After plenty of time to anticipate a heavyweight debut, we may be getting closer to a Jon Jones return.

While UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou recovers from his knee surgery, the community speculates whether or not we’ll see another interim title bout in the meantime. Among the options to compete for the said title, Jones makes for a very clear option as a bout between “Bones” and Ngannou gained immediate interest once Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic to win the title. Next to Jones in that conversation is Miocic as UFC President Dana White recently shared his thoughts on the matchup making sense.

Former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo, however, isn’t so sure it will be as competitive as it could have been years prior.

“I love this fight for Jon just because everything that Stipe has, Jon is better at,” Cejudo said on The Triple C & Schmo Show. “If he was fighting a Francis Ngannou, I was a little more cautious with that one just because of pure power and when you have somebody that has scary power like that, it’s a strength that kinda overwhelms whomever. You got power, but Francis Ngannou power is different. But with the Stipe fight, I like it for Jon. I think it’s gonna allow Jon to really work on everything — like mixed martial arts as a whole, not just sticking to one base. So at the end of the day, I think it’s easy money for Jon Jones.”

Like Jones, Cejudo too is seemingly plotting a comeback of his own. Despite Jones’ legal troubles since his last fight with Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in Feb. 2020, he’s continually expressed his interest in coming back and believing it’s his destiny to win the heavyweight title.

To get there, Cejudo has begun working with Jones at Fight Ready in Arizona after the former light heavyweight kingpin departed JacksonWink MMA.

“Jon’s coming out here with a different perspective,” Cejudo said. “His perspective now is to bring back the Jonny Jones that was putting out Lyoto Machida, [Mauricio] ‘Shogun’ Rua, when he went on that rampage of just killing the elite. That spirit in him is gonna be awoken if it is that he fights in July.”

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LISTEN UP

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses the aftermath of Bellator 277 and UFC Vegas 51.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Alexandr Romanov (15-0) vs. Chase Sherman (15-9); UFC Vegas 52, Apr. 23

Brad Tavares (19-6) vs. Dricus Du Plessis (16-2); UFC 276, July 2

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I don’t know what Kai Asakura is doing in America but it makes me automatically think about him competing in the UFC… Happy Wednesday and thanks for reading!

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EXIT POLL

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