Jon Jones is expected to return to the octagon later this year.
Former lightweight champion Jon Jones will face the winner of the upcoming bout between Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
UFC president Dana White confirmed on Tuesday that the victor of the headline fight of UFC 210 in Buffalo can expect to defend their belt against the former champ.
Jones is serving a one year suspension following a positive test for clomiphene and Letrozole. While White says he has not engaged in dialogue with Jones since last year, he is certain that Jones will want to recapture the belt he was stripped of following a hit-and-run controversy in 2015:
“Jon Jones is supposed to return around July so the timing is perfect. I haven’t talked to him. I haven’t talked to Jon Jones since the whole incident (at UFC 200),” White said on the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast.
“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.”
White does believe that Jones’ return should be for a shot at his former title:
“If you’re going to go in there and give it, at least go in and try to get your belt back,” White said about Jones. “It’s like everyone was saying Ronda (Rousey) 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. 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.”
