Jon Jones shocked the world on Satuday at UFC 214. Twice. First, he finished light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the third round of their main event fight, reclaiming the belt he was stripped of for antics outside the cage. Then, in the octagon after the victory, he called out former UFC heavyweight champion and WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar.
“Brock Lesnar – if you want to know what it feels like to get your a** kicked by a guy who weighs forty pounds less than you, meet me in the octagon” Jones yelled out in a mic drop moment following his big win.
Thanks to Conor McGregor and George St. Pierre, superfights are all the rage these days, just like they were years ago when the talk of the town was GSP-Silva and Lesnar-Fedor. Only of late, under new UFC owners WME-IMG, they seem a little more feasible, as with Michael Bisping vs. GSP and Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather.
That fact has not been lost on Jon Jones, no doubt, who addressed the callout after the fight on Saturday.
Speaking to the UFC 214 Post Fight show with Michael Bisping and Kenny Florian, Jones said it was simply time for a super fight. “I’m up for it. I think it’s about time for me to be involved in a super fight. I think that’s what the fans really want to see, is me challenging myself against a heavyweight” Jones told the show. “Why not do it against the biggest, one of the most scary heavyweights in UFC history in Brock Lesnar. He brings a tremendous following, and I think it would be just so great for the sport of MMA.”
It would also no doubt be great for Jones’ pocket book, something he admitted as well. “I need a cheque, lets get some big fights!”
Jones expanded on the subject further at the UFC 214 post-fight press conference. On the potential superfight, which would arguably be one of the biggest fights the UFC could make, Jones said he was indeed serious.
“To be honest with you, I have no clue where this Brock Lesnar situation came from, how it started” Jones explained. “But it got serious really quick. I started talking to my management team, First Round Management and my team at Jackson’s MMA. And I said ‘well what do you guys think if this was to happen?’ and obviously my manager was like ‘well it’s going to be a big payday!’ – right, that’s his job, make me money. But my teammates at Jackson-Wink said “Jon you can win that fight. You’re going to have to dig deep, you’re going to have to take your self-belief to a higher level. You’re going to have to earn this fight, obviously you’re going to have to change a lot, fighting at 225, or 230. But you can do this.’
“So we made up in our mind that we were serious about it” the newly crowned light heavyweight champion said.
As for Jones’ motivation? Outside of the financial windfall, “I think it would be great for the MMA world. I think it would bring more of the general public to the sport of mixed martial arts. And that’s what we need, we need to expand our sport. Why not be the guy to play a part in that?” he stated.
Jones is also more than confident that he can win against the massive wrestler, who cuts weight to make the 265lb heavyweight limit. “I just think it’s a winnable match-up” Jones observed of the potential pairing. “Obviously Brock Lesnar has millions of followers outside of MMA, so that’s huge for our sport, to kind of steal some of those followers. I feel like Brock has a pretty limited game, and I just think it’s a winnable fight and there’s just so much reward that’s involved.”
Of course, Lesnar, traditionally a man of few words, kept his response short and to the point. “Be careful what you wish for, young man” he replied via the AP.
