There’s another huge superfight that may be looming on the horizon following Mayweather vs. McGregor — and this one seems even more bizarre. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones said in a Facebook live video this week that he would be interested in stepping into the octagon with former UFC heavyweight champion (and current WWE Superstar) Brock Lesnar.
Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar are both interested in a UFC superfight
Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
At the time Jones said he’d love for the fight to happen, but said he never thought Lesnar would accept. Now it turns out Jones might be in for more than he bargained for. The Associated Press reached out to Lesnar for comment, and he’s ready to do this.
“Would I fight Jon Jones? Anytime, anywhere. Right now he should be worried about D.C. on Saturday night.”
D.C. refers to Daniel Cormier, a friend of Lesnar’s and Jones’ next opponent. The conversation about fighting Lesnar stemmed from discussing Jones’ upcoming fight against Cormier at UFC 214.
ESPN transcribed Jones’ statements on his Facebook live video.
“He’s a massive dude,” Jones said in his Facebook chat. “It would be a massive draw, really big for the sport. It would be a great challenge. That’s a big old boy. I doubt Brock Lesnar would take that fight, though. I definitely wouldn’t try to wrestle with him the whole time. I’m not going to tell you what I would do.”
Jones is still regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but even still the size difference between him and Lesnar is monstrous. Jones would have to move up to heavyweight, as he currently fights at 205 pounds — but even with a 20-pound weight jump Lesnar would still outweigh Jones by an astonishing 40 pounds.
The thing that makes this fight fascinating is that both fighters have proven their chops in the octagon before. Two former champions, with styles that are different enough to make the fight interesting. Still, there would be massive hurdles to overcome. Lesnar was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for potentially masking performance-enhancing drugs following a 2016 fight vs. Mark Hunt, which only made him eligible to fight again in July of this year. Lesnar also formerly retired from MMA in February.
But if the purse is big enough and the interest is there — who knows?
