UFC star Jon Jones announced that he vacated his UFC light heavyweight championship and that he will test the waters at heavyweight after speaking to the UFC about his future.
“Bones” Jones was the longest reigning UFC light heavyweight champion in history and many call him the greatest fighter to ever compete in mixed martial arts.
Jones made the announcement on Twitter:
“Just got off the phone with @UFC, today I confirm that I’m vacating the light heavyweight championship. It’s officially up for grabs. It’s been an amazing journey, sincere thank you to all my competition, UFC and most importantly you fans.”
UFC President Dana White agrees with the notion that Jones is the Greatest of All-Time, so he’s completely on board with him skipping the line to fight for the UFC heavyweight title, just not before Francis Ngannou gets a second opportunity against Stipe Miocic.
“[Jon Jones is] the longtime light heavyweight champion. In my opinion, he’s the greatest of all-time, and if he wants to come back and take a shot at the heavyweight championship, I wouldn’t have a problem with that,” White told ESPN on August 18th. “But he can’t just jump in front of Ngannou right now.”
Jones also tweeted the following: “I’ve had only three close fights in the last decade, it’s safe to say the light heavyweight division has been cleared. Now I enter the heavyweight division when it’s at its all-time best…”
Miocic beat Ngannou via unanimous decision at UFC 220 on January 20, 2018. Francis Ngannou has been unstoppable since, with four straight knockout wins against Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Ngannou spent less than three minutes in the cage with those four opponents combined. This solidified him as the No. 1 contender for the UFC heavyweight title and Dana White won’t let anyone jump ahead of him, not even Jones and rightfully so.
