Jon Jones: Stipe Miocic Likely Last Fight Unless Francis Ngannou Returns to UFC

It turns out that Jon Jones’ recent tweet about retirement had more truth to it than some might have initially thought.

The UFC is targeting a heavyweight title bout between Jones and Stipe Miocic for Madison Square Garden later this year after “Bones” captured the belt with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, Jones said that Miocic is likely his last fight unless circumstances change with former UFC champ Francis Ngannou.

“I feel like the Stipe fight will be plenty for me,” Jones said. “I really don’t feel like I have much to prove after beating Stipe Miocic. I’ve been in the game a long time, and in fighter years, I’m an old guy.

“I’ve got some small injuries and I just really want to be around — I want to be around for my family, I want to be around for my kids, I want to be able to play with my kids and have a good head on my shoulders, and joints that work. So yeah, I can see it coming to an end really soon, and I’m happy with that. I’m really proud of my career.”

However, Jones would reconsider if the promotion were to come to terms with Ngannou, who is currently considering his options as a free agent. While Sergei Pavlovich has generated buzz as a potential Jones opponent with his six-fight knockout streak, Jones doesn’t believe the Russian has that same level of drawing power.

“I do believe a Francis Ngannou fight would be worth entertaining not retiring,” Jones said. “I think a Francis fight would come with some serious revenue and that would make it worth my while. Francis is a former champion, he’s pretty damn popular here in America and across the world he’s very well known. It would bring in a lot of money and for that I would be willing to come back. Everyone is talking about Sergei. I look at Sergei as a huge challenge but no one knows who he is.

“In the grand scheme of things no one knows who he is. I think Luke Thomas said it best saying, ‘High risk, very low reward,’ where you could fight a guy like Francis Ngannou and get the whole world talking. It would be worth the risk, worth the money, it’d be worth all of it. So who knows? Maybe the UFC will come with the right numbers and we can make this Sergei thing happen. But as of right now, I got all the accolades, nothing really to prove. I think a Francis fight would get me really excited to maybe keep going.”