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Jon Jones has not entered the octagon in almost three years, as he last fought at UFC 247 in February 2020. Jones, who is widely regarded as the greatest light heavyweight of all-time, has been teasing a move to the heavyweight division.
Former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen shared his thoughts on whether Jones' three-year-long transformation to add weight will work against him.
Speaking on his podcast, Beyond the Fight, Sonnen stated:
"Jon gives the belt back, Jon's going up to heavyweight. If we would've done all of those things and not put the three years, I would be sitting here telling you who's a** Jon is getting ready to kick and we'd all be done, and you could insert any name you want. You'd try to bring up the weight, you'd try to tell me he's going to weight about 222 to 225 pounds."
After noting that 225 pounds is the weight that Jones walked around at before weight cuts to 205 pounds, Sonnen added:
"Jon removing himself to change his own physiology to get up to 240 pounds, it's interesting. Is that his number or did he just work against himself? It's very interesting, I was surprised... Jon has earned the right to make his own decisions. The one that he did that caught me off guard, I thought, 'what are you talking about' is when he said I've got to weigh 240."
Sonnen shared that he has spoken to heavyweights who trained with Jones and felt he didn't need the extra weight. With Jones' heavyweight debut seemingly coming at the start of 2023, we will soon find out if adding the extra weight has worked in his favor or against him.
Watch Chael Sonnen discuss Jon Jones' body transformation below (starting at the 6:08 mark):
Georges St-Pierre shares thoughts on Jon Jones move to heavyweight
Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre are arguably the two greatest mixed martial artists of all time. Jones will be attempting to follow in St-Pierre's footsteps by winning a belt in a higher weight class after a hiatus from the sport that lasted several years. GSP shared his thoughts on Jones' upcoming move to heavyweight, stating:
"I’m a fan of Jon Jones, I like to see him fight. I can’t wait to see him come back. A lot of people are like, ‘Yeah, he was out for a long time.’ He was out for a long time, but he’s Jon Jones, you know what I mean? Don’t forget that he’s Jon Jones. He’s arguably the best fighter of all time too. He can make a comeback, and I think he’s going to be successful when he does."
While Jones is yet to receive an opponent for his heavyweight debut, it has been widely speculated that his first fight will be against heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. UFC President Dana White recently shared that the fight is being targeted for the first quarter of 2023.
Watch Georges St-Pierre's full comments below (starting at the 5:58 mark):
