Getty Image / Josh Hedges
Despite there regularly being rumors about when UFC fans may once again get to see Jon Jones inside the Octagon, it has been nearly 3 years since we’ve actually seen him inside the cage. The UFC wants to change that.
The UFC has some huge fights already announced for their upcoming pay-per-view cards. In a couple of weeks, fans will be treated to a rematch of Jiri Prochazka’s instant-classic battle against Glover Teixeira. In January, Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo will battle for the Flyweight title for a 4th time.
In March we’ll see Alexander Volkanovski take a break from dominating the featherweight division to move up a weight class and challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt at UFC 284.
Now it looks like the UFC wants something even bigger for UFC 285. According to a report from MMA Junkie’s Nolan King, the organization is planning a fight between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou if Ngannou is healthy. Otherwise they would have Jones face another big name at heavyweight on the card.
Jon Jones nears a comeback for real, as the UFC plans his return for #UFC285 one way or another, I’m told. With Stipe Miocic out of the picture, Francis Ngannou is the hope. If he’s not healthy, it could be Curtis Blaydes, per sources.
That scoop, more:https://t.co/AVXGEm5m8c
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) November 22, 2022
A fight between Jones and Ngannou is easily the biggest fight they could put together right now and even a fight between Jones and Curtis Blaydes or Cyril Gane would intrigue fight fans.
Fans have been waiting years to see Jones test himself at heavyweight after dominating the light heavyweight division throughout his career.
With such a long layoff, Jones getting older, and the potential for him to be undersized for the first time in his career, there are major questions about what he’ll look fighting at heavyweight in the UFC.
Hopefully we’ll all actually get the answers to those questions in March.