Jon Jones: “Stipe Miocic could be my last fight, unless Ngannou comes back”

Jon Jones has confirmed that his possible heavyweight title defense against former champ Stipe Miocic will most likely be his final fight — unless another former champion can make a comeback in the UFC.

Jones will most likely face Miocic next after he won the vacant heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March. According to UFC President Dana White, the company is planning a blockbuster fight for later this year at Madison Square Garden. If he wins, Jones claims that defeating Miocic will be enough to seal his legacy and provide him enough money to call it a career.

“I feel like the Stipe fight will be plenty for me, Jones told Fox Sports Australia. “I really don’t feel like I have much to prove after beating Stipe Miocic. I’ve been in the game a long time, and in fighter years, I’m an old guy.

I’ve got some small injuries and I just really want to be around — I want to be around for my family, I want to be around for my kids, I want to be able to play with my kids and have a good head on my shoulders, and joints that work. So yeah, I can see it coming to an end really soon."

Jones, on the other hand, isn't entirely slamming the door shut and locking the deadbolt on his career. When asked if another fight might keep him around a little longer, the 35-year-old adds that if current free agent and former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou can somehow return to the UFC, he would absolutely entertain that lucrative clash before riding off into the sunset.

“I do believe a Francis Ngannou fight would be worth entertaining not retiring,” Jones explained. “I think a Francis fight would come with some serious revenue, and that would make it worth my while.

Francis is a former champion, he’s pretty damn popular [in the U.S.], and across the world. It would bring in a lot of money, and for that, I’d be willing to come back.”