Jon Jones has been teasing a heavyweight title fight in his immediate future, but now he’s cast some doubt regarding that as his next move.
Ahead of his UFC 247 showdown with Dominick Reyes, Jones has fielded a ton of questions about his future with the potential to win a second world title by challenging heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in the future.
While he has said that’s a fight he believes he can win, the longest reigning UFC light heavyweight champion in history is now saying that he still has work to do in his own division with new contenders like Reyes lining up to face him.
“At the end of the day, I feel like if it’s not broke don’t fix it,” Jones said during the UFC 247 athlete panel. “So much has been going right in the light heavyweight division. I feel like there’s always going to be great competition as long as guys are dreaming and aspiring to achieve great things. It’s going to be my job to stay where I’m at and be a dream killer in a way.
“I’ve got a lot more years in the light heavyweight division, but I’m also excited to challenge myself.”
The challenge of moving to heavyweight may depend on how much Jones’ supporters want to see him face the likes of Miocic, Francis Ngannou or different opponents from that division.
“I know at the end of the day, it’s about the fights,” Jones said. “It’s about giving the fans what they want. Unlike boxing, sometimes they hold off on great fights. Like [Floyd] Mayweather-[Manny] Pacquaio, that fight waited too long. I want to be a part of giving the fans what they want when they want it.
“If you guys are desiring me to go to the heavyweight division, then I think the UFC’s going to feel that demand and we’re going to make it happen.”
One thing that Jones disregarded when it came to the conversation about moving to heavyweight was the need for the second world title to cement his legacy as the greatest fighter of all time.
While many already believe Jones has set himself apart from every other mixed martial artist in history, he’s not going to be the one to make that call no matter how many belts he captures.
“That would be you guys’ opinion,” Jones said. “At the end of the day to be considered the best, it’s always going to be an opinion. I’ve just got to continue to strive to be in that conversation. When you think about the greatest fighter of all time, it’s a lot of different things that go into it. It can be skill set. It can be the way they carry themselves. It can be Conor McGregor, what a great businessman he is and what a good guy for the sport. It can be the way you give back to humanity.
“It can be so many things that makes you great. As long as I’m always in the conversation, I’m happy.”