It turns out that Jon Jones’
recent tweet
about retirement had more truth to it than some might have
initially thought.
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The UFC is
targeting a heavyweight title bout between Jones and Stipe
Miocic for Madison Square Garden later this year after “Bones”
captured the belt with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane
at UFC 285. In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, Jones said
that Miocic is likely his last fight unless circumstances change
with former UFC champ Francis
Ngannou.
“I feel like the Stipe fight will be plenty for me,” Jones said. “I
really don’t feel like I have much to prove after beating Stipe
Miocic. I’ve been in the game a long time, and in fighter
years, I’m an old guy.
“I’ve got some small injuries and I just really want to be around —
I want to be around for my family, I want to be around for my kids,
I want to be able to play with my kids and have a good head on my
shoulders, and joints that work. So yeah, I can see it coming to an
end really soon, and I’m happy with that. I’m really proud of my
career.”
However, Jones would reconsider if the promotion were to come to
terms with Ngannou, who is currently considering his options as a
free agent. While Sergei
Pavlovich has generated buzz as a potential Jones opponent with
his six-fight knockout streak, Jones doesn’t believe the Russian
has that same level of drawing power.
“I do believe a Francis
Ngannou fight would be worth entertaining not retiring,” Jones
said. “I think a Francis fight would come with some serious revenue
and that would make it worth my while. Francis is a former
champion, he’s pretty damn popular here in America and across the
world he’s very well known. It would bring in a lot of money and
for that I would be willing to come back. Everyone is talking about
Sergei. I look at Sergei as a huge challenge but no one knows who
he is.
“In the grand scheme of things no one knows who he is. I think Luke
Thomas said it best saying, ‘High risk, very low reward,’ where you
could fight a guy like Francis
Ngannou and get the whole world talking. It would be worth the
risk, worth the money, it’d be worth all of it. So who knows? Maybe
the UFC will come with the right numbers and we can make this
Sergei thing happen. But as of right now, I got all the accolades,
nothing really to prove. I think a Francis fight would get me
really excited to maybe keep going.”