Will Jon Jones fight Brock Lesnar? Former UFC champion shows interest in WWE star
Many dream fights in MMA never came to fruition. Fights are booked or considered, only to be immediately moved to the “what if” category. Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg and Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson are just two recent examples.
Jon Jones, who hasn’t been in the Octagon for three years, offered his own “what if” in an interview with The Sporting News this week.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion will make his heavyweight debut when he returns at UFC 285 on Saturday. He will face Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title. Jones attempted to fight Francis Ngtannou, but negotiations fell through over salary disagreements. After Gane, Jones has his eye on a dream fight against Stipe Miocic.
But there is another opponent that is in the back of Jones’ mind as to whether or not a fight is possible. The name “Bones” came up? Brock Lesnar, “The Beast Incarnate”.
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“I think fighting Brock Lesnar would have been really cool. Brock isn’t the tech guy, but he has a huge following, he’s a lot taller than me, and it would have been one of those really cool David and Goliath guys in the situation(s),” Jones told TSN Karisa Maxwell.
“It would have been really cool to promote across sports and I think we both would have done great things for our family and our team. Financially that would have been huge. Never say Never.”
Lesnar is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion who competed in the promotion from 2008 to 2011. After losing to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141, Lesnar retired from MMA and returned to WWE, the company where he began his martial arts career. In the midst of his new deal with WWE, Lesnar returned to the Octagon in 2016. He beat Mark Hunt but the result was overturned after Lesnar tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene. That was the last time he was in the Octagon.
Lesnar teased a fight with Jones rival Daniel Cornier after Cormier won the 2018 UFC heavyweight title, but it never came to fruition despite the UFC trying to promote him.
Will Jon Jones fight Brock Lesnar?
At this moment, another Lesnar fight in the UFC is unlikely. UFC President Dana White told TMZ Sports in 2019 that Lesnar, now 45, was “done” with active MMA competition.
MORE: Why is Jon Jones called ‘Bones’?
“He made his decision,” White said of Wrestling Inc. “I don’t know where he is in this other world. I know he wanted to make a new deal with Vince [McMahon] to stay with WWE. I’ve always had a good relationship with Brock. We’ve always gotten along really well.”
Lesnar, a multiple WWE champion, will face off against Omos at WrestleMania 39 in April.
There are reports that Lesnar’s contract is about to expire and that he is “finishing” with the company. But that’s more the case with Lesnar’s deals with WWE.