Dana White: Francis Ngannou or Stipe Miocic await ‘ready to go’ Jon Jones

Jon Jones’ Heavyweight debut may finally be on the horizon.

The former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight kingpin vacated his title in early 2020 after a unanimous decision victory over Dominick Reyes (watch highlights). Since then, Jones has been bulking up for what has been a long-anticipated run at Heavyweight. There have been discussions for a potential mega-fight with the current champion, Francis Ngannou, in the meantime, but disagreements on the payouts for both parties led to nothing coming together.

With Jones rapidly approaching age 35, it appears he may finally be getting closer than ever to making a return, according to UFC President, Dana White.

“Jon Jones is ready to go,” White told The Jim Rome Show (h/t MMA Fighting). “We’re just waiting for an opponent. It’s either going to be Francis depending on how long his knee is going to take to recover, or Stipe Miocic.”

Due to the status of Jones, facing Ngannou has always been the clear move to make in the minds of most. As mentioned by White though, it depends on when the champion will be ready. Recently addressing the matter, Ngannou believes he could be ready to return from his knee injuries around Dec. 2022.

For Miocic, the former champion hasn’t fought since he dropped the title in his rematch with Ngannou in March 2021 (watch highlights). So, no matter what match up gets made, the men involved will both be dealing with some decently-sized layoffs.

“It’s very interesting because I’m a huge believer in ring rust,” White said. “But, for all the negative things you could say about Jon Jones and his personal life and things that have happened, he’s the best. He’s definitely the best of all time.”