Demetrious Johnson believes Jon Jones didn't need to add weight to become the heavyweight champion

Jon Jones' return to the octagon was very successful, as he was able to capture the heavyweight title in his divisional debut after three years away from the octagon.

Long-time flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson recently shared that he doesn't believe 'Bones' did not need time away to become heavyweight champion.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, 'Mighty Mouse' stated:

"I honestly didn't think he had to put all that weight on to do what he just did. He could've done all that at 205 [pounds] because at the end of the day, it's not like he's going against a massive jiu-jitsu wrestler in the heavyweight division. Jon Jones is long. He has a range advantage in most of his fights."

He added:

"I'm happy to see he's back. I think he's the GOAT because of all the things he's been able to do... I think he didn't have to go up to heavyweight to do that. He could've did it at 205 and held both those belts. He could've been another champ-champ if he really wanted to. He looked great."

Check out Demetrious Johnson's comments below:

Jon Jones was able to defeat Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut at UFC 285. The long-time light heavyweight champion needed just over two minutes to pick up the submission and reclaim the top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.

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Jon Jones' return: 'Bones' hints his next fight could be his last

Jon Jones was reportedly targeting UFC 290 at International Fight Week for his first heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic. While that plan has seemingly been scrapped, 'Bones' revealed that he would like the bout to take place at Madison Square Garden while hinting it could be his last time in the UFC octagon. He said:

"How cool would it be to spend my retirement fight dominating the greatest heavyweight of all time, in my home state at Madison Square Garden?"

Jones did, however, respond to a fan who claimed he was not ready for the heavyweight champion to retire, stating:

"OK my bad, I’ll keep fighting"

Check out Jon Jones' tweets about retirement below:

While Jones signed an eight-fight contract ahead of his heavyweight debut, he has hinted that he could walk away from mixed martial arts after facing Miocic. It is unclear if he will call it quits. However, he does not have anything left to prove in the sport.