The UFC has been in talks with Jon Jones about booking a fight for the former light heavyweight champion to serve as the main event of UFC 282 on Dec. 10 in Las Vegas, sources told MMA reporter Ariel Helwani.
Jones, who announced in 2020 that he was moving up to heavyweight, is reportedly interested in the idea. The promotion's initial hope was to schedule a bout between Jones and UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, but the latter's contract situation and rehab from knee injury make it a long shot, Helwani reports.
Ngannou said last month he expects to return to the Octagon in early 2023 after undergoing surgery.
The UFC's second option for Jones apparently is Stipe Miocic, who's widely considered the best heavyweight in UFC history. If the promotion can book a Jones-Miocic fight, it'd headline UFC 282, according to Helwani.
If they can get Jones x Miocic done, that’ll be the UFC 282 main. If not, the main will be Prochazka x Teixeira 2.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 14, 2022
And if they can’t get Jones x Miocic done for 12/10, they’ll set their sights on doing Ngannou x Jones in March, if Ngannou re-signs. Developing.
Last year, Jones was expected to challenge either Miocic or Ngannou for the heavyweight belt. But a financial dispute between Jones and the UFC has kept him out of action for two years. The 35-year-old hasn't fought since defeating Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision at UFC 247 in February 2020.
Meanwhile, Miocic last fought at UFC 260 in March 2021 when he lost the heavyweight title to Ngannou. He's expressed interest in fighting Jones.
UFC 282 will be the promotion's final pay-per-view event of 2022.
