[ad_1]
While it’s possible to get bored of being a UFC champion, Jon Jones reached that point in 2020.
Including his first title win over Mauricio Rua in March 2011, Jones’ last 15 fights have been for the undisputed or interim light heavyweight championship – all wins, without question, over the best in the division.
A feeling of dissatisfaction was one of the main reasons why Jones, two-time UFC 205-pound champion, canceled the title in August in favor of a long-awaited move to heavyweight. Could he have held the belt and tried to become another champion of the promotion? Probably, if he wanted to. But Jones also wanted to do good by division given his new leadership.
“The reason I decided to quit the light heavyweight belt and not hang on to it was because I knew my shift to heavyweight was going to take a very long time,” Jones said in an interview with Bleacher Report. . “I didn’t want to be one of those athletes to slow down the division. I feel like I’ve held onto the light heavyweight championship for so long, I’ve ruined so many people’s dreams of being the light heavyweight champion, and now it’s time for someone to other to have it. …
“I thought it was the right thing for everyone to do. I could have done the selfish thing and stick with it and come up with a bunch of excuses and lie to the fans and say I was going to come down to lightweight and keep all these guys waiting. I didn’t want to do this. I have no plans to return to light heavyweights someday.
And with that mentality, Jones squarely turned his attention to winning the UFC heavyweight title as he has spent the last few months bloating and building his frame. When Jones gets the chance to fight for the title, it’s in the air, but it’s a good sign that he and UFC President Dana White recently had a good conversation about his future.
As it stands, reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is set to meet Francis Ngannou in a rematch of a 2018 title fight won by Miocic. Ngannou lost his next fight to Derrick Lewis, but has since turned the ship around in a big way with a four-game winning streak that includes all first-round knockouts to earn Miocic his second chance.
White has said Jones could get a title shot in his heavyweight debut. With Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 set to happen in the first quarter of 2021, that means Jones’ shot would likely come against either man.
Beating either Miocic or Ngannou would renew Jones’ enthusiasm for holding UFC gold again.
“It will be amazing,” Jones said. “Somewhere along the line, getting that light heavyweight championship wrapped around my waist, the excitement and the other emotions that it should have evoked, kind of vanished. It was just another day at the office. This is what we always do. But I haven’t won this heavyweight championship yet.
“Doing this for my family, and doing this for my team and all the people who have invested in me over the years, will be something new for all of us.
[ad_2]
Source link