Jon Jones' matchup with Glover Teixeira was announced prematurely, as UFC observers found out last week. Now, the light heavyweight champion and pound-for-pound king is waffling on his next opponent, and contemplating a move to heavyweight.
"I think that's going to happen in the next two years," Jones said. "I'll go up to heavyweight permanently. I'm looking to take a super fight sooner or later, within the next year. I've really been thinking about me and Cain Velasquez going at it. I think that would be huge for the sport. He's definitely the toughest guy in the division and he's not that big, so I think it would be a really entertaining fight. So don't be surprised if you see that sooner or later."
Prior to those remarks, though, Jones made it clear that he doesn't believe he has "cleaned out" the 205-lb. division. He also tried to put the breaks on a speedy rematch with Gustafsson. Gustafsson is scheduled to face Jimi Manuwa in his next fight, which Jones doesn't believe warrants another title opportunity.
"I think the UFC really wants to see me and Alexander Gustafsson rematch really bad, and they really gave him a really easy path back to the belt," Jones said. "Without being disrespectful to Jimi, Jimi's not a top 10 fighter, so I don't see how you're going to fight a guy not in the top 10 to get another world championship fight. It just doesn't make sense."
If Jones doesn't face Teixeira, another option at 205 lbs. could be former mentor Rashad Evans, the only fighter aside from Gustafsson to go the distance with Jones during his title run. Jones apparently put the kibosh on Evans as well, saying "I think I could have performed better (against Rashad), but at the same time, I was going against a guy who was an extremely high-level athlete, so I'm happy with it," Jones said.
"As far as fighting Rashad again, I have no real ambition to fight him again. If he earns his way back to a title shot, I'll do it all over again, but for the most part, me and Rashad are history."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
