UFC boss Dana White has stated that Jon Jones will likely make his heavyweight debut in July against former champion Stipe Miocic.
Jones, who is widely considered one of the best MMA fighters of all time, has been planning a move up to heavyweight for several years and has vowed to win a world title at the weight class this year.
The former light heavyweight king hasn't fought since defending his 205-pound belt for the final time against Dominick Reyes in 2020. He was linked to a fight with current heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou last year, but White claimed he wanted $30million for the clash.
Jones is now seemingly ready to fight again and White is targeting UFC 276 during International fight week for his return. “Listen, people have been talking about how awesome this card is," White told TMZ Sports.
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"I was just telling somebody the other day our line-up for this summer is incredible. I’m hoping that Jon Jones is gonna be a part of that line-up this summer.” White then added that "Stipe [Miocic] makes sense” when asked who Jones' opponent would be.
Jones was kicked out of his gym in New Mexico last September after being arrested just hours after he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He later agreed to a plea deal on a charge of vehicle tampering.
'Bones' has since switched gyms and also spent time training with former two-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo. 'Triple C' has praised Jones' ahead of his comeback and thinks a fight with Miocic is the only one that makes sense for him.
"That's the fight that's going to happen," Cejudo told ' The Schmo ' about Jones vs. Miocic. That's where we are going to be able to really see the creativity of Jon. I don't see Stipe with crazy knockout power. I think Stipe's greatest gift is his endurance.
"Jon Jones knows how to win, the only person that can really counter that is a guy that takes risks. That's the only way you're going to beat him. You're not a better competitor than him, he's the best competitor right now in the UFC, pound-for-pound any division Jon Jones is the greatest of all time. he's going to cement that even more so when he wins the heavyweight title."
