Dana White on Jon Jones: “I’m not even thinking about him until ’22”
What is the status of former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones?
Well, UFC President Dana White doesn’t seem to be in quite a rush to get ‘Bones’ back into the octagon per his latest comment at the UFC 265 post-fight press conference.
Ciryl Gane had just defeated Derrick Lewis in the UFC 265 main event, capturing the promotion’s interim heavyweight title in the process.
Current champion Francis Ngannou is currently sitting on the sidelines as he and his agent try to work a deal that would bring the hard-hitting Cameroonian back to competition.
Jones, like Ngannou, is also playing a numbers game. The former light heavyweight champion left First Round Management earlier this year, only to retain former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, but as of Saturday night’s UFC event, a resolution still has not been met.
“He’s not fighting till next year,” White said about Jones at the UFC 265 post-fight press conference. “It’s 2021. He’s not fighting until [2022]. I’m not even thinking about him until ’22.”
The fight that most every fight fan wants to see if Ngannou-Jones, but as of press time, the promotion still isn’t close to making that deal happen as both fighters involved are looking for bigger paydays.
Jon Jones, who put on extra weight to move up to the heavyweight division, was expected to debut in the weight class against either former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, or current champion, Ngannou. Now with Gane making a name for himself and becoming France’s first champion, the landscape may change and the potential for a Jones-Ngannou, or Jones-Miocic matchup continues to slip away.
