The former Light Heavyweight Champion and number one pound-for-pound king Jon “Bones” Jones is looking to make his return to the octagon in July of this year against the winner of Champion Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson scheduled for UFC 210.
It seems right for him to receive an immediate rematch after he never lost the title in the first place but instead was stripped in 2015 after a hit-and-run incident that would leave him suspended indefinitely and then come to be reinstated five months later in October.
With all this and the stuff that took place after he came back only leaves fans to wonder if he really should get an immediate rematch at all or if he needs to prove himself in order to get another crack at the gold.
Yes, he is possibly the most dominant athlete to ever compete in the sport as he cleaned the light heavyweight division to near dust that he began to have thoughts about making the move to heavyweight where he could have the chance to dominate that division and make history again becoming a champion in two divisions.
Though he has had plenty of legal troubles lately that have caused fans to have plenty of second thoughts about him as well as fighters, which have also lead them to question if he should even be still competing in the company.
After his return at UFC 197 against Ovince Saint Preux for the interim Light Heavyweight Championship, where he would go on to win via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) it looked like he was on the road back to the top after his involvement in the hit-and-run incident. But in his scheduled rematch against current champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 200 he tested positive for banned substances that would cause the bout to get canceled and force him into a year suspension by the Nevada State Athletics Commissions.
With Jones continuing with his screw-ups I really don’t see why he deserves an immediate rematch even if he still the biggest star of the company.
The way I see it if he wants a chance to get “his” belt back I say he should face other contenders who are more worthy of a shot at the belt than he is.
If he wants to prove to everyone he still is the top dog of the division and the company let him face contenders like Jimi Manuwa, rematch Ovince Saint Preux or even better, give him Alexander Gustafsson and let us see if he is still the GOAT we all know him to be and then we will love to see him back in a title fight with the chance to redeem himself.
