Jon Jones would most likely get a title shot upon his return in July. Steve Marcus/Getty Images/AFP
Fresh from declaring that he’ll never again task the distraught UFC superstar Jon Jones as an event headliner, UFC president Dana White appears to have changed his tune once more.
Speaking with the UFC Unfiltered podcast recently, the MMA exec shared his intentions to pair Jones with the winner of the upcoming light heavyweight title bout between champion Daniel Cormier and challenger Anthony Johnson.
“Jon Jones is supposed to return around July so the timing is perfect. I haven’t talked to him. I have not talked to Jon Jones since the whole incident [at UFC 200],” White said, as relayed by MMAFighting.
“Depending on where Jon’s head is and where he thinks he is, I would assume he would come right back and try to get his title back,” he added.
Jones, who’s practically the most invincible champion the UFC has ever had, was suspended by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for testing positive for two banned substances, prior to his scheduled championship bout with Cormier at UFC 200.
Come July, “Bones” will be eligible to fight once more, almost a year since his last appearance in a unanimous decision win over Ovince St. Preux for the 205-pound interim belt.
Although Jones’ immediate title shot seems sketchy for most, considering his long lay-off from the sport, White attributes the complexity of the UFC rankings to his decision.
“The problem with this sport, there is no light one. If you’re going to go in there and give it, at least go in and try to get your belt back,” White said, while using former women’s champion Ronda Rousey’s similar situation in her return bout.
“It’s like everyone was saying Ronda should have had a tune up [fight]. There are no tune-up fights. When you break into the top five in the world, everybody’s nasty. Everybody’s nasty. What you don’t want to do is lose to somebody [ranked] 8, 9, 10. It knocks you right out of the top 10 and it doesn’t make sense,” he explained.
With Rousey losing in devastating fashion and Conor McGregor looking like he’s more focused on boxing these days, the UFC is undoubtedly in dire need of some star power, which of course Jones could provide. Khristian Ibarrola