Jones’ Coach Eyes “Easy” Move To Heavyweight
With his return to the Octagon only days away, Jon Jones looks to reclaim the title taken from him following a failed USADA test in July 2017.
And while he’s focused on regaining the UFC light heavyweight title, according to his coach Brandon Gibson, a move to heavyweight is in the cards for Jon Jones.
“I think the day will come,” Gibson told Luke Thomas on a recent episode of The MMA Hour. “I think Jon’s focus right now is just to continue his light heavyweight reign and solidify his legacy as a light heavyweight. Maybe the day will come where it’s at heavyweight, but I don’t think it’s right around the corner.
“It’s not something we’re talking about, but if the right opportunity came, I think it would be easy for Jon.
“I don’t think he’d put on a massive amount of weight or anything like that,” he continued. “I think he could go in there at kind of a more cruiserweight, like a 225, 235, and have a tremendous amount of success against these guys. I mean, I saw it all of the [rounds we’ve done] sparring against well known heavyweights out of the JacksonWink gym, so I know Jon’s capable of it. I think his focus right now is a light heavyweight reign though.”
“It is [on his mind] and I think it’s something he really wants to solidify, so I think part of it’s just going to come with time and trust and making statements,” Gibson said of Jones’ legacy as a fighter. “The second DC fight, I feel like we were right on the path, and then we got derailed a little bit.
“So Jon’s going to come out and make another statement, and I think we’re just going to have to take it one fight at a time. But I think if Jon is Jon, and he dominates the way he can dominate, at the end of the day there won’t be room for a debate. We still have a lot of time left in this thing.”