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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, after years of dominating the 205-pound weight class, is giving back to the division by moving up to heavyweight and letting the rest of the field learn how to dream again.
“The reason why I decided to vacate the light heavyweight belt and not hang onto it is that I knew my move to heavyweight was going to take a really long time,” Jones told Bleacher Report. “I didn’t want to be one of those athletes to slow down the division. I feel like I’ve held onto the light heavyweight championship for so long — I’ve ruined so many people’s dreams of being the light heavyweight champion — and now it’s time for someone else to have it.”
Jones surrendered his light heavyweight title earlier this year and plans to make his heavyweight debut at some point in mid-to-late 2021. If the rest of the roster sticks to the script, then “Bones” will meet the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou, who are expected to rematch in either March or April.
“I thought it was the right thing to do for everyone else,” Jones said. “I could have done the selfish thing and held onto it and come up with a bunch of excuses and lied to the fans and said I was going to come back down to light heavyweight and made all these guys wait. I didn’t want to do that. I have no intentions of ever going back to light heavyweight.”
Perhaps a couple of Shoryukens from this murderous power puncher might change his mind.