Jon Jones hints that he could return sooner than planned

After his split decision victory over Thiago Santos at UFC 239 in early July, Jon Jones divulged that he plans to return to action on the UFC’s big end-of-the-year card in December.

Speaking on Twitter on Tuesday night, however, the UFC light heavyweight champion hinted at an expedited return, suggesting that he’d be willing to fight on the UFC’s annual November return to Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Madison Square Garden in November?

— BONY (@JonnyBones) July 24, 2019

“Madison Square Garden in November?” Jones wrote in a Tweet.

Fight fans — particularly those in New York City — unsurprisingly took this suggestion well, and engaged Jones on the topic.

Means I would have to jump right back into camp, I think I’m up for it. Pretty sure actually https://t.co/BtnfIGisBZ

— BONY (@JonnyBones) July 24, 2019

“Means I would have to jump right back into camp, I think I’m up for it,” Jones wrote in response to one fan. “Pretty sure actually.”

Given that Jones hails from the state of New York, it would actually make quite a bit of sense for him to compete on this Madison Square Garden card. The light heavyweight champion, who stands out as one of the UFC’s biggest stars, has yet to fight inside Madison Square Garden, having not been available at the time of any of the promotion’s previous visits to the hallowed Manhattan arena. This year, the timing could seemingly line up perfectly.

Jon Jones has maintained a very busy schedule since his return from a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension, first stopping Alexander Gustafsson in December, then thwarting Anthony Smith and Santos in March and July respectively, both by decision.

Do you think we’ll see him back in the cage in November instead of December?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 7/24/2019.