March 3 (Reuters) – Former UFC mild heavyweight champion Jon Jones returns to the octagon on Saturday in Las Vegas after a three-year absence searching for to re-state his declare to be the best fighter of all time, regardless of his many troubles.
It speaks volumes about his stature within the sport that the 35-year-old will get a right away shot on the heavyweight title towards France’s Ciryl Gane at UFC 285, regardless of not preventing since beating Dominick Reyes in February 2020.
“I am able to dominate, but when I do not dominate and the battle goes 5 rounds, I am able to press ahead, I am prepared for a canine battle,” Jones informed a media convention forward of his return on the T-Cell Area on Saturday evening.
“I am able to bleed and sweat and depart my coronary heart on the market. I am prepared for nonetheless it goes. I really feel fairly ready for victory.”
Although undoubtedly probably the most gifted fighters ever to tug on a pair of four-ounce MMA gloves, Jones has usually been his personal worst enemy, as failed drug exams and incidents exterior the cage have broken his repute.
The New York native was stripped of his mild heavyweight title in 2015 after a hit-and-run incident involving a pregnant girl, and in 2016 he was stripped of the interim title and given a year-long ban for a optimistic drug take a look at.
In 2017 he examined optimistic once more, this time for the steroid Turinabol, however every time the UFC welcomed him again with open arms as soon as he had served his ban.
He beat Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson to reclaim the belt in 2018 and appeared to be holding it collectively till an allegation of home violence in Las Vegas in 2021, which led to him pleading no contest to a cost of tampering with a police car throughout his arrest.
Saturday represents the most recent in a protracted line of second possibilities for one of many sport’s most infamous figures, and a win for the bulked-up Jones will see his title thrust into discussions about who’s one of the best on the earth for the time being.
Australia’s featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski was unsuccessful in his current bid so as to add the light-weight crown, however Jones is trying past him and all others.
“He (Volkanovski) is refreshing, he speaks nicely, his nation loves him, he represents the game nicely,” Jones mentioned when the comparability was put to him.
“(However) I am preventing to be the best fighter ever, to not be the pound-for-pound finest proper now.”
Reporting by Philip O’Connor
Enhancing by Toby Davis
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.