocic, who is coming off a victory over Daniel
Cormier in their championship trilogy bout at UFC 252. There is
currently no timetable for the booking of Miocic vs. Ngannou.
“[Ngannou vs. Miocic is] definitely the fight that’s going to
happen at heavyweight now,” White said. “Francis
Ngannou has earned that title shot. Then we’ll see what
happens.
“We have the top four to five [heavyweights] laid out for fights
coming up in the fall. So we’ll see when Jon Jones‘
timing is to come back and who makes sense for him.”
With Jones’ leaving the light heavyweight division, top contenders
Dominick
Reyes and Jan
Blachowicz have been booked to square off for 205-pound gold in
the UFC 253 co-main event. Though a rematch with Reyes, who gave
him a competitive five-round fight at UFC 247, could be intriguing,
“Bones” believes he has nothing more to accomplish at light
heavyweight.
“I’ve had only three close fights in the last decade,” he wrote on
Twitter.
“It’s safe to say the light heavyweight division has been cleared.
Now I enter the heavyweight division when it’s at its all-time
best.”