When is Jon Jones making his way back to the Octagon?
There was talk of having “Bones” compete at the upcoming UFC 276 pay-per-view (PPV) event this July in Las Vegas, but it appears the former light heavyweight champion has not made enough progress in his latest round of negotiations to meet that deadline.
Jones is expected to debut in the heavyweight division upon his Octagon return.
“Jon Jones advisor Richard Schaefer told me they are in dialogue with the UFC and ‘working’ on his return but wouldn’t divulge much else,” veteran reporter Ariel Helwani wrote on Instagram. “July 2 is way too soon, though, so don’t count on that. Especially if Stipe Miocic is involved. I can’t see that fight happening so soon.”
The fight against Miocic has been on the table since UFC 218 back in summer 2017.
Jones, who turns 35 in July, has not competed since a razor-thin decision victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 more than two years back. As for Miocic, 39, he was last seen surrendering his strap to heavyweight hurter Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021.
Hopefully we can get a more definitive timeline on Jones vs. Miocic in the near future.