Why did Jon Jones move up to heavyweight? A look at when 'Bones' made a weight division switch

Jon Jones is the current UFC heavyweight champion but is only 1-0 in the weight class in his career.

Jones, whom UFC CEO Dana White touts as the greatest of all time, holds several records in the UFC, including most title fight victories, most light heavyweight title defenses, and the longest unbeaten streak in promotional history. However, most of the fights that contributed to Jones' success occurred at 205 pounds before his move up to the heavyweight division in 2023.

After nearly a decade as the UFC light heavyweight champion, Jones vacated his title to pursue a career at the highest weight class in 2020.

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Why did Jon Jones move up to heavyweight?

Shortly after defending the UFC light heavyweight championship for the third time in his second title reign, Jon Jones announced that he would be vacating the belt and focusing his training on bulking up to make a move up to heavyweight.

After receiving criticism from fans who believed he wrongfully received a victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247, Jones issued his reasoning, claiming that he 'wasn't scared of [the light heavyweight contenders] anymore' and thus desired a change of scenery.

Jones said in December 2020 (via ESPN):

"I just wasn't scared of those guys [at light heavyweight] anymore. Like, none of them. And I think it showed in some of my performances. Obviously, I still trained hard. But there was no urgency in some of my last fights. With these next guys I'm going to be going up against [at heavyweight], I respect these guys. These guys are intimidating."

To prepare his mind and body for the move up to heavyweight, Jones took over three years off and returned to the Octagon in March 2023, submitting Ciryl Gane to win the vacant UFC heavyweight title.

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Has Jon Jones defended the UFC heavyweight championship?

Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson both have a total of 11 title defenses, tied for first in UFC history. However, Jones accomplished the goal across two title reigns at light heavyweight and has yet to defend the heavyweight championship while Johnson accumulated his defenses consecutively.

After winning the heavyweight belt at UFC 285, Jones was scheduled to defend the title against former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 but withdrew with a torn pectoral roughly one month out. The fight was then replaced with Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title, a belt that Aspinall won by first-round knockout.

As of April 2024, Jones is still out of commission as he recovers from injury and has not recorded a heavyweight title defense. A police report filed in late March by a woman who claimed that Jones threatened to kill her could potentially delay the return of 'Bones' but it was likely the undisputed heavyweight champion would not return until later 2024 regardless.