UFC president Dana White has confirmed that pound-for-pound great Jon ‘Bones’ Jones will get a shot at the heavyweight title once the winner of Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou is decided.
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Jones, 33, has recently relinquished the light heavyweight title after opting to make the move up to 265lb.
Arguably the best fighter to ever step foot inside the Octagon, the all-American mixed martial artist boasts a stunning 26-1 record with his only loss coming via way of disqualification.
However, after dominating the light heavyweight division for the last decade, ‘Bones’ finally looks set to make the long-awaited move up in weight classes.
Speaking to Sportsnet (as quoted by BJPenn), White confirmed that ‘Bones’ will make his debut at heavyweight in a title fight against the winner of UFC 260’s main-event: Stipe vs Ngannou.
“Heavyweight. Jon Jones is going to move to heavyweight,” White confirmed. “We’re going to have Stipe [Miocic] vs. Francis [Ngannou], and the winner of that will probably fight Jon Jones.”
When asked why Jones wants to move up in weight classes, White said: “The guy’s been the king of the light heavyweight division forever. I think he thinks it’s time to move up to heavyweight.
“He knows his body, he knows his abilities, he knows better than anybody else does. But it’s impressive.
“Let me tell you, who wants to fight Francis Ngannou? The answer is nobody, okay? Nobody wants to fight that guy. But Jon Jones does. Pretty impressive.”
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Speaking on what fans can expect to be treated to during 2021, White said: “Me and Jon Jones have been [butting heads] for 10 years.
“We had probably the best conversation we’ve ever had since we’ve known each other around the holidays. And to me, he seems like he’s in the right place.
“He’s doing all the right things right now, he’s saying all the right things.
“If everything plays out for us the way that it’s looking, in our 2021 we’re going to see a lot of Jon Jones, a lot of Conor, and maybe some Khabib.”