Standing the test of time: UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones' rise to the top of MMA

Lock him in a cage with anyone, they say, and it's the reigning, defending UFC heavyweight champion who walks out with his hand raised.

You've got to wonder how it feels to be the greatest of all time when all you have to rely on are your limbs and your mind.

"You know, sometimes it feels surreal, and then some mornings I wake up and I'm sore all over my body," Jones told The Canberra Times.

"Then I realise it wasn't luck, it wasn't winning the lottery. It was years and years of practice, running, push-ups, commitment, dieting. It was definitely earned, and not given, and I'm just grateful for it. I know that's a really cliché word to use, but that's really how I feel.

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"I'm grateful I've been able to stand the test of time and see the results."

Which are championships in the UFC's light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, which make Jones one of just eight fighters in the promotion's history to hold titles in multiple weight classes.

At 23, Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history. Now 35, he has still never been stopped nor outscored in his career. A disqualification against Matt Hamill is the only blemish on his record.

That, and a no contest against Daniel Cormier - which is where Jones becomes a topic of division.

In 2015 he was stripped of his title and removed from the UFC rankings after he was arrested for hit-and-run charges. He returned to win an interim title before being stripped again after testing positive to a banned substance.

Then came another return, another title win, another failed drug test. When Jones reclaimed his throne in 2018, he would stay at the top until he vacated the belt and walked away from the UFC two years later.

Jones, who touches down in Australia this week for a promotional tour, refuses to shy away from his failures.

Which is perhaps why he was able to come back and win the heavyweight crown this year. The fascinating subject that is the Jones of today seems a far more well-rounded human. A fair assessment?

"That's fair. I've been a pro athlete my entire adult life, and I really don't feel like I ever took the time off to focus on myself as a person," Jones said.

"Taking three years off, being light heavyweight champion and retiring, walking away voluntarily for three years, it gave me a lot of perspective and time to be more grateful and appreciative. I do feel more mature. I have my head bound a lot tighter than ever before.

"It feels good, I'm getting old."

But not so old that Jones' time in the octagon is up just yet.

Jones is slated to defend his heavyweight crown against Stipe Miocic - the former champion widely regarded as one of the greatest the division has seen - at New York's Madison Square Garden in November.

"And boy, am I excited for that," Jones said.

It looms as one of, if not the biggest fight in UFC heavyweight history. So big that Jones has said could be the perfect retirement fight.

When it comes to New Zealand's middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, Jones believes "that ship has sailed" - because when you're "looking for the greatest challenges on the planet, fighting a guy that weighs 185 pounds isn't where you start".

Perhaps only Francis Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight kingpin now signed to the Professional Fighters League, would be enough to coax Jones back into the cage if he decides to walk away.

"Back in the day we saw Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar go at it, and that was big at the time," Jones said.

"I know myself and Stipe will be really big. I believe I'll be the favourite in that fight. Some people may not find it to be that entertaining of a fight, but in my career, it will be the biggest thing I have ever done in my career.

"I took off three years, I came back to the game and everything was just so much bigger. The commercialism, the fans, the attendances, the love, all of it has just grown so much. It's a really exciting time. There's never been a more exciting time to be in mixed martial arts.

"He's the greatest of all time, and it doesn't get much bigger than that."

Jon "Bones" Jones will be taking part in meet and greets with fans, as well as exclusive group training sessions across Australia and New Zealand from Friday May 26 to Saturday June 3. Fight fans will have the opportunity to pose with Jones and his UFC heavyweight championship belt. Tickets in Australia at Jon 'Bones' Jones Down Under Tour 2023 | Eventbrite and in New Zealand at www.Eventbrite.co.nz.

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