Jon Jones dropped a bombshell Tuesday night about when we might see him compete again.
For months, Jon Jones has argued that the one thing preventing him from making the move up to the UFC’s heavyweight division is his current salary. Jones has made it clear that he would like to fight Francis Ngannou when he eventually makes the leap, but he has made it even clearer that he wants to be paid handsomely to do so.
On Tuesday, however, Jones shifted the conversation away from dollars and cents and turned the focus to proper preparation needed to sling heat with the big hitters.
“Man I’m telling you, I’ve always been the skinny one in my family. Becoming a proper heavyweight is a lot more difficult than I had ever anticipated. I want to do it right the first time.”
“Honestly I feel like the only people that it benefits, me jumping in their early are the other heavy weights. The way I’m training, I’m gonna be a real problem this time next year. I’m comfortable enough to wait and that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
When a fan asked Jones if the wait would last for another full year, Jones promptly answered in the affirmative.
“Yes, I got a feeling you guys will still be around. The sport should be bigger than ever by then.. Always looking on the bright side.”
Jon Jones is currently 33 years old and will be 34 in July. He relinquished the light heavyweight title last year, six months after defeating Dominick Reyes in his most recent bout to date at UFC 247.
If Jones is saying another full year to date as in May 2022 or later, that would make it over two years between fights for the light heavyweight great. It bears reminding that Jones did not mention anything about money in these tweets, so that could be a sign that he has given up trying to secure a lucrative new deal and is instead choosing to sit out as an exercise in calculated patience.
Do you think Jon Jones is taking time for granted, or is he playing it smart?
