Jones will return to the UFC octagon for the first time since February of 2020, facing Ciryl Gane (32) on March 4th for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, vacated after champion Francis Ngannou (36) declined a lucrative contract to test the waters of free agency. It will be Jones' long-speculated debut in the heavyweight division after the man nicknamed "Bones" dominated at light heavyweight for over a decade, becoming the longest reigning champion.
Former fighter and current UFC colour commentator Paul Felder believes Jones will have no problem after the move. "I think as long as he uses what makes him the superstar and the champion he was - his fight IQ and figuring out how to approach his opponents - heavyweight might even be a little bit easier," he explained on an episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast. "At light heavyweight, guys are a little bit faster, but not quite as big.
"If he gets these big lumbering guys and makes them miss, makes them make mistakes and uses his footwork, his angles, his takedowns... I mean he’s so good everywhere," Felder added.
Jones has a 26-1-1 record, with his only loss being a disqualification after using an illegal elbow strike against Matt Hamill way back in 2009. Many believe the fighter, who's almost as famous for his legal troubles and failed drug tests as he is for his fighting skills, gets complacent or borderline disinterested at times. "I don’t want to say he got lazy towards the end of his light heavyweight career, but he had beaten everybody. I think he was getting a little lackadaisical in there," Felder commented on Jones' narrow wins over Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes.
"I think he will be looking to make a statement when he comes back. He will think to himself: This isn’t my 12th title defense, I need to go out there and get the job done," he added.
Whoever wins between Jones and Gane, who is the early favourite for the bookmakers, might have to face another huge challenge just three months later. Former two-time heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic (40) expressed his interest to face the newly crowned king of the division in July. The American hasn't fought since losing the belt to Ngannou in March 2021, but is widely considered the best heavyweight fighter in UFC history and holds the record for most wins in the division's title fights with six.
