A number of dream fights in MMA has by no means come to fruition. Bouts are booked or considered, solely to be moved instantly into the “what if” class. Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg and Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson are however two latest examples.
Jon Jones, who was out of the Octagon for 3 years, expressed his personal “what if” in an interview this week with The Sporting Information.
The previous UFC gentle heavyweight champion will compete as a heavyweight for the primary time when he returns at UFC 285 on Saturday. He’ll face Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title. Jones tried to combat Francis Ngtannou, however negotiations fell by means of due to disagreements over wage. After Gane, Jones has his eyes on a dream combat towards Stipe Miocic.
However there may be one other opponent who’s behind Jones’ thoughts, whether or not or not a bout is feasible. The title “Bones” introduced up? Brock Lesnar, “The Beast Incarnate.”
MORE: Signal as much as watch the UFC 285 PPV, solely on ESPN+
“I feel preventing Brock Lesnar would have been actually cool. Brock isn’t essentially the most technical man, however he has a large fan base, he’s rather a lot larger than me, and it might have been a type of actually cool David and Goliath type of state of affairs(s),” Jones instructed TSN’s Karisa Maxwell.
“It might have been actually cool for cross-sport selling, and I feel we each would have completed nice issues for our household and for our crew. Financially, that might have been large. By no means say by no means.”
Lesnar is a former UFC heavyweight champion who competed within the promotion from 2008-11. After dropping to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141, Lesnar retired from MMA and returned to WWE, the corporate the place he began his fight sports activities profession. Whereas in the course of his new cope with WWE, Lesnar returned to the Octagon in 2016. He beat Mark Hunt, however the outcome was overturned after Lesnar examined optimistic for the banned substance Clomiphene. That was the final time he was within the Octagon.
Lesnar did tease a combat with Jones rival Daniel Cornier after Cormier received the UFC heavyweight title in 2018, however it by no means got here to fruition, though the UFC tried to advertise.
Will Jon Jones combat Brock Lesnar?
At this second, one other Lesnar combat within the UFC is unlikely. UFC president Dana White instructed TMZ Sports activities in 2019 that Lesnar, now 45, was “completed” with lively MMA competitors.
MORE: Why is Jon Jones known as ‘Bones’?
“He is made his choice,” White mentioned, through Wrestling Inc. “I do not know the place he’s in that different world. I do know he was taking a look at doing a brand new cope with Vince [McMahon] to stick with WWE. I’ve all the time had an excellent relationship with Brock. We have all the time dealt very well with one another.”
Lesnar, a multi-time champion in WWE, will compete at WrestleMania 39 in April towards Omos.
There are studies Lesnar’s contract will expire quickly and he is “ending up” with the corporate. However that tends to be the case concerning Lesnar’s offers with WWE.